The Awl

Remembering "The Day Today"

Alex Balk — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:20:14 +0000

This interview with David Schneider of Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci's brilliant "The Day Today" is worth reading in its own right, but is even better because it has some terrific clips from what is one of the greatest shows of all time. Do click over. [Via]

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'Four Lions' Coming Soon

Alex Balk — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:50:34 +0000

Excellent news: Four Lions, the "terrorist comedy" by godlike geniss Chris Morris that we've been banging on about for months, opens in New York on November 5th. Learn more here!

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Internet Meme Come To Life Terrifies Tulsa

Alex Balk — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:00:18 +0000

Pedobear, the popular 4chan joke gone viral, is back in the news, and residents of Oklahoma should consider themselves warned of the dangers. (Gawker points out the major flaw in this report: the supposed "registered sex offender" in the bear suit wasn't actually a registered sex offender at all.) It's all very sad, and like so much else, was anticipated by satirist Chris Morris nearly a decade ago. It's good that we've all grown since then.

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Terrorist Comedy Gets U.S. Distribution

Alex Balk — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:30:22 +0000

Excellent news about a movie we're dying to see: "Alamo Drafthouse CEO and Founder Tim League announced today that he is expanding the renowned Alamo Drafthouse brand into film distribution under the banner Drafthouse Films (www.drafthousefilms.com). The first film to release under the new label will be Chris Morris's astonishing new comedy Four Lions."

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"Four Lions" Trailer Makes Me More Excited About "Four Lions"

Alex Balk — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:20:42 +0000

Here's the official trailer for Chris Morris' Four Lions, the "terrorist comedy" I've been banging on about since April. IT LOOKS AWESOME! Sorry, I'm just kind of into this, can you tell? [Via]

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Chris Morris' "Four Lions"

Alex Balk — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:55:50 +0000

The reviews for Chris Morris' Four Lions, the "terrorist comedy" that premiered at Sundance last week, have been mixed but mostly positive, but nothing I've seen so far indicates that the film has picked up any funding. Which is a shame; I am desperate to see this movie. Anyway, here's a clip. We can talk about the whole "when is something off limits to laughter" issue if the picture ever gets picked up. In the meantime, do check out some of his earlier work.

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Terror Comedy Closer To Completion

Alex Balk — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:20:54 +0000

Chris Morris' Four Lions project is "all but shot" and will be completed "well before the end of the year." What is Four Lions? Morris' feature film debut is a comedy about suicide bombers.

Morris's conclusion, according to the film's producers, Warp Films, is that it's a daft as well as a deadly business. "Even those who have trained and fought jihad report the frequency of farce," the company has said. "At training camps young jihadis argue about honey, cry for their mums, shoot each other's feet off, chase snakes and get thrown out for smoking ... Terrorist cells have the same group dynamics as stag parties and five-a-side football teams. There is conflict, friendship, misunderstanding and rivalry. Terrorism is about ideology, but it's also about berks." Morris's project, they maintain, "understands jihadis as human beings. And it understands human beings as innately ridiculous."

This is obviously a "difficult" subject, but if anyone can pull it off, it is Chris Morris, who, it says here, is A LIVING GOD. If you're unfamiliar with his work, start digging around here and on the YouTube.

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