George Harrison Wanted an Apology From a Director for Being ‘Unbending’ and Rejecting His Ideas
George Harrison clashed with his bandmates for creative representation in The Beatles, and, years later, he had to do the same with a movie director. Harrison founded HandMade Films, a production company, to help finance Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The company produced many other films, some of which Harrison found highly frustrating. Harrison and his business partner, Denis O’Brien, wanted the former Beatle’s songs on a film soundtrack. The director, Terry Gilliam, was vehemently opposed to this.
The former Beatle founded a production company
When the first backer of Life of Brian unexpectedly pulled out, Eric Idle contacted Harrison. He was the richest person he knew, and Harrison was a fan of Monty Python.
“What happened was that I helped to raise the money for them in order to make the film when the previous backer pulled out,” Harrison told Rolling Stone in 1979. “As I’m a Monty Python fan, I wanted to see the movie — I like to go and have a laugh too — and a friend suggested that I try and raise the money. So we just got a loan from a bank. It’s a risk I suppose.”
The movie was a success, so Harrison and O’Brien decided to continue their work in the film industry with HandMade Films.
George Harrison wanted an apology from director Terry Gilliam for his behavior
One of HandMade’s films was 1981’s Time Bandits. Gilliam, who wrote and directed the film, had a clear vision for it, one that didn’t entirely align with Harrison and O’Brien’s. Gilliam and O’Brien clashed frequently.
“We had huge fights,” Gilliam said, per the book Very Naughty Boys by Robert Sellers. “It just became like bashing a head against a brick wall, but I was the brick wall and he was the head, that was the stupid thing. I kept saying, ‘No, don’t go there, Denis.’ And he’d go — Wham! ‘Stop it, Denis.’ And eventually I started screaming at him, ‘You’re a f***ing idiot, Denis. I’ve told you time and time again your brains are bashed out all over this wall that I am and you won’t stop.'”
Harrison was more understanding of Gilliam’s dedication to his creative vision, but he eventually grew frustrated as well. Harrison wanted to write a number of songs for Time Bandits, but Gilliam did not want them in the film.
“You remind me of John Lennon, you’re so difficult, so bolshie,” Harrison told him. “Can’t you just compromise?”
In the end, Gilliam barely compromised. Only one of Harrison’s films appeared on the soundtrack over the end titles. He used it as an opportunity to take a shot at Gilliam.
“Greedy feeling, wheeling dealing/Losing what you won/See the dream come undone/Stumble you may with the elementary/Lucky you got so far/All you owe is apologies,” Harrison wrote.
Gilliam did not immediately realize that the song was a dig at him.
“He felt I owed Denis and him some apologies because I was so unbending in the way I approached things,” Gilliam said. “It’s really funny because I enjoyed listening to the song but at the time I had no idea it was George writing his notes to me.”
Director Terry Gilliam said George Harrison saved his movie career
Though Harrison and Gilliam clashed, Gilliam loved Harrison as a person. He also credited him for saving his career.
“I wouldn’t be here talking to you if it wasn’t for HandMade films,” Gilliam told Metro. “The world wouldn’t have Time Bandits, A Private Function. It wouldn’t have any of these things … It’s very simple. To have a Beatle as a patron is what you need in life, it really was. I mean George stepped in and saved our a**es basically.”
