Jones: Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.

Cleese: [Sits down] Well, carry on.

Jones: I was just explaining the missing 23 seconds. It's Carol Cleveland in the Castle Anthrax -- she suddenly looks at the camera and says, "Are you enjoying this bit? We were sooo worried about it when the boys were writing it, but now it's one of our favorite bits." Then you have some of the characters saying, "Get on with it." Then you see Tim the Enchanter saying, "Get on with it." And then you have the army yelling, "Get on with it!" Then they get on with it. We were coming into Los Angeles for a film festival and wondering whether we should cut that bit or not, because it seemed to be begging for trouble to ask, "Are you enjoying it?" So we took it out, though they said if we did we couldn't put it back in. We went to Los Angeles, where for the first time ever we had a paying audience that laughed. And that bit in particular got a terrific laugh, so we were kicking ourselves that we had taken it out.

[To Cleese] Do you have any fond memories of the filming?

Cleese: Well, there was this restaurant I used to go to every night to recover from this horrendous experience of being in the damp forest. We started about 8 a.m. on the mountainside, didn't we?

Jones: The rest of us, yes. You'd turn up about 10 a.m.

Cleese: Because we were shooting out of doors, we finished when it got dark. I used to go back, shower, go into this restaurant and eat really well. It was run by a Frenchman married to a Scottish woman. I discovered this wine ...

Jones: While we were all huddled 'round the campfire with a few crusts of bread, trying to keep warm. Didn't know where you'd gone, actually.

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Cleese: I never really understood why people went on about white wine. And this restaurant had white burgundy. In those days, of course, I could drink the best part of a bottle.

Jones: What about now?

Cleese: Two glasses.

Jones: What is "the best part of a bottle" -- the liquid stuff inside?

[To Cleese] You've mentioned this as your favorite film, calling the later "Meaning of Life" a mistake ...

Jones: [Interrupts] He's a miserable old bugger, isn't he?

Cleese: I like "The Life of Brian" best now. You change your mind over time. "The Meaning of Life" would not have existed were it not for Jonesie. We went on and on writing and reading stuff out, and some of it was funny. But whereas "The Holy Grail" had all been medieval, and "The Life of Brian" had been 30 A.D. or something, here people were writing things in different times. They didn't match up. So we all went on holiday together, and all we did was write. After three days, I said, "This isn't going to work. Let's take a 10-day holiday, go back to England and say how hard we worked but we never managed to get it together." I practically won the day; then Jonesie came down to breakfast and showed us this piece of paper on which he had figured out the timing.

Jones: I said, "What are we worrying about? There's 70 minutes of first-class material. We don't even have to write 20 minutes; we just have to get some of the framework. And I still think it's somebody's life." Then you or Eric [Idle] said it could be anyone's life story. Then someone said, "The Meaning of Life" ...

Cleese: And our holiday went straight out the window.

Jones: [To Cleese] So why do you think the Pythons stand up after all these years?

Cleese: I don't know. It's sort of extraordinary how it all caught on, and I can't explain it. We never thought it would happen. It had never even occurred to us.

The fights the Pythons had are legendary. Have things changed? You seem to get along well now, save for some teasing.

Jones: [Smiling] It's a bit of a façade, really.

Cleese: We hated each other sometimes. Any group is going to have the occasional tensions. We've done quite well when you think about it. But back to the other question, we seem to have come up as a group with certain archetypes that get recognized by the audience, and the stuff's funny. Well, not everyone thinks it's funny.

How much have you been offered for a Python reunion?

Cleese: $32, I think.

Jones: $36.

Cleese: See, we argue about everything. Let's say $40. Actually we did explore the possibilities for a stage show, but Michael Palin said he didn't want to do it. I didn't want to do another movie. I didn't understand how we were all supposed to get in the same room for six months to write the damn thing. We can't even get in the room for two days!

Cleese: [To Jones] Do you think it'll ever happen?

Jones: I don't think so. We nearly got it together for a stage show, but the rat was Michael Palin. And everybody thinks he's so nice.

Cleese: He's a bit of a bastard, really. Like Stalin was a bit mean.

[To Cleese] Just quickly, how many Bond films have you signed for? Are you going to play Q?

Jones: Not a Python question. Don't think we can allow it.

Cleese: We should have done a Python film about Bond.

Jones: Yes, it's a very stupid concept, really.

Cleese: Who would have played Bond?

Jones: It's obvious -- Graham Chapman.

Cleese: And he's dead. That's why we can't do it. What was the question?

Are you going to be Q?

Cleese: Yes, but only on account of Desmond Llewelyn's tragic death. So now I'm Q instead of R. I'm signed to do three. Every three years I do about four days' work.

Jones: Excuse me while I doze off a bit here.

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