"Once I learned how to read Shakespeare (not till my mid-40s; I was a model), I realized maybe there are aliens out there who have two ideas per sentence. We’re lucky to get one per book. Greenblatt is a star-crossed scholar, who’s bestie at Cambridge, Eric Idle, became a member of Monty Python. So how much more fun can you get? I’m already wheezing to blow this island to get Stephen’s latest, “The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve,” and will need all of Will’s sonnets and plays, too, for reference."

"Brazil coming out when I was fifteen was like a perfect storm. I had grown up on Monty Python, and loved Gilliam—and then this massive film blew my brains out all over my Milk Duds at the Fine Arts Theatre in downtown Chicago. I saw it twice the week it came out. I didn’t know about all the studio drama surrounding it— like Terry Gilliam taking out ads in Variety to get the film released—until years later. This is probably the most quoted film in my family. “Trouble with your ducts?” “Salt?” and “They don’t fix themselves, sir!” are all still in heavy rotation in my daily conversation"

"What a beautiful guy. He was so sweet. I mean, every song he’s done is my favourite. You can’t go wrong with them. Some of the songs aren’t as good as others but most of the ones he wrote with Joe Melson and Bill Dees are great. I’ve just recorded ‘Running Scared’ for my new album, Longwave, and he once told me that ‘Running Scared’ was his personal favourite of all the songs he’d ever done. I actually got to work with Roy and be his pal and be his producer and his co-writer on a song called ‘You Got It’ which was a big hit in America and here too. So that was a big thrill for him to have a hit. And it was his first hit in 20 years and we’d done it together and that was a great, marvellous feeling. In real life, he was actually a very funny guy. And he could do all Monty Python sketches on his own! He did all the parts! When we were doing Wilburys videos, we’d be going in a van to Grand Union Station in LA to film ‘Handle With Care’ and he’d be doing Monty Python sketches. And he’s got this enormous and most infectious giggle you’ve ever heard and we’d all be giggling like schoolgirls after a minute or two and all fucking fall about! He was a lovely guy and if he was sad he never showed it. When Roy died we did talk about getting someone else in but we thought that nobody could replace Roy Orbison."