Monty Python's Life of Brian December 1976, with a first draft completed by mid-1977. The final pre-production draft was ready in January 1978, following "a concentrated two-week writing and water-skiing period in Barbados". The film would not have been made without Python fan former Beatle George Harrison, who set up HandMade Films to help fund it at a cost of £3 million. Harrison put up the money for it as he "wanted to see the movie" — later described by Terry Jones as the "world's most expensive cinema ticket." The original backers, EMI Films, had been scared off at the last minute by the subject
Monty Python and the Holy Grail spinoff, "Spamalot". Written primarily by Idle, the show has more of an overarching plot and leaves out certain portions of the movie due to difficulties in rendering certain effects on stage. Nonetheless, many of the jokes from the film are present in the show. In 2011, an ABC prime-time special, "", counted down the best films chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and "People". "Holy Grail" was selected as the second best comedy after "Airplane!". In 2013, the Pythons lost a legal case to Mark Forstater, the film's producer, over royalties for the derivative