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 reveals that a series of disputes in 1998, over a possible sequel to "Holy Grail" that had been conceived by Idle, may have resulted in the group's permanent split. Cleese's feeling was that "The Meaning of Life" had been personally difficult and ultimately mediocre, and did not wish to be involved in another Python project for a variety of reasons (not least amongst them was the absence of Chapman, whose straight man-like central roles in the "Grail" and "Brian" films had been considered to be an essential anchoring performance). Apparently, Idle was angry with Cleese for refusing to do the