I still have a lot of the Billy T. James shows on video cassette, and I’ve avoided many of the compilations, since I just don’t feel right seeing the sketches in an order that Billy himself might not have had a say in. Silly reason, I know. However, this does feel right: a film about New Zealand’s greatest comedian’s all-too-short life, directed by one of our finest directors, Ian Mune, whom I had the pleasure of meeting 19 years ago.
You just know that Ian—who, of course, directed Billy at the height of his fame in the screen adaptation of Came a Hot Friday—has done his homework, and will have put this documentary together with great care. Billy T.: Te Movie comes out next month in New Zealand, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Billy’s death. There are clips from the shows, and snippets from friends and colleagues.
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