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Topic: US gets The Chaser's War On Everything
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John Wilson
Film God
Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 05-04-2009 05:11 PM
quote: Rick Raskin
John: Your tonight was my tomorrow.
That used to be the story of my life. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
The Chaser boys are back in the thick of it.
This time, it's the Vatican. ![[eyes]](graemlins/eyes.gif)
ABC supports Chaser team over global legal strife
Rachel Browne
May 3, 2009
HAVING upset politicians and police in Australia, the mischief makers from The Chaser have declared war on the rest of the world.
The top-rating ABC comedy series has now gone global with its stars enduring legal scrapes on three continents.
But their antics have the full support of the taxpayer-funded ABC. Amanda Duthie, ABC TV's head of arts, comedy and entertainment, stood by the actions of The Chaser team yesterday.
"The Chaser shoot was approved by ABC TV," she said. "No one has yet been charged and anyone who is charged will have our full support. We are certainly glad they are all safely home."
In Italy, team members Julian Morrow and Craig Reucassel could have been shot by security personnel last week when flying a five-metre-long motorised blimp carrying a written message over St Peter's Square in Vatican City.
Australia's ambassador to The Holy See, Tim Fischer, yesterday confirmed that anyone breaching an airspace ban over the 44-hectare city-state could be fired upon.
"The airspace over the Vatican is banned airspace and I can assure you that the security personnel strictly enforce that rule," he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said last night four men would face an Italian court over the stunt. The men have been charged, but neither Italian nor Australian authorities had contacted the department. Police had seized two cameras, tapes and a laptop, with a brief given to a prosecutor in Rome.
The Vatican incident came after the comedians had several brushes with the law in the US and another in Japan while filming for the latest series during the past five weeks.
"Yes, we've had a bit of face time with the local authorities around the world," said Morrow, who is also the executive producer of The Chaser's War On Everything.
On Tuesday, he and Reucassel were questioned by police for eight hours after the blimp flew near the Papal headquarters in Vatican City. The pair discovered their reputation for high-profile stunts, thanks to the incident during the APEC meeting in Sydney in which they drove a fake motorcade into the security exclusion zone, preceded them.
"We had a bit of a scrape with them for a few hours," Morrow said. "We explained who we are and where we are from. None of us speaks any Italian but they spoke a bit of English and, fortunately for us, they were aware of the APEC stunt.
"They realised there were no risks involved and no threat to security. They were very good, actually. We can speak very highly of the services of the Italian police."
While refusing to reveal what was written on the blimp, he expressed concern about the possible punishment. "Apparently the maximum penalty for the alleged offence is eternal damnation," he said.
The Italian incident came after a number of run-ins with the law in the US.
"We encountered a variety of police and Secret Service people in the course of carrying out our various stunts. But all the problems were resolved and no charges were laid."
In one incident, the owner of a toilet shop in Texas called police after Chas Licciardello attempted a "try before you buy" on products.
In Washington, DC, the team were detained by the Secret Service and had their hotel rooms searched.
"We were doing the usual Chaser thing and hanging around outside the homes and offices of high-profile people and giving them The Chaser-style offers," Morrow said.
"We attracted the attention of the Secret Service. The Secret Service did their job. They checked that we weren't presenting any serious security risks and they were pretty thorough in that."
The Chaser's global offensive started in Tokyo in March when they angered security guards during a stunt.
"We weren't behaving in an orderly fashion and the Japanese like orderliness," Morrow said.
The Chaser critic, Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who has previously questioned the amount of money the ABC spends on The Chaser's legal affairs, said the latest incidents were typical of the pranksters.
"It's not surprising, given their track record," she said.
A spokesman for the Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, said ABC management would deal with the legal run-ins.
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