Chris Morris

Episode notes

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty ImagesChris Morris on his new film The Day Shall ComeWe’re big fans of Chris Morris’ absurdist works of satire – but he just doesn’t make up that much, these days.The writer-director’s new film, The Day Shall Come, is kind of a farce about terrorism and the FBI’s efforts to fight it.

In the film, Morris examines how the Bureau tends to find eccentrics – guys who live in communes, that kind of thing. Then, with undercover agents and financing, the Bureau takes these eccentrics and turns them into bigger threats than they actually are. The film tells a complex and often bizarre story that is almost entirely based on real things that happened in the counter terrorism world.

In the mid-90s, Chris was the host and creator of The Day Today, the BBC news parody where he’d read headlines like “Sacked Chimney Sweep Pumps Boss Full of Mayonnaise.” And, who could forget: “Where Now For Man Raised By Puffins?”

He followed up that with, Brass Eye, another brilliant news parody where he’d con elected officials into warning kids to stay away from a fake drug called “Cake.” The fake drug, supposedly came in a giant yellow pill, roughly the size of a circular cake. Try swallowing that.

Chris Morris joins us to talk about his new movie. He’ll chat about reading court transcripts, talking with journalists, even attending trials to really understand what goes on at the Bureau. Plus, we’ll talk about The Day Today and Brass Eye, too!

You can stream or download The Day Shall Come on various platforms including Amazon and YouTube.

In this episode...

Jesse Thorn

Host

Kevin Ferguson

Senior Producer

Jesus Ambrosio

Producer

Richard Robey

Maximum Fun Producer

Daniel Huecias

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Daniel Arón Speer

Video Editor

Guests

Chris Morris

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

If you would like to pitch a guest for Bullseye, please CLICK HERE. You can also follow Bullseye on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. For more about Bullseye and to see a list of stations that carry it, please click here.