The comedian, 50, announced plans for the South African mega-marathon on Thursday at a reception for the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.

Revealing how he came up with the challenging idea, he explained, “I was thinking about what I had done to demonstrate against apartheid and I realized that I did nothing.”

Izzard, who hopes to race the majority of the distance barefoot, will map out his running route based on sites important to the anti-apartheid leader’s history, including where Mandela grew up, where he went to university and on Robben Island, where the now-93 year old was imprisoned after campaigning against racial segregation in his country in the 1960s.

The mammoth adventure, which will take place this summer, will be filmed for a U.K. TV documentary expected to air in the autumn.

Izzard previously set himself the task of running 1,100 miles in seven weeks across Britain for the Sports Relief charity and he successfully completed the race in 2009 – but he’s not planning on doing much physical preparation for the new task.

He says, “I don’t really do training, I just get on with it. I have actually only done one marathon since I ran all those marathons three years ago but I’ve been mentally training.”

The British star insists his new movie version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale will terrify kids who thought the outlaws of the sea were lovable rogues like Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow.

He tells TV Guide magazine, “We certainly have softened and romanticised them (pirates)… It’s probably the Disney effect.

“The truth is, pirates were drunken, murderous bastards who didn’t give a f**k about anyone but themselves and would not hesitate to rip you up.

“They were well organised, like mafia gangs. In fact, our approach here is much less classic Treasure Island and much more Goodfellas.”

Treasure Island is on SyFy in the USA on Saturday, May 5th (both episodes). Check local listings.

THE STORY OF DICK…
“The astonishing cast we have assembled to work on my Dick is a comedy writer’s wet dream…“It’s comedy porn.” – Eric Idle

Idle calls WHAT ABOUT DICK? an “Emotion Picture for Radio,” set between 1910 and eight o’clock, which tells the story of young Dick (Russell Brand) who is studying philosophy and gynecology at Oxford; his two cousins: Emma, (Jane Leeves) an emotionally retarded English girl; her kleptomaniac sister Helena (Sophie Winkleman) and their dipsomaniac Aunt Maggie (Tracey Ullman) all live together in Kensington in a large, rambling, Edwardian novel. When the Reverend Whoopsie (Tim Curry) discovers a piano on a beach, a plot is set afoot that can be solved only by a private Dick, the incomprehensible Scottish sleuth Inspector McGuffin (Billy Connolly) who with the aid of Sergeant Ken Russell (Jim Piddock) finally reveals the identity of the Houndsditch Mutilator.

Described by Idle as “Oscar Wilde on acid, or like Downton Abbey, only even funnier,” “Dick”begins with the birth of the personal vibrator, invented in Shagistan in 1898 by Deepak Obi Ben Kingsley (Eddie Izzard), and tells the story of the subsequent decline of the British Empire as seen through the eyes of a piano.

John Du Prez plays the piano, and Eric Idle appears in his own play as The Narrator. The Grammy Award-winning duo who brought you SPAMALOT (which begins a run at The Pantages Theater February 28-March 3) and NOT THE MESSIAH (a comic oratorio performed at The Hollywood Bowl in 2009) have written eight new songs for the production.

The comic actor will costar and have a producer’s credit on writer-producer Bryan Fuller’s dramatic revamp of the campy classic sitcom, which is now titled Mockingbird Lane. Izzard, who’s been circling the role for weeks, will play the ancient vampire and shape-shifter Grandpa in the show. Bryan Singer will direct.

The pilot project was pushed back from spring to summer as production partners focused on improving the show’s creative aspects. Fuller’s other NBC drama pilot Hannibal, a small-screen take on the Hannibal Lecter films, has been going full steam ahead.

>> ARTICLE LINK | >> ANOTHER ARTICLE

Popular comedian and actor Eddie Izzard will perform at UAA’s Wendy Williamson Auditorium next month, returning to his roots in stand-up comedy after an extensive career as both a film and Broadway actor. A prominent figure in comedy since the early 90’s, Izzard has gone on to star in movies such as “Ocean’s 12,” “Ocean’s 13″ and “Romance and Cigarettes” opposite such actors and actresses as Kate Winslet, Susan Sarandon, George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

The British comedian is primarily know for mixing things up, drawing bizarre connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, as well as his tendency to cross-dress both on and off the stage.

In addition to winning two Emmys and having been twice named Top Stand-Up Comedian of the year by the British Comedy Awards, Izzard went on to break box office records by selling out a five-week tour of the U.K. in less than 48 hours.

Where: Wendy Williamson Auditorium
When: Friday, April 20
Tickets: $35 advance, $40 door and $15 advance, $20 door for UAA students. On sale Friday, March 9, uaatix.com.

Read more here: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/160001#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

ONLY 4 SHOWS!!! April 26th – April 29th

THE ORPHEUM THEATRE
842 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Exclusive Presale Now! Use password: DICK12
Public on-sale Feb 28th

Tickets

“The astonishing cast we have assembled to work on my Dick is a comedy writer’s wet dream,” said Idle. “It’s comedy porn.”

With Songs by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. The Grammy Award-Winning duo who brought you SPAMALOT.

British stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard and actor Liam Neeson have joined the final lineup for Sunday’s one-night benefit show, the Secret Policeman’s Ball, to be staged for the first time in New York at Radio City Music Hall.

Also joining the usually British-based music and comedy festival is actor Tim Roth and British comedians Matt Berry and Jimmy Carr. Among American comedians are “Saturday Night Live” cast member Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah ,as well as “Entourage” actor Rex Lee.

>> TICKETS

>> ARTICLE LINK

KROQ revealed details first thing this morning: Eddie Izzard, Bob Saget and (no joke) Larry King — yes, that Larry King — are among the comedians slated to make their debut appearances at Kevin & Bean’s April Foolishness. Now in its fourth year, the modern rock radio station’s Weenie Roast of funny returns to Gibson Amphitheatre on April 7.

Izzard, the 50-year-old English star who last summer became the first stand-up comic to headline the Hollywood Bowl, isn’t the only import on the bill: Australian jokers Jim Jefferies and Tim Minchin also will perform. Also, after three years of somewhat repeated lineups, this one is almost entirely new; Jay Mohr is the event’s only veteran act.

Tickets go on sale Thursday, March 1, at 10 a.m. exclusively to KROQ Street Team members. Prices weren’t readily available, but typically they run $30-$100. Proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and the Cedars-Sinai NICU.

>> FULL ARTICLE LINK