Jiří Chalupa

* 1946

  • „There was Bolek Polívka as a guest acting god. And he would come on scene as a god and was quite on top of things. I was a dramaturge and we stired things up quite a lot for many Christian believers. I do believe too, but many people were so upset, they´d even write to us. There was like a thousand letters styled in a complete unforgiving manner. I´d write back to the senders, as I really was sorry. I would reply as follows: ‚It is not bad, but you see something bad, where there is none, a humour itself is not evil.‘“

  • "I believe that a modern fairy tale should exist, it is all right. But the tale has to be modern so that the heroes think in a modern way. They should be like you or me."

  • „I think that Ninja turtles are a classical example, who could not be have been there in the totalitarianism. They suddenly came and people started arguing: ‚But that´s not good for children, they fight there.‘ Those, who made them, would reply: ‚Oh no, they´re the examples of virtues like justice and truth and fight for the right thing.‘ I believe that it is good to know the Ninjas and would never ban my child to watch this kind of a program. We cannot present them just Krteček and just what´s the best and correct. It is right to let them watch the Czech good night stories, that are on a high artistic level, to make their own opinion, to help them create one, but not force them into anything.“

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    Česká televize, 16.04.2015

    (audio)
    duration: 01:01:43
    media recorded in project The Stories of Our Neigbours
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A friend of the whole generation

Jiří Chalupa
Jiří Chalupa
photo: Pamět národa - Archiv

Jiří Chalupa was born on 16 May, 1946 in Prague. After studying gymnasium he tried studying mathematics and medicine, but in the end he decided for FAMU – he manifested literary and dramatic talents since his childhood. All his life he worked as a scriptwriter and a dramaturge in the Czech television. He focused on production for children and created also film fairy tales and children TV programs.