Christopher Plummer Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm a little annoyed with Up right now, because it made me cry in the first 10 minutes. Crying at the end of a movie is easier to hide -- you can mutter about allergies or how too much computer time makes your eyes red. But crying at the beginning of the movie makes you feel like an awfully sappy wuss. Thank goodness I had big ol' 3-D glasses on, which at least managed to hide any telltale traces of weakness ... until I cried again at the end, damn it.

Up is the latest film from Pixar, and this time the main character is not a robot or rat or monster, but rather a little old man who looks like Spencer Tracy and occasionally growls like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. After his wife dies, Carl Fredericksen (Ed Asner) faces a lonely life ahead, possibly in a retirement community. He decides to have the adventure that he and his wife always dreamed of, and sets out for the quasi-legendary Paradise Falls in South America. His method of travel? The family home, lifted by an amazing canopy of balloons. However, he isn't alone ... he's inadvertently picked up an enthusiastic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer, Russell (Jordan Nagai), who only wants to help.

As we wait for an American studio to break down, and cough up the money to buy and distribute Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, some new stills have leaked out that give a hint as to why it's being labeled "too arthouse." (Not that we agree with such things here at Cinematical, obviously. There's no such thing as too arthouse in our books.)

The photos are watermarked Quick Stop Entertainment but I snagged them from the obliging CHUD, who snagged them from a Johnny Depp blog, and no one seems to know quite where they originated. (How appropriate.) The Depp blog also managed to produce a photo that includes Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, and a not-as-scary Christopher Plummer. I would almost suspect it of being fan made except that the costumes Depp & Co are sporting look right for the film.

So, as you await news of a buyer and a release date, gaze at the gallery below and wonder if you should travel to Europe where it's promised a release date. You have to hand it to Hollywood though -- you'd think every studio would be chomping at the bit to get Heath Ledger's last performance, but clearly decency (and squeamishness at the idea of "arthouse cinema") still has some sway in Tinseltown.

Though the film is not quite finished yet, a post-production teaser/behind the scenes video for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus has arrived online via QuickStopEntertainment. Watch as Gilliam introduces his fantastical new world -- showing artwork, set design and brief glimpses of actual scenes -- all while briefly explaining the film's bizarre storyline ("it feels like some of the films I made when I was younger," he notes).

Gilliam says, "The film begins in modern London. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is a thousand years old. Parnassus as the power to expand your mind beyond anything you've ever dreamed of. For centuries he's been traveling the planet with his traveling theater, The Imaginarium. Parnassus is a prophet; he has a secret he made once long ago with the devil -- and that secret will possibly destroy all their lives or possibly save them. It depends on who they meet ... and who they meet is a man named Tony (Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law), hanging from a bridge in London. They save his life. Is he there to save them? Or is he working for the devil? These are the things we unravel as the story unfolds."

Yup. Makes about as much sense as most of Gilliam's work, but the visuals he reveals in the video look amazing and beautiful and definitely pique my interest. Not to mention the Tim Burton-esque score quietly playing underneath it all. Check it out above, and thanks to Matt for sending it our way. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is due in theaters next year.

When news of The Last Station first hit all the way back in 2006, it sounded pretty darned irresistible -- Anthony Hopkins as Leo Tolstoy, Meryl Streep as his wife Sofia, and Paul Giamatti as Tolstoy's supporter, Chertkov. Now, as much as I enjoy a good performance by Hopkins and Streep, I'm happy to say that there's new casting for the film, that's finally heading towards production, and still has Giamatti attached.

Variety reports that Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren have now signed on to star. Anthony is great and all, but he's no Plummer. Based on Jay Parini's novel from 1990, the film will follow the final year of the famous writer's life -- when his wife's extravagant demands clash with his "philosophy of poverty," and he flees to the house of a station-master for some peace as he dies.

Despite the fact that nobody knows for sure how the film will be finished, the website for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus went live today. Sure, it only features the title, director and "Coming Soon," but at least it's a good sign that the film will go on ahead. Unless you've been living in a bubble, you likely know that production on Parnassus shut down a few weeks ago due to the sudden death of its star, Heath Ledger. As of yet, the film doesn't seem to have restarted shooting, but there have been rumors and hints about how Gilliam plans to continue a film without its principal actor. First, we heard that Johnny Depp would replace Ledger completely. Then, Parnassus co-star Christopher Plummer mentioned the use of CGI as a solution.

Now there's another option. According to Quick Stop Entertainment, the film is definitely going forward and is definitely going to keep Ledger's footage, as a tribute to the actor. According to Aint it Cool News, additionally, is word that another actor could actually replace Ledger for his unfilmed scenes, because Ledger's character actually transforms into another person once he enters some kind of magic mirror. So, Depp or some other star could be cast as Ledger's "'other side' personae" as AICN calls it. Anyway, now that we have that website to check in with, we might have a better source for updates as they come.

As much as I hated Terry Gilliam's last film, Tideland, I still consider him my favorite living filmmaker (Tideland was the first to completely disappoint me) and was looking forward to his next feature, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus more than possibly any other film in the works. Unfortunately, Parnassus lost its star when Heath Ledger died suddenly last week, and there was lots of talk that Gilliam's latest would be scrapped. Anyone who has followed Gilliam's career knows that would be more than tragic, because Parnassus would be the second major work of Gilliam's to go unfinished after shooting had begun (see the depressing documentary Lost in La Mancha for the story on his shut-down project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote). Well, after rumors that Ledger would be replaced by Johnny Depp, who would come in and reshoot the late actor's scenes, there is a new claim that Gilliam is going to keep Ledger's footage and continue the shoot using special effects magic.

The claim comes from Parnassus co-star Christopher Plummer, who spoke to People magazine and had this to say: "Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI..." Plummer, who plays the title character in the film, also mentioned that Gilliam wants to finish the film for his friend (Ledger) and dedicate it to him, too. Additionally Plummer spoke on the working conditions of the Parnassus shoot in London and on Ledger's health prior to his leaving the set, further providing for speculation that Ledger's death was of non-narcotic causes. Anyway, about the finishing with CGI Ledger, that is excellent news, and something I've been expecting to happen all along (if it was good enough for The Crow 14 years ago, it's good enough now). I absolutely loved Ledger in The Brothers Grimm (the first of Gilliam's films to somewhat disappoint me), and I can't wait to see him and his computerized clones in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

At this point I'm starting to think that the paparazzi have camped out on the set of Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Of course, the legions of squealing teenage girls trying to get a shot of the 'dreamy' Heath Ledger might have something to do with that. Just Jared.com is now hosting five new photos of star Heath Ledger hard at work on Gilliam's latest fantasy flick. These photos don't really give anything away, but you know how proprietary those photogs can get, so you'll just have to visit Just Jared to get a look. Last month, Jared had posted some photos that could be described as 'spoilerific'; but fear not, these latest give you a look at Ledger in the midst of a what looks like a fancy dress ball. Keep in mind, though, that this is a Gilliam flick after all, so for all we know the scene could be taking place in a 7-11.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is Gilliam's first original script in a long time and is set in parallel versions of modern-day London. *Christopher Lee plays the 1000-year-old Parnassus who, along with his traveling theater troupe, has a debt to pay to the big baddie himself: the Devil (as played by the gravel-voiced Tom Waits). The cast also includes Verne Troyer (the man forever known as Mini-Me) and Lily Cole. Gilliam wrote the script with his long-time collaborator Charles McKeown. The film has a budget of $30 million, which is a pretty big price tag for an independent film, but I'm guessing all that set decoration isn't cheap. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is slated for release in 2009.

*Correction: Parnassus is played by Christopher Plummer

So you might be wondering why I chose not to include the actual photos from the set of Terry Gilliam's latest, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus. Well trust me, it's in your own best interest if you are not a fan of spoilers. Just Jared has a few on-set photos of star Heath Ledger and they are pretty creepy, not to mention "spoilerific." So if you like to keep things a surprise, you probably won't want to peek at those ones. The film is a passion project for Gilliam and is his first original screenplay in a long time. The story (or what we know so far) centers on the magical Dr. Parnassus and jumps between parellel stories of a modern day London and a far more mystical version of that very same place.

Gilliam sees a little of himself in Parnassus, telling Variety, "Parnassus is trying to bring amazement to people, and not doing a very good job of it, because they aren't paying attention to him. But if they will enter his mirror, and allow their imagination to mix with his, they enter these extraordinary worlds, and they come back transcendent -- or they strangely disappear" -- sounds about right as a metaphor for a Hollywood career. Along with Ledger, the cast also includes Christopher Plummer (as the good Dr), Verne Troyer, Tom Waits, and Lily Cole.

Back in October, Christopher had reported on the film, and a glimpse at some of the concept art for the film. Now, there are also some images floating around the web of some of the set pieces for the film that emerged in London on Monday. The flick had started production earlier this month, and as anyone who is a fan of Gilliam knows, his kind of fantasy doesn't come cheap. So keep your fingers crossed that Gilliam gets the chance to finish his masterpiece this time around. The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus is set for release in 2009.

[via Movies.com]

Christopher Plummer gives a black hole of a performance in Man in the Chair, which opened in New York last week and in Los Angeles this weekend. Every time he appears, he inexorably sucks attention away from anyone else on screen. Eventually, everything revolves in orbit around him, even when he's not present. Somehow, though, even as Plummer merges his soul with his character at the molecular level, he does so in a modest manner. The seams between actor and role are not readily apparent. It's a pity that the film as a whole doesn't rise to level of his magnificent performance, but he elevates the material by his grizzled presence.

Plummer plays Flash Madden, a retired gaffer with a permanent scowl etched on his face. We meet him in a darkened cinema, muttering to himself, talking back to Orson Welles in Touch of Evil, and flashing back to his moment of glory when he was fired, then instantly rehired, on the set of Citizen Kane. He's a moviegoer's worst nightmare, the annoying old guy who keeps up a running commentary while you're trying to enjoy a classic, so our sympathies run toward the man who asks him to shut up. Flash tells the man off, which amuses Cameron Kincaid (a wisely subdued Michael Angarano, who also served as associate producer), a high school senior who wants to win a film school scholarship contest.

Flash puts on a great show of being irascible and irritable, but doesn't seem to mind very much when Cameron begins stalking him. Having overhead that Flash used to work in the movies, Cameron seizes on the thought that the old guy might be able to help him make his student film. From the movie posters hanging in his room and snatches of conversation with his only friend, we get the message that Cameron loves movies. (When he decides to steal a car for a joyride, he insists that it be the same make and model as the titular automotive character in John Carpenter's Christine.) Apparently in common with many young filmmakers today, Cameron wants to make his own movies but doesn't really have anything to say.

It's good to get excited about Terry Gilliam again. Despite my intense disappointment with the director -- for many years my favorite living filmmaker -- with the annoying and boring Tideland, I'm happily hopeful about his next project, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Earlier this year, Jessica told us about the film, which was said to be about a traveling circus featuring a headliner with a special power to bring audiences into his mind. Well, the Gilliam fansite Dreams now has the full details on the plot, as well as more details about the cast -- which I mentioned yesterday includes Heath Ledger, Verne Troyer, Tom Waits and Lily Cole -- plus a concept drawing.

First thing that needs to be pointed out is that Ledger will not actually be starring in the title role, as I had assumed. Instead Christopher Plummer, who was great in Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys, will play the lead, an immortal man with a traveling show and the gift of guiding the imaginations of his audience. Waits plays Mr. Nick, aka The Devil, with whom Parnassus made a deal with long ago. Cole will co-star as Parnassus' daughter Valentina, who was mistakenly promised to Mr. Nick in another bad deal with the Devil. Ledger plays a guy named Tony, Troyer plays a guy named Percy and Andrew Garfield plays a guy named Anton. I won't go into the rest of the film's plot, though, in case you're worried about spoilers. If you want to know more, you can certainly visit Dreams, where you can also see the rest of the concept image that I've cropped and presented above.

The drawing should remind folks of Gilliam's visual masterpiece The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, which was co- written by Imaginarium co-writer Charles McKeown. Despite the period look of the drawing, though, Dreams claims that this new film will be set in present day. The visuals for Imaginarium should still be amazing, as the film apparently spends a lot of time in "a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles." Sounds like the Gilliam I'm used to -- and the Gilliam I'm really looking forward to seeing again.

[via Rotten Tomatoes]