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]

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]

Just last night, I was discussing TIFF with my favorite fest-buddy. No matter what we do, we keep finding ourselves in disappointing final films. To stop this, we tried to come up with a game plan for this year, so that on that final day, we could wrap up the fest with a hearty "huzzah!" or, at least, not feel weary and disappointed after a few dozen films. Where we are looking for something light, TIFF has chosen to close with something dark -- but presumably much better than my previous final picks. The latest news from the Toronto International Film Festival is that Emotional Arithmetic, a Canadian drama about the reunion of three Holocaust survivors, will close the fest.

TIFF co-director Noah Cowan says: "The inclusion of this powerful film reflects the robust nature of our industry." Yet it's more than just a Canadian film, it's quite a star-studded affair, moulded by the hands of director Paolo Barzman. The film stars Susan Sarandon, Gabriel Byrne, Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow. The film is about Sarandon and Byrne, who are playing survivors of a Jewish internment camp from World War II. "They make plans to reunite after discovering the political dissident (von Sydow) who had protected them at the camp did not die at Auschwitz as they had thought, and is still alive." Meanwhile, Sarandon's character is trying to deal with her experiences from the camp, while also fighting depression and a poor relationship with a philandering husband, played by Plummer. It's a pretty interesting mix of high-profile talent, and looks to be a serious but worthy wrap up to this year's festival.

Originally published in 1956, My Dog Tulip is author J.R. Ackerley's memoir of his 14-year relationship with Tulip, a German shepherd he rescued and who, eventually, appears to have taken over his life. According to Amazon, the relationship is a complicated one, because "there are indeed two Tulips. One is highly strung but heroic, flirtatious but true. The other is a four-legged rejoinder to authority: A biter, a barker, and a dab hand at defecating her way around London." Reactions to the book -- officially designated a "classic" by the New York Review of Books, if no one else -- seem to be mixed; some (dog-lovers, one assumes) dig the story for its detail and honesty, while others find those details (particularly those about Tulip's active sex life) tiresome and unnecessary.

Some of the people who love the book have not only rounded up enough money to turn it into an animated feature (with an "adult sensibility" -- that better not mean cartoon doggie porn), but also managed to attract some big names to the project, an accomplishment that instantly increases its profile. On board to provide vocal talent for My Dog Tulip, the movie, are such luminaries as Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave and Isabella Rossellini (though sadly no one knows which one gets to play the dog).

Voice recording is set to begin this week; producers hope to have the movie in the can by the end of next year.

As his ship of wannabe-settlers approaches Virginia one clear, late afternoon in the fall of 1607, Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) sits shackled below deck. Through the cracks in the wood, he peeks up and out at the land the ship is rapidly approaching and, hands still bound together in chains, throws his head back, and laughs and laughs. Once the Englishmen hit land, the first order of business is to execute the Captain-in-chains. Smith gets as far as the gallows, before his superior, Captain Newport, steps in. Smith, apparently, is a bitch to be around – and we'll soon see plenty of that for ourselves – but he's also the only man on a ship, otherwise padded with bourgie tourists, who can offer any kind of military experience. Newport saves Smith's life, but not without a warning: "You," Newport growls (via the voice and body of the magnificent Christopher Plummer), "Are under a cloud." Smith almost winks in response.

A cloud is right, but oh, what a day to be stuck in the metaphoric rain. The New World is the most gorgeous spiritually overcast epic to hit American screens in some time. Even when he's blinding us with his trademark bursts of sunlight, and further distracting our attention with featherweight monologues that threaten irrelevance, director Terrence Malick knows we're aware of the looming shitstorm that history has waiting for his protagonists and their epoch. With that cloud hanging over the proceedings, Malick's true coup is to seesaw his story's concerns. Famine, assimilation, and I would argue, even the rape of nature are pushed down, whilst a burning star-crossed love story is pushed up. And that love story itself should be the flimsiest of things, a historical footnote of dubious accuracy (many scholars dismiss Smith's claims of a romance with the Indian princess Pocahontas, which are absent from the many monographs he wrote in the years immediately following his journey, as the barroom boasts of a megalomaniac) and very little gravity;  Malick promotes it to life-or-death preponderancy. It would be cruel to call The New World a puppy-love soap opera, but it wouldn't be at all inaccurate. So let's get right down to it: The New World is the best puppy-love soap opera I've ever seen.