The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Love or hate Tom Cruise, you've got to give the man credit -- he's done a pretty good job of throwing us some curve balls. Years ago, when he was dancing around in his boxers, I don't think anyone imagined the stardom and wildness that would follow. And even at the height of his ... unique ... ways, this is not something I would ever have imagined: Tom Cruise wanted into Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

As Collider shares, from an article in Total Film Magazine, the actor was lobbying to be cast in the project, hoping it would be the next step in his image update after Tropic Thunder. Gilliam said: "I know there was a period when Tom's agents were keen. The thing is, I was only interested in people who were friends of Heath. Simple as that. I wanted to keep it in the family."

It was definitely the right decision -- a lot more respectful, with pure intent rather than image-led planning. But beyond the fact that Gilliam made the right choice, I can't get beyond the surprise that Cruise was interested. This is Terry Gilliam. Not a big mainstream-buzzing Ben Stiller flick. Even with the buzz created by Ledger's death, it's a really interesting decision image-wise. Why was Cruise and company so keen? To get him artistic cred? Thoughtful cred for helping out? A boost by the buzz that this is Ledger's first film? I'm at a loss.

Seeing what Terry Gilliam can do with a good budget and technology -- namely the fantastical worlds he created for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus with its sky of flicking jellyfish, towering stilts, and a rainbow world of shoes -- I began to wonder what the filmmaker could do to help more mainstream work. What if the next 3D blockbuster had worlds seen through Gilliam's eyes? What if the next animated film tapped into Gilliam's imagination?

Looks like he is, at least a little bit, thinking the same thing. /Film recently attended a BFI talk with Gilliam, and the filmmaker expressed his interest in Pixar. After noting their creativity, he supposedly said he wants to work for the studio, has asked Andrew Stanton to "hold the door open" for him, and that he'd go so far as to "sweep the floors" to be in Pixar's cinematic environment.

Perhaps the fangirl in me is bubbling over a bit, but thinking of Gilliam in Pixar brings to mind Dali and Disney's Destino. While I'm not suggesting that the filmmaker is a modern-day Dali, my imagination is in overdrive, imagining a Pixar subdivision where Gilliam makes strictly adult animation, where the artistry of his imagination could know no bounds. The studio's flare for mainstream creativity mixed with Gilliam's mind could be explosive -- tightening his stories for a mainstream crowd while delighting in his vision. Certain mixes just work beautifully. Dali proved to be the perfect addition to the Disney world, and I'm betting Gilliam could bring a similar creative imagination to Pixar.

If Gilliam worked for Pixar, what would it be like?

Once in a very blue moon, a trailer comes that's so fantastic, so rife with fantastical eye candy, that even in its abbreviated form it's a million times better than a lot of feature films. After the teaser that popped up last September, a full trailer for The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus has finally arrived over at Yahoo (watch it after the jump).

The only bad thing I can think to say is that the trailer makes me wish even more that Heath Ledger never passed away, and that he could have had the chance to finish his role. While Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell look fine (Depp being the closest resemblance), it's the Ledger moments that shine. But there's so many levels -- a wildly original story (something so rare these days), great actors (Christopher Plummer and the devilish Tom Waits, too), and jaw-dropping visuals ranging from wild parties and ruins to rolling seas and candyish lands. Even if you're not a Gilliam fan, you should at least check out the trailer and get a peek at the effects and artistry. (The film may or may not live up to this wonder.)

But I'm also irked. Here we have a film that gives Christopher Plummer a lot to do (not to mention Waits), and Yahoo only mentions Ledger and his replacements in the little blurb to the right. Hell, it doesn't even mention Terry Gilliam.

Nevertheless, are you charmed by Parnassus?

As the festival enters its final weekend, things have grown quieter. That doesn't mean Friday lacked excitement, though. Undoubtedly, the big title of the day was Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, featuring Heath Ledger's final performance. Erik Davis rounded up the first reactions. The director and Verne Troyer (AKA "Mini Me") appeared in support of the film.

Another eagerly-awaited title also debuted: Gasper Noé's Enter the Void. Of course, the interest in Imaginarium has more to do with the stars (Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law stepped in to finish the film after Ledger's untimely passing). Void, on the other hand, created anticipation because it is Noé's first feature-length work since his Irreversible generated considerable controversy at Cannes seven years ago.

Via David Hudson at IFC's The Daily, we learn that Enter the Void has already been compared to the Wachowskis' Speed Racer and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining (by Daniel Kasman in The Auteurs' Notebook). Manohla Dargis of the New York Times also notes the borrowings from Kubrick, while describing it as an "exceptional work [by] an artist who's trying to show us something we haven't seen before." Eugene Hernandez of indieWIRE called it "an endurance test [that] stirred both boos and bravos."

Other Key Screenings. Competition: Elia Sileiman's The Time That Remains. Un Certain Regard: João Pedro Rodrigues' To Die Like a Man, Jean Van de Velde's The Silent Army. Directors' Fortnight: Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani's Ajami, Mikhael Hers' Montparnasse. Special Screenings: Fanny Ardent's Ashes and Blood.

Awards. Xavier Dolan's Canadian film I Killed Your Mother won three of the four prizes awarded by Directors' Fortnight, reports indieWIRE, beating out higher-profile US titles Tetro, I Love You Philip Morris, and Humpday. The complete list can be viewed at indieWIRE.

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.

If you're like me and didn't get to peek at the teaser for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, at least you can whet your Gilliam appetite with a new image of Heath Ledger, which you can see to the right.

The image is certainly chilling, between the stern look, mask, and memories of what happened almost one year ago. I just hope that between the spectacular save with Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell and the talents of Gilliam, that Ledger's death doesn't taint the film.

I found it fairly easy to separate Ledger and the Joker in The Dark Knight, because it was all about darkness, angst, and eeriness. But this morality tale? My fingers and toes are crossed that the chill I get looking at this picture doesn't translate to the big screen.

Ledger deserves a one-two amazing punch at the end of his career, and Gilliam deserves some luck. Don't you agree?

[via Slashfilm]

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.

While Heath Ledger's role as Joker in The Dark Knight might go down as his last (and greatest) complete role, technically his final performance will come in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. In a weird way it's almost fitting that Gilliam -- who's been cursed for years now -- would wind up being the filmmaker to last work with Ledger. Not only has Ledger's next-to-last film broken almost every box office record to date, but folks are so afraid of a Gilliam flick that even with the marketing machine that is the death of Heath Ledger, Hollywood still doesn't want to go near Dr. Parnassus.

A story in The Hollywood Reporter last week claims Ledger could be in a "position of having one of the biggest- grossing movies in Hollywood history out at the same time he's in a movie hunting for an domestic distribution deal." And the scary part of this is that when Ledger passed away, Hollywood heavyweights like Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped in to finish the film for their deceased friend. With ALL THAT, it's still a risky movie to get behind. One "distribution guru" added, "For all the elements in this film, it is a Terry Gilliam picture, and as much as you want a movie of his to be good, you have to be careful." Poor Gilliam ... the guy just can't catch a break.

Well, unless you want to see Dr. Parnassus. Wouldn't it be kinda spooky if one death helped revive another's career? If we, as an audience, had the ability to choose between the doom and gloom of mourning an actor's death or the light and joy that comes with helping a beloved filmmaker get back on track?

After the shock of Heath Ledger's death, there were questions about his latest project, Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Then came rumors last month from AICN that Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell would ALL step in to replace the actor. Well, the site was right! Reuters reports that the filmmaker has confirmed the involvement of all three actors.

According to a statement from producers: "Since the format of the story allows for the preservation of his entire performance, at no point will Heath's work be modified or altered through the use of digital technology." They follow with: "Each of the parts played by Johnny, Colin, and Jude is representative of the many aspects of the character that Heath was playing."

For once, it seems like Gilliam's notorious bad luck will pay off into something special. In the words of the man himself: "I am delighted that Heath's brilliant performance can be shared with the world. We are looking forward to finishing the movie and, through the film, with a modicum of humility, being able to touch people's hearts and souls as Heath was able to do."

When it's all said and done, this whole Parnassus mess would probably fit nicely into a biopic on the life and times of director Terry Gilliam. When Heath Ledger passed away during production on the latest Gilliam flick, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, we all wondered what would happen to the film. Would Gilliam be forced to dump another project (a la Don Quixote), or would someone step in to save the day. Early rumors suggested (and here's where life always comes full circle) that Johnny Depp (Gilliam's Quixote star) would fill in for Ledger and shoot his remaining scenes. Then there was word Gilliam may create a CGI Ledger to tape up the missing pieces.

Now, however, AICN claims they know exactly how it will go down, and that Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell will all fill in for Ledger in a weird sort of I'm Not There-esque tribute to the actor. Needless to say, I cannot wait to see what this looks like -- imagine watching half a film with Ledger, only to see it switch and be Depp, then Law and then Farrell (or some variation)? What will that look like? Either way, I'm sure Gilliam will probably open to his biggest box office take in years (fingers crossed), and the film could go down as something very very special. No official word on this one yet, but AICN seems to feel this one is locked and ready to roll. What do you think?