terry gilliam Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus recently premiered in the UK, and director Terry Gilliam was on hand to kick things off. Now that the whole Imaginarium -- Heath Ledger -- bad luck hurricane has wound down, attentions are turning to his next project -- the one plagued with more bad luck than Parnassus -- The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. And Gilliam had more positive news to share.

It started earlier in the week when he told Empire that the film is a "donkey, and now it has three of its legs," and then followed it up at the premiere with more solid news: "We're up and running again, we've rewritten the script and finally got it back, the budget's come in... and I think we've found our Quixote! But who's it going to be? Well, I'm not going to tell you, but it'll start next Spring." Even as recently as May, Gilliam was still focused on Johnny Depp, so does this mean Gilliam has definitely nabbed him? One can only hope...

A script, a budget, a start-date, and a star who could be Depp? It seemed like this day would NEVER come. It's been a long road that hasn't been blessed with quick solutions like three big-name stars filling in for the man who was lost. But seeing how long it has taken, and how much bad luck there has been, it feels wrong to get excited, to let the anticipation build. I will save my jubilation for three moments: When production begins. When production wraps. And when the film is on the screen and unstoppable.

If you've been arguing with your friends and family about the arrest and detainment of Roman Polanski in Switzerland last week, don't feel bad -- you're not the only one with an opinion. There's a debate brewing in Hollywood over the acclaimed director and his current legal predicament, and everyone has jumped into the fray. Polanski fled from the US after a conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor back in 1978, and with his recent arrest some of the biggest names in Hollywood have been publicly showing support. Recently, filmmakers like Michael Mann, Darren Aronofsky, Terry Gilliam, and Woody Allen (ahem, yes, even Woody Allen) signed a petition demanding the filmmaker's release from a Zurich jail. On the other hand, there is a very real possibility that not everybody is on board the love train, and the problem is that those people aren't talking.

Hollywood is a business, and just like in any other business, reputation can be everything. If you think of Hollywood as the world's biggest high school, then you can see how nobody wants to be excluded from the 'cool table' -- and it doesn't help that the pro-Polanski faction has Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, and the opposition has Sherri Shepherd and 'Nellie Olsen'. In a piece for the LA Times, writer/blogger Melissa Silverstein said, "I think people are afraid to talk in Hollywood. They are afraid about their next job." Sure, that might sound slightly paranoid, but power players like Harvey Weinstein are writing op-eds in support of the director, so maybe she's not completely off the mark.

After the jump: making excuses and Hollywood vs. Middle America...

I love Terry Gilliam. I know that film critics aren't supposed to open a review with such an obvious and subjective opinion, so call the press police. I'm guilty. From his Monty Python work to Time Bandits to Brazil and all points thereafter, Mr. Gilliam has been one of my very favorite storytellers and movie-makin' educators. His silliness and darkness, surreality and sweetness, his sense of adventure of endearing youthfulness ... he's just one of those filmmakers who truly "speak" to me, and I know I'm not alone in my affection for his varied and eclectic works.

Having said that, I now say this: I haven't thought much of the man's last three films. I've tried (and tried) to foster an affection for Fear and Loathing..., but for the most part it just won't take. I struggled through Tideland at the Toronto Film Festival one year and quite simply did not like the film. At all. And The Brothers Grimm felt, to me (of course), like surface-level Gilliam that had much of its soul torn out thanks to too many cooks cooped up in Gilliam's own kitchen.

So there's where I'm at, Gilliam-wise. Oh, except for his new film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, which feels sort of like a favorite uncle just burst through the door, smiling and loaded with nifty presents. (So his last few visits weren't so hot; he's still your favorite uncle.) To this lifelong Gilliam devotee, Imaginarium feels like it was cut from the same imagination cloth that also produced The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and (at least in part) his classic adventure Time Bandits. Only this time out, the filmmaker has the limitless capabilities of CGI to use as a palette -- and if you've seen how imaginative Terry Gilliam can be with "practical" effects, then you'll probably be eye-dazzled by Imaginarium's finest moments.

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?

Cinematical got an early start on Thursday at the San Diego Comic-Con, commensurate with the effort put forth by the studios this year: in just one day, Disney, Fox, Summit, Sony, Overture and Focus all promoted big movies they're releasing between next week and 2011. The 'Con itself made history by offering the first panels in its 40-year existence that made serious and substantial use of 3D presentation, showing eight films at four separate panels, all of which looked terrific, even in the cases of the few that employed the technology as a gimmick rather than a storytelling tool.

But rather than boring you with the minutiae of a day spent making one's butt sore in Hall H, the geek-mecca of Comic-con, we figured we'd just give you a list of the best moments of the day, whether they were reinforced by the rest of the attendees, or simply segments or even seconds that rewarded our dedication, if not our relinquished personal time.

Notwithstanding the general and persistent unprofessionalism of many of the journalists in attendance at this weekend's Los Angeles press junket for Orphan - which is noteworthy, but not worth going into specifics about - a few valuable tidbits of information did actually come out of the interviews (although for details on the film itself, check in later this week from our hopefully more successful New York team). But during an interview with producer Joel Silver, the subject of Zack Snyder's Watchmen came up; and Silver, who was scheduled to produce his own version of the acclaimed graphic novel series in the early 1990s, had a few things to say about Snyder's film, not to mention what his own Watchmen might have looked like.

Discussing his upcoming slate of films, Silver explained that the preponderance of graphic novel adaptations and comic book-themed material was nothing new to his eclectic filmography.

Where has the time gone?

The Independent reports that Monty Python will celebrate their 40th anniversary this October. As part of the festivities, Royal Albert Hall will host a one-night-only performance on the 23rd of Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy). You may have heard of this -- it's Eric Idle and John Du Prez's wildly funny 1-hour oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian. But this one-night-only deal is even more irresistible than usual -- Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam will perform in it. Unfortunately, John Cleese can't make it, which is a damned shame.

Nevertheless, here I thought that I was lucky that Idle's first cousin is Toronto Symphony Conductor Peter Oundjian, which led the world premiere to happen right in the T-Dot.

As Idle describes the oratorio: "It ranges in reference from Handel, through a naughty Mozart duet, to the Festival of Nine Carols, Bob Dylan, and the classic finale 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.'" (How could Dylan and Python possibly come together? You can see Idle's spin after the jump.)

For those of us who won't be there, The Independent reports that a documentary called Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) is on the way, while Variety reports that there will be anniversary events in Hollywood and New York called "An Evening With Without Monty Python."

What's your favorite Monty moment?

While the world mourns the loss of Michael Jackson, Vanity Fair has cooked up a somewhat controversial (and fairly random) look back at Heath Ledger's final days, with quotes from his agent, his vocal coach, director Terry Gilliam and Doctor Parnassus cinematographer Nicola Pecorini. The article, published in part on Vanity Fair's website, is broken into different paragraphs with titles like "How chronic insomnia may have led to his death" and "How his relationship failed." Did the world -- not to mention Ledger's fans, friends and family -- really need all these old wounds dug up and scraped for a little extra attention? Probably not.

Of all the quotes, the most fascinating seem to be the ones which talk about The Dark Knight, and how Ledger's pay-or-play deal allowed him to do whatever he wanted with the role of Joker seeing as he was to still receive a paycheck regardless of whether he remained in the movie. According to Pecorini, Ledger was actually hoping his performance was way too out there and that he'd get fired, allowing him to take a nice, long paid vacation. Ledger's agent, Steven Alexander, sort of backs up the statement with this one about the actor's attitude toward big summer movies, saying he "was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies. He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices."

The article also delves into Ledger's rampant drug use, eventual sobriety and just how rough his break-up with Michelle Williams was. It also links off to a 2000 photo spread featuring the actor in some, um, interesting poses. Definitely an odd piece, and I'm sure some will be critical of Vanity Fair for running it. Check it out over here and let us know what you think.

[via The Playlist]

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.