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.

"I was 64-years-old when I made this film, and I think I finally discovered the child within me. It turned out to be ... a little girl." Man, I love Terry Gilliam. The above video is his introduction to the film Tideland, and I found it on a new Cracked list which covers 9 Awesome Directors Who Temporarily Lost Their Mind. Basically, the list is pretty much that: directors who are primarily known for their awesome films, but for some reason slipped in a few random duds that seemingly came from left field. Tideland is Gilliam's dud, according to them, and since I still haven't seen the film, I can't say whether they are right. But I can tell you that I absolutely love this video intro from the director, and it makes me want to see the film even more.

Also on their list are Francis Ford Coppola (Jack), Steven Spielberg (Hook, though he should've been on there for 1941), Spike Lee (She Hate Me), Guy Ritchie (Swept Away), M. Night Shyamalan (Lady in the Water), Sidney Lumet (The Wiz), Ridley Scott (A Good Year) and Clint Eastwood (the years 1996-2002). Some of these films were loved by many, so I could see this list potentially rubbing people the wrong way. What do you think of it? And what other directors surprised you with a random crappy film mixed in with an otherwise spotless record?

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]

Aside from the long-in-the-works adaptation of Good Omens, Neil Gaiman would like all of his works made into movies by Terry Gilliam. He told Empire last week that he would "always give anything to Terry Gilliam, forever." That includes Sandman, which the writer said should be Gilliam's if he wants to do it. Currently, though, Gilliam is shooting an untitled movie about the "band" The Gorillaz, and then he's back to familiar territory with The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, about a travelling theater production, which reunites him with screenwriter Charles McKeown (Brazil; The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) and stars Heath Ledger, Tom Waits, Verne "Mini Me" Troyer and Lily Cole. But according to Gaiman, Gilliam is still trying to make Good Omens, based on the hilariously comic fantasy novel by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Gilliam is having trouble getting financing for the project; Gaiman said he needs about $70 million, if anybody is interested.

It is great to see Gaiman have so much faith in Gilliam. After the barely tolerable (I did enjoy it) The Brothers Grimm and the barely watchable (I hated my first Gilliam film!) Tideland, I'm a bit worried about my longtime favorite filmmaker. But I must agree with Gaiman that Gilliam would likely be a better choice to adapt his works than anyone else in Hollywood. Certainly better than Joel Schumacher. Gaiman told Empire that he wants the person directing Sandman to have the same passion that Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi had with The Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man, respectively. And that Zach Snyder seems to have with Watchmen. Would Gilliam have that passion? Is he a huge Sandman fan? Who knows? I guess Gaiman, who also said he'd rather have no Sandman movie than a bad Sandman movie.

Bites for hump day:

• Stuber/Parent must really, really like/respect Cameron Fay. His first-time feature script, Unnatural Selection, has not only been picked up by the production duo, but he will also be able to direct it. Fay says: "They immediately got behind me and said another director would not serve the script's voice as well." That's quite the vote of confidence! Good work, Mr. Fay. His film is a romantic comedy set in New York about an underachiever who has a fool-proof way to get women to have sex with him -- that is, until he comes across a divorced mom who makes him re-assess things. No cast or production date has been set.
• It's time to add more cast to Mamma Mia. We've been covering the Abba adaptation for a while now, and recently Matt Bradshaw reported that Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep had both signed on to star in the musical. Although Variety had reported that he already signed, The Hollywood Reporter has him in final negotiations. However, they also list another co-star -- Amanda Seyfried. She's probably best known for her portrayal as Veronica's dead friend, Lilly Kane in Veronica Mars, or her time in Mean Girls. In Mamma, she'll play the bride-to-be. If you've never seen the musical, it's about an upcoming bride who wants to know who her father is. Her mother won't say, so she snoops in her mother's diary, finds 3 potential dads, and invites them all to her wedding. And, of course, it's all set to Abba music.
• There is more going on with the Tideland DVD drama. After mass complaints and posts about the fudging of the aspect ratio from 2.35:1 to 1.78:1, Terry Gilliam has spoken up. Film Ick has two statements from him, via Phil Stubbs. The first -- he shrunk the film from the 2.35 to 2.25 to make it look better on a smaller screen. Once he heard about the smaller version: "I think we have to get the word out NOT TO BUY the American version of the DVD." THINKFilm, meanwhile, says the shrunken version is all they had, and they hope to put out a proper one when it is available. Is this a dumb mix-up, or perhaps a chance to get people to buy two versions?

In 2005, I was fortunate enough to see a crew screening of Tideland, mere hours before it went to its TIFF premiere. Terry Gilliam said a few words, and people were laughing and clapping. As time goes on, I wonder how each react to the myriad of struggles the film has had. In the words of Rod Stewart: "Some guys have all the luck." As for the others, like Terry Gilliam and his latest flick, they just don't. It struggled to find distribution, Jodelle Ferland lost her Genie to Julie LeBreton and now reports say that the film wasn't even released how it was shot.

FilmIck and other sites are starting to buzz about the aspect ratio of the just-released DVD. Reports state that the aspect ratio for the Region 1 DVDs (North America) have been sliced from the original 2.35:1 to 1.85:1. For those that aren't familiar with ratios, 1.85:1 is about the standard widescreen TV size (1.78:1), where 2.35:1 is the usual giant-screen scope. So, if FilmIck is right that it was sliced, it seems like a waste of time to me. Tideland isn't a blockbuster hit, and I think it would be safe to say that the people who are going to buy it will want to see all of it, as it was filmed -- even if that means bigger black bars on their screens. If the film has one thing going for it, it's the visuals. As our Jeffrey M. Anderson described it: "Tideland is a gorgeous film, a complete and total Gilliam experience from beginning to end. It's full of his particular roving, deep-focus shots, like a fish-eye lens with wings." So, why mess with it? If any of you have further information about this, please comment below!

Quebec definitely seems to be the prolific cup from which the Canadian Genie Awards grabs its nominees. Last year, Jean-Marc Vallee's C.R.A.Z.Y. rightfully dominated the awards, scoring 10 of their 12 nominations. This year, the French province is still reigning over the awards, vastly overshadowing any English offerings. If more people actually paid attention to these awards, people might just think that the French are the only ones to make films up here.

Acting as the lone English entry for best picture stands the Trailer Park Boys: The Movie, which is not a surprise nomination considering its success, but it is almost sure to be beaten by one of the French selections which range from the hugely popular, Colm Feore-starring Bon Cop, Bad Cop to Roger Frappier's Guide de la Petite Vengeance, and the hockey biopic -- Maurice Richard/The Rocket. However, there are three English films fighting for many of the remaining spots -- getting a lot more Canadian love than they did from the world-at-large. The actresses of Snow Cake have trumped the acting nominations with three, but I am holding out for newcomer Jodelle Ferland, from Terry Gilliam's quirky Tideland, to dance her way to a Genie win as best actress. The third of the stronger English-language-nomination-grabbers is Beowulf & Grendel, a visually stunning film that is already being overshadowed by Robert Zemeckis' adaptation.

The ACTRA strike, which is now a few days in, shouldn't affect the distribution of the awards, or so Paul Gratton, the Genies' chairman claims. However, there's a good chance it will affect next year's possible nominees if an agreement isn't reached soon.

For a full list of nominees, visit The Hollywood Reporter's article.

But will it be animated? That is what I'm wondering regarding the possibility of a feature film based on the virtual band The Gorillaz. Created by Blur front man Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, The Gorillaz is made up of cartoon characters, which will appear in their own movie according to something Albarn hinted at in Uncut magazine. And not only did he mention the movie, he claimed that Terry Gilliam was involved. Whether this means that Gilliam will be directing is unclear, but considering the Tideland director's origins in animation, he might be perfectly suited for the task.

Or will it be live-action? Though a live-action film could be more costly and more time-consuming (in which case it wouldn't be what Film Ick thinks is Gilliam's "I can do it in six weeks, just knock it out," project he's been talking about), it wouldn't be the first of Hewlett's cartoons to be fleshed out. The 1995 film Tank Girl was based on his and Alan Martin's comics. Still, I'm not sure many investors would be interested in gambling with this production -- though I would love to see Del tha Funkee Homosapien follow in Ice-T's footsteps and appear in some ridiculous makeup.

Considering Albarn also stated that the "band" is no longer making pop music, there's another question as to what direction the film will go in, if not musical. Hopefully somebody will come forward with some answers to all these questions of mine very soon. I can't wait to hear about more specific details.

More on Gilliam's future projects:

Terry Gilliam is Hoping for Good Omens

Terry Gilliam to Direct Potter?

Gilliam Does Dick

Is Terry Gilliam Going Back to His Don Quixote Movie?

[via JoBlo.com]

Is there any filmmaker today who identifies more closely with Orson Welles than Terry Gilliam? I'm not talking about content so much, although both men have an unfinished Don Quixote on their resumes. Welles was, for the most part, concerned with old age, or at least bitter experience, while Gilliam's chief preoccupation consists of childish things and fairy tales. But when it comes to the business end of movies, they are remarkably similar. Both men possess a singular artistic vision and a particular way of seeing things, regardless of current trends. Both are capable of masterworks, and both have achieved them in one form or another, despite the callous meddling of the studios and the supreme ignorance of the critics and the public. In both cases, these filmmakers have turned out works that could have been so much more.

Consider Gilliam's previous film, The Brothers Grimm (2005). It has Gilliam's touch all over it, but it reeks of studio re-writes, test audiences, and willy-nilly, third party cutting. Though the two films can't really compare, Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) went through much the same process over sixty years earlier. But even when these filmmakers release a film that they more or less controlled, such as Gilliam's Brazil (1985) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) or Welles' The Trial (1962) and F for Fake (1973), no one is ever quite ready for them.

Are you like some insane Terry Gilliam fan who's studied his films, read his scripts and followed his life, yet never had a chance to meet the man in person? Dying to get that DVD of Monty Python and the Holy Grail signed? Or how about The Fisher King? Brazil? Twelve Monkeys? Or, for you folks who like to live on the edge, how about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

Well, for those of you who have some time to kill and are in New York City today, Gilliam will be bumbling throughout the streets of the city handing out fliers for his new film Tideland. Sure, he could've hired a few dorky college interns to do the job for him, but this dude wants to get out amongst the people and promote the flick himself. I love it! While we're not exactly sure where he'll be, AICN tells us he'll supposedly be lingering outside 733 11th Avenue at around 4:45PM. This is the same building where they tape The Daily Show, though Gilliam will not be appearing as a guest today. So why is he going there? Hell if I know.

If you decide to show up, feel free to drop us a comment and let us know what the scene was like.