Just Jared has on-set images from the shoot of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. See Heath Ledger hanging by the neck. It isn't a spoiler - it's the character's introduction in an early scene. But as to why he's doing this... that would be a spoiler.
Want to know why anyways? My age-old script review will tell you. Go into the archives for much, much more on this film.
Terry Gilliam's shooting a new film! It must be Christmas or something...
This was worth coming out of semi-retirement for, surely?
The pics, taken by James Hatts, originated at London SE1.
The pre-production art from Terry Gilliam's Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus on Phil Stubb's site has, without explanation, been changed.
Below are both images, next to one another, for you to compare them. The image of the good Dr. - on the right in each - has changed very much, from a standing figure to him faking levitation on a translucent plinth; there's more of the 'modern backdrop' in the first image and our 'proximity' to the stage has been altered; Anton, walking across the top of the stage, is in a different postion and headed a different way in each; the images are of different proportions or aspect ratios; and... that's about it, I think.
Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus starts filming this December.
Phil Stubbs has updated his The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus preview with the film's official logotype - at least, it is at this stage of pre-production. See it below, and click it to make it bigger.
In a truly genius piece of casting, Terry Gilliam has made Christopher Plummer his Dr. Parnassus. As previously reported, Tom Waits is involved - but as Mr. Nick, the devilish villain of the piece.
Phil Stubbs came good on his promise and has published the image below in his new piece on the film. He's also confirmed the Heath Ledger, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield and Vern Troyer casting as covered here as the weeks and months have gone by.
For many, many more details I'll point you towards my previous script review, which gives a good idea of the characters and plot. No doubt Phil Stubbs will be bringing us more as the film progresses, and I'll be doing my best to find out what I can also, in the many long moons until it is expected to be released in early 2009.
Please send me any information - any information at all - you have about this film.
I've received a couple of e-mails from fellow Terry Gilliam lovers, each containing different, but exciting, information about his next film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
The first included a partial cast list - but a quick check of imdb showed it was already there. As well as Heath Ledger and Tom Waits, who we already knew about, and Lily Cole, that I mentioned last week, there are also roles for Vern Troyer - Mini Me from the Austin Powers films, as well as a waiter in Gilliam's own Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - and Andrew Garfield, who recently graduated from British TV to roles in Boy A, Lions for Lambs and The Other Boleyn Girl. See Garfield at the bottom of this post.
The other e-mail simply told me that the film was now pretty deep into pre-production. Sniffing around, I ended up finding very little on the film - only a brief mention of the film's status by the producer, Samuel Hadida, and a teaser for upcoming news on Phil Stubbs' Gilliam fansite.
Stubbs has promised to feed a link for his piece to AintItCool, so expect to see Parnassus exploding across the web very soon.
And let's hope as hard as we can that being in pre-production actually means production, post-production, release and greatness follow.
It looks like Terry Gilliam is lining up a cast and crew for the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
even while the funding is being chased. I reported a while back that Tom Waits was Gilliam's number one selection for the title role, with Heath Ledger giving the mysterious-romantic lead part. Now, after a bit of chasing and e-mailing, it seems that I can confirm who Gilliam and his producers have attached as the female lead.
It's the model (and since the St. Trinians remake at least, actress) Lily Cole. I don't know if she simply came in and read for Gilliam, or if he saw some footage of her in St. Trinians or if, basically, she's been attached at this stage to attract funding but I'm told that she's been lined up and is getting shipped around as part of the 'package', with Gilliam, the script, Ledger and Waits.
I've no idea what's going on with the money (anybody who does, please drop me a line) but, fingers crossed, things are moving in the right direction and a new Gilliam film is approaching. There's a story about Hugh Grant's involvement in the film that I'm still trying to chase down and when I do find something, anything out, I'll let you know.
In the meantime, here's a couple of Lily Cole pictures so you know who on earth it is they're lining up to kiss on Heath.
The greatest film ever made is screening on BBC2 tomorrow. Watch it.
Below you'll find the LocateTV widget that will tell you, wherever you are in the world, when it will next be on. Providing that screening is within two weeks of when you are looking at this little device. Helpful.
film ick has been made LocateTV's blog of the week. Their first blog of the week in fact. I'm honoured.
But... what's this LocateTV then, you might ask? Well, says I, it's a very useful website. It's currently in private beta, and I was really holding back on writing about it until it was fully public, but being made blog o' the week has kinda forced my hand.
The idea behind LocateTV is suitably simple, to the point and useful in a very specific way. That's just what the internet is good for, I reckon. Examples: I use imdb to see approximated, guesstimated cast and crew lists; I use Wikipedia to see the consensus perspective on facts and figures; I use YouTube to watch old people, the semi-illiterate and pretend teenage girls talk about their lives. I go to a site for what that site does, and for each thing I want, there's usually one site that does it best.
What LocateTV does, and does best, is tell me when films and TV I want to see will next be on TV. It's that simple. Search, for example, Taxi and I'll not only know when Jimmy Fallon is next due to make a fool of himself in front of Queen Latifah, I'll see any upcoming screening times for the sitcom with Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Andy Kauffman and an unexpectedly melancholy theme tune. This is useful for two reasons - the avoidance of the former, and indulgence in the latter. And yes, the original French Taxi film shows up also - alongside it's many sequels.
As soon as the site is open and you get a few goes on it, you'll see exactly how it works. They have some other functions built in already - perhaps most usefully an embeddable piece of code that will keep screening details for a chosen show, movie, star or director (etcetera) fresh on your chosen site or messageboard for all time. There's one coming up, so keep reading for a demo...
There's more to LocateTV - a lot more - but I don't want to make it sound fiddly or fussy. As soon as they launch,
I'll send you over to tinker for yourself. You'll pick it up within seconds and I'm prepared to bet you'll find it very useful.
In the meantime, e-mail me if you'd like a log on for the LocateTV Beta test and I'll pass your details on over to them. Or, if there's just something you'd really like to see on TV, leave a comment below and I'll check it out for you, let you know if and when it's coming up in reply mesage.
I like LocateTV because there's loads of films that haven't had DVD releases and getting a heads up for their TV screenings will be invaluable in catching up on rarities. The embed function also enables me to hit you guys over the head with a bit more Terry Gilliam, so I will. Below, you'll see a live and eternal update on when you can see the next Terry Gilliam film to air. Don't say I never do anything for you.
film ick reader Antonello - who often uses a Watchmen-related handle - sent me the image below, which I thought some of you might get a kick out of. It's a comparison chart putting up the announced cast of Zack Snyder's version of Watchmen with Paul Greengrass and Terry Gilliam's supposed selections. Click on it for the full-size, full-effect version.
There are, I believe, some unfounded assumptions at work on this diagram, or at least allegations that I certainly can't substantiate. All the same, for their respective periods, both Greengrass and Gilliam apparently managed to line up a better list of names than the current cast.
I'm rooting for Snyder, I really am (if only because of the first ten minutes of Dawn of the Dead which I absolutely love) but I think that this film appears to be in trouble - and has been since before it was even officially announced, in fact.
RoundHouse TV have interviewed Terry Gilliam 'first hand' and get some decorating done into the bargain. I felt really bad when the interviewer asked what Brazil is about.
There's an interview over at Aint It Cool in which Neil Gaiman discusses all of the many upcoming movies he's involved in. Interestingly, he reveals that Matthew Vaughan was originally only to produce Stardust, with Terry Gilliam directing. Gilliam turned it down at the time, apparently as he'd recently completed Brothers Grimm and needed a different tone, a completely different world to step into.
Gaiman also mentions me, of all people, though not by name:
My jaw dropped recently when I discovered that a version of the script (for Death) that I had done for budgeting purposes… somebody had gotten a hold of it and was reviewing it online and it was never actually meant to be… because it was originally set in New York and we were looking at it like “How would it work if we moved it to London?” and we needed to budget it for London, so I did an incredibly quick (draft)… you know the kind of draft where you actually fail to notice Crater Park becomes Central Park and goes back a few times.
That kind of thing, but it was really a “OK, let’s just spit on its face and move it to London…” and then someone was reviewing that… it was like “No…” It was to see what kind of numbers we came up with. But I’m really very hopeful. What’s nice, I think, with Death is it sort of seems to be… well everything is moving in the right direction for it and that leaves me happier.
Nows, as I said in the review, the localisation changes were quite superficial, and the actual meat and bones of the script wouldn't have been changed at all, so I know that the pages I read were quite indicative of the film - or at least as currently planned. There could well be another draft, but that would be quite separate of any localisation issues.
I'm also quite sure that the shoot is still planned for London, later this year.
Read the full interview. It really is packed with interesting stuff.
Yesterday was a very busy day for me, culminating in an evening at the theatre, under the spell of Derren Brown. But I'm back now, and I'm determined to catch up. So expect a few Movie Minesweepers today, to say the least.
- There's a neverending graveyard of movie projects that never came together. Premiere have compiled a 20-strong list of the more interesting, including a number of film ick faves that never were: Mark Romanek's A Cold Case, The Onion Movie (no, really), Ridley Scott's Tripoli, Richard Goleszewski's Tortoise vs. Hare, Cameron Crowe's Phil Spector biopic and, perhaps the greatest loss of them all, Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Premiere have managed to scrounge up status reports on some of the films, and it isn't exclusively bad news.
- Michael Davis already has a script written for a Shoot 'Em Up sequel.
- A new adaptation of Hell House could be on the cards. Could Richard Matheson be the next Phillip K. Dick, getting a whole slew of options sold in the next few years?
- Guillermo Del Toro has told his fans on a forum that Danny Elfman is scoring Hellboy 2. He's also promised 30 distinct creatures in the film.
- The redband trailer for The Brothers Solomon requires age verification.
- Ronald Moore has given a video interview that is up at Collider. The big scoop is that he's working on an I, Robot sequel.
- On a very similar note, Billy Ray has told SciFi that he's scripting a Westworld remake.
- Brian Yuzna has been discussing Beneath Still Waters with UGO, also touching on House of Re-Animator as they chatted. Will we ever get to see it...? Yuzna is optimistic.
- Time magazine are explaining Why Pixar Is Better.
- IESB are reporting that Steve Pink is to direct Fletch Won and... wow.... Joshua Jackson is to play the title role. That's incredible.
In case you hadn't noticed, I'm quite the fan of Terry Gilliam (hence the title of this post). There's a new video interview online in which he discusses Tideland with some Spanish folk, and spills the latest on Dr. Parnassus. Apparently, producers are in Hollywood right now, trying to drum up the dollars and within days, Gilliam will know if he has the greenlight.
Gilliam simply calls them 'his producers' - any idea who they might be?
I dare say Heath Ledger's involvement will make this fundraising initiative somewhat easier. Tom Waits, on the other hand...
- Terry Brooks' Shannara books are headed to the big screen, in some form or another.
- Herc at AintItCool is trying to save Veronica Mars. Lend your support.
- The IESB report that D J Caruso is the first choice director for Wolverine, with Len Wiseman in backup. If you don't recall, I reviewed the Wolverine script and had almost nothing good to say about it at all.
- Fred Wolf is to direct the previously mentioned (somewhere on film ick, I'm sure, but I can't find the link) comedy in which Anna Faris plays an ex-Playboy bunny girl. If memory serves this was possibly going to be a TV series at some point...? I like Farris, a lot, but I wish she got better roles.
- The 50th Spoleta Festival is to honour Terry Gilliam, Andy Garcia and Paul Mazursky. At least it will, if it goes ahead...
- A Thundercats origin story has been optioned by Warners, with an eye to making a movie and merchandising the life out of it. The screenwriter, Paul Sopocy, hadn't sold a script before.
- A remake of Dressed to Kill is heading straight to DVD. Does anybody hold out any hope at all?
- Leandro Sanchez' Bitter Grapes is to star Julio Cedillo, Jacob Vargas and Laura Harring. Set on both sides of the US-Mexico border, the film is a family saga.
- Joel Hopkins, director of Jump Tomorrow, is back: this time, Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman are with him for the romantic drama Last Chance Harvey. The script was apparently written with the pair of actors in mind - but will that mean roles to type, or deliberately going against expectation?
- The official site for the Halloween rehash is now online. Like the theme remix?
- Disney are gearing up for a treasure hunt film. Simple concept: adults get together again to hunt for treasure they sought as kids. Could have been a Goonies sequel, and in a way, I suppose, it is. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film has no title yet but they've used the word Golden in quotes in the article title for a reason, I'm sure. Golden Years? Or just plain Golden? We'll know soon enough, I'm sure.
- Aki Kaurismaki, Bent Hamer and Dagur Kari are to collaborate on a feature, each directing a third. Twitch have a few more details.
- IGN are premiering the Shoot 'Em Up trailer. What do you reckon?
- In the midst of a sprawling blog update, Richard Stanley has announced that Imago Mortis is now in production.
- Peter O'Toole is to play Pope Paul III in The Tudors.
- A William M. Gaines biopic is in the offing. I think Joe Dante would be a good choice for director, perhaps John Landis. Joel Eisenberg is writing the script, telling the story of "an anti-establishment group of comic book creators, led by a reluctant Gaines, as they produce their controversial yet hugely popular line of comic books like Tales from the Crypt, which later led Gaines to face Senate subcommittee hearings over accusations of perpetuating juvenile delinquency".
- Allocine have mutliple My Blueberry Nights trailers for you to choose from.
- Walden are to make a comedy about a slacker running for mayor and "unexpectedly" winning the role. The scriptwriters come from Surf's Up, the director from Malcolm in the Middle and Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.
According to a Q&A in today's El Pais, Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is moving ahead... and he's cast Heath Ledger and Tom Waits.
Exciting? I'd say so. With an exploding cherry on top.
Here's the original question and original answer, in the original Spanish, and unaltered:
Q: Creo que Tideland es una de sus mejores películas. Eso sí me dejó el cuerpo algo revuelto y a la vez que con un extraño sentimiento de ternura. Me gustaría saber qué proyecto cinematográfico se encuentra barajando en este momento, gracias.
A: the imaginarium of the doctor parnassus. Con Heath Ledger y Tom Waits.
So, which character would Ledger be playing? I have the script (previously reviewed) and there's a couple of possibilities.
First up, there's Anton, though he's described as only being 18 or 19 years old. Here's his introduction:
PERCY, a dwarf, dressed as a medieval demon and rigged out as a one-man band plays a fanfare introducing a young man (ANTON, 18-19 years old) who emerges from the back of the stage dressed as Mercury/Hermes, the messenger of the gods, with wings on his helmet and sandals.
The other contender is The Hanged Man, a chap without a name who is soon given the moniker George St. George. This is the part I thought Hugh Grant would be up for - but, of course, I can see Hugh making a decent job of it. In his days as a Gilliam rep player Johnny Depp would most likely have been a shoo in.
Of the two, I can most easily imagine Gilliam shifting Anton's age along a little and giving Ledger that part. He's ideal, really, in all other respects.
And Tom Waits, if you hadn't guessed, would be taking the title role of Dr. Parnassus. Here's his introduction, which follows Anton's directly:
ANTON
Ladies and Gentlemen... Step up! Step up!... I, Mercury, the messenger of the gods, invite you... tonight, for one night only... at this very venue... to enter the mind, the very great mind, of Doctor Parnassus!
PERCY does a roll on the drum as a curtain behind ANTON rises to reveal DOCTOR PARNASSUS dressed in sumptuous oriental robes apparently levitating several feet above the stage. (He’s sitting on a glass plinth). DOCTOR PARNASSUS is seemingly in a trance. A bronze tripod containing burning incense stands beside him.
ANTON (CONT’D)
Doctor Parnassus... as old as time... yes, ladies and gentlemen, more than a thousand years old ... he has the power to empower your mind. A secret learned in the mystic East, deep in the heart of a pharaoh’s tomb. That’s right, the Great Pyramid of Egypt, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Let Doctor Parnassus open your imagination. Let him guide and transport you to worlds and possibilities you never dreamt of... If you dare. Because... Beware... there are dangers. You will have to choose. Will your soul fly?... Or will it be dashed on the rocks of darkness? The choice is yours and yours alone. Transcend the heights on Beauty’s wing.
Good stuff, isn't it? The only questions now are where the money is going to come from and when shooting is going to start.
Next July, patrons of La Scala will be blessed to see the first opera directed by Terry Gilliam. Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier is "the tale of a poet guillotined during the French revolution."
Talking to The Guardian, Gilliam said:
They want me for my cinematic eye, but the fact remains that I am a complete amateur when it comes to opera, so we will be leaving out vegetables and fruit for the audience to throw.
I saw all the prettily coloured scenery and said, 'This isn't right, what about the Reign of Terror?' Nobody shows the guillotine. How about a huge sword of Damocles-like guillotine hanging over the stage?
I have never worked in the theatre, but they keep on popping up in my films," said Gilliam. "It's a metaphor, a magical place where imagination blossoms, but is always under attack.
Dante Ferretti is to design the sets, while (further to the info in The Guardian) Gabriella Pescucci is to design the costumes and the performers will include Marcelo Álvarez, Fiorenza Cedolins and Renato Bruson.
There's almost no chance I will ever see this... unless it is filmed for DVD.
Culture Cafe have the exclusive first look at a few pieces of production artwork and a synopsis for Jaco van Dormael's Mr. Nobody. Here's the beginning of their plot outline:
The present day, more or less. Nemo (Jared Leto) is 35, an ordinary man, married to Elise (Sarah Polley). with three children. But life's tuming strange : billboards flash messages addressed only to him; he passes strangers with his face on the streets; behind the façade of a half-constructed building, he sees helicopters lifting enormous blocks of the ocean...
Nemo wakes to find himself trapped in his car, drowning. He wakes and is shot by an unknown assassin. He wakes again... by a swimmmg pool in the grounds of an opulent mansion. With a new wife and new children.
Again the Gilliam comparison presents itself, as well, perhaps, as Phillip K. Dick and Charlie Kaufmann. And Fellini. And, at a push, Vincenzo Natali. And some would say Alex Proyas.
Well... anyway, van Dormael is his own man, and he's very good. In his own right. And, Leto aside, I'm having very few doubts about this one.
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