Look! It's The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus

This was worth coming out of semi-retirement for, surely?

The pics, taken by James Hatts, originated at London SE1.

Christopher Plummer Is Dr. Parnassus - And Our First Look At A Design From The Film

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.

The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus Is Go Go Go

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.

Direct Download Link For Wristcutters: A Love Story Trailer

Is suicide painless? Wristcutters: A Love Story offers a rather fanciful answer.

Download the trailer now.

His Master's Voice

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...

The Imaginarium Of Tom Waits - With Heath Ledger In Tow?

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.

Mass Suicide As Marketing

AfterDark are to release the suicide fantasia Wristcutters: A Love Story through Lionsgate this August. Goran Dukic's film is inspired by The Wizard of Oz.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the marketing campaign could be rather controversial: "cardboard cutouts of characters jumping off a bridge, electrocuting and hanging themselves in keeping with the film's suicide theme" will be placed on telegraph poles and trees and spaced out around big cities in the 'major markets'. The more standard internet and college campus advertising will start as early as April.