Terry Gilliam should be more successful, but because he is a perfectionist and will not negotiate on his films, he has become somewhat of an outcast in Hollywood. But, the Monty Python alum is also responsible for some of the best movies of all time: BRAZIL, TWELVE MONKEYS, and TIME BANDITS are great movies that have influenced today’s filmmakers.
Vulture recently sat down for an interview with Mr. Gilliam and discussed projects both past and present along with some that never quite turned out. Here are some highlights.
Regarding DON QUIXOTE: There are things happening. In fact, I should know in the next week, one way or another. We’re going digital now. So it’s gonna either be on or off.
On BARON MUNCHAUSEN and JOHN CARTER: It’s very funny, I saw Andrew after the premiere in London of John Carter. And I had to thank him, because on the BBC website they were going on about “the biggest flops of all time” and there was no mention of Munchausen! I’m off the list!
On Andrew Garfield and THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: He’s going to do a good job. But they’re becoming repetitive for me. I’m getting bored with them, frankly. I just want to see something different. What I loved about comic books is that comic books were outsider art, and so they could say and do things that were much more punchy. But that’s not what Marvel is up to at the moment.
On future projects: There’s a script based on a book by Paul Auster called Mr. Vertigo, that’s another one. And you can only make a movie for less than $15 million or more than $150 million these days, and I’ve got an expensive one: It’s based on Good Omens, the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett book, and that’s been languishing for a decade now. And who knows, maybe its time has come.
Gilliam deserves better than THE BROTHERS GRIMM and TIDELAND. He really should have been the one to direct THE RUM DIARY. If only a studio would allow him to make a big budget movie, we may get something on the level of PROMETHEUS. Check out the link below for the full article.
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