The runes do not bode well for Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It was set to star Heath Ledger and now, with half the film unfinished, its future is in question. We get wind of this story from our friends at cinematical:
After the shocking death of Heath Ledger yesterday, some fans wondered about The Dark Knight, while others were curious about Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. While the bat-flick wrapped earlier, Variety reports that there was still a lot of work ahead for the Python alum’s next movie: “The $30 million indie pic wrapped the London leg of its shoot last Saturday. The production team has moved to Vancouver, Canada, where blue-screen work was due to start next week and continue until early March.” The project, which also includes the likes of Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, and Tom Waits, focuses on “the story of an ancient traveling show which arrives in modern London with a magical mirror that can transport its audience into fantastical realms of the imagination.”
This sounds like a cool project and I hope they are able to save it. I wonder if they are going to pull a “Game Of Death” and try to complete the movie using stand ins, and/or a CGI likeness. It is hard to say, Gilliam and his camp are no doubt scrambling for answers amidst a period of grieving. Today those involved in the project wear unfortunate shoes indeed.
As sad a time as it is for all, Ledger’s leaving is going to create a fallout for many and we will have to wait and see how Gilliam and Co. deal with this unfortunate turn of events. 30 Million is a massive loss, and to have such a cool story hit the cutting room floor would be a shame.
that hanging pic is so scary..
there’s a guy that looks like heath..joseph gordon levitt
theres a pic of Heath Ledger from this film hanging by a noose that was leaked. Gilliam really is cursed.
see pic at
http://hang.ytmnd.com/
He should do a “Plan Nine from Outer Space” and have someone do the rest of the scenes in a cape covering his face.
Gilliam is having the worst luck. I really love some of his films and want to see what else his twisted mind has inside it. I hope he gets to move forward.
Grundy is right: after the unfortunate events around “La Mancha”, now this terrible twist. And that in a period where he is struggling after some artistic disasters, too (Grimm…).
It doesn’t sound like they were far enough along to be able to do much with this. A shame, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.
Terry Gilliam truly the worlds most unluckiest director.
Its also sad because Ledger was getting ready to make his directorial debut with THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT…possibly with Ellen Page.
If I was Terry Gilliam, I would just stop making the movie and shelf it for a long time, then bring it back with a new up and coming star, finish the movie, and put a dedication to Heath Ledger during the ending credits.