Effing-A, Man! Will Gilliam EVER Catch a Break?

Any true movie geek must be aware of the turbulent and trying battle that has been Terry Gilliam’s career. The man has just had the worst of luck, and despite a long-running series of extremely unfortunate events that would have sent most filmmakers running for the hills years ago, this incredible auteur not only endures but almost always prevails (eventually) with a wonderful movie.

So, is it any wonder that his newest film ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasus’ is subject to the same peculiar fate? Not really. Anyone who’s a fan of Gilliam, or his late star Heath Ledger, has got to be aware of the scenario surrounding his role in Gilliam’s movie and how his death has impacted it’s survival. Now, I am NOT sitting here suggesting negative implications regarding Ledger’s passing, but I am stating a fact when I say it nearly shut the movie down. Fortunately, the terrific trio of Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp arrived like the three wise men to save the day and ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasus’ has triumphed. Or, has it?

Given that Ledger will still appear in the movie, because enough of his role was shot to logistically make it work, my mind says… “hey, one last Ledger performance to embrace and remember him by. That combined with it being a Gilliam film and it having the additional box office smack of Law, Farrell and Depp, this movie is going gangbusters!” Too bad my mind is apparently playing naive little tricks on me, because it seems round two of Gilliam’s endless headache (for this movie) with Hollywood has begun.

While artistically and technically speaking, the film was saved, the “art” of deal-making has proven the master and conqueror again. Since the unfortunate passing of Heath Ledger, the sales process of ‘Imaginarium’ has proven more difficult. Naturally, a movie like this will easily pick up a distributor in Europe, but the real success comes here, in the States. The movie has already been picked up in the UK by Mandate International. Originally, several major US buyers were courting the film, but the frenzy has apparently dwindled to a faint and inaudible mumbling within the Hollywood market.

With the struggle fully understood, Gilliam’s movie has it’s biggest battle yet to fight… the mighty Goliath known as marketing. First, there’s the budget/box office ratio. ‘Imaginarium’ allegedly had a $20 million dollar price tag, so distributors have to consider whether the movie will be profitable, especially in this economic climate. Even with the draw of Ledger’s role, is it enough to sell itself? On top of that, Gilliam’s movies recently have become more and more avant garde (Tideland) and less mainstream. This is, of course, a wonderful thing and I love him for that, but it may prove to be another chink in the armor that once favored this much-anticipated movie.

It seems that a deal will happen and soon, from what I gather, but its looking like the deal will be with a “mini-major of larger indie” US distributor. In other words, prepare yourself to see the term limited release attached on some level to the US plans for ‘Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasus’.

[source: RiskyBusinessBlog.com]