The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

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 This article is about an upcoming film. Details are likely to change as the release date approaches and more information becomes available.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Produced by Samuel Hadida
Amy Gilliam
William Vince
Written by Terry Gilliam
Charles McKeown
Starring Christopher Plummer
Heath Ledger
Tom Waits
Lily Cole
Andrew Garfield
Johnny Depp
Jude Law
Colin Farrell
Verne Troyer
Music by Jeff Danna
Mychael Danna
Cinematography Nicola Pecorini
Editing by Mick Audsley
Studio Davis Films
Grosvenor Park
Distributed by Metropolitan Filmexport France
Lionsgate US, UK
Release date(s) United States:
September 24, 2009
United Kingdom:
September 24, 2009
Running time 122 min.
Country United Kingdom
United States
Canada
France
Language English
Budget $30 million

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is an upcoming fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Charles McKeown. The film follows the leader of a travelling theatre troupe who, having made a deal with the Devil, takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations.

Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, and Heath Ledger star in the film, though Ledger's death one-third of the way through filming caused production to be temporarily suspended.[1] Ledger's role was recast with Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell portraying transformations of Ledger's character Tony as he travels through a dream world.

The film's world premiere was during the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, out of competition.[2] The film received a PG-13 rating for "violent images, some sensuality, language and smoking." and will receive a 12A rating in the UK for strong language and some violent scenes.

The UK release for the film was due to release on June 6, 2009 but pushed back to September 24, 2009 due to the successful premiere at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.

Contents

[edit] Plot

In the present day, immortal 1,000-year-old Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) leads a travelling theatre troupe that offers audience members a chance to go beyond reality through a magical mirror in his possession.[3] Members of the troupe include a sleight of hand expert, Anton (Andrew Garfield), and a dwarf, Percy (Verne Troyer); Parnassus had been able to guide the imagination of others through a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits), who now comes to collect on the arrangement,[4] targeting the doctor's daughter (Lily Cole). The troupe, which is joined by a mysterious outsider named Tony (portrayed by Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell),[5] embark through parallel worlds to rescue the girl.[6]

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

Director Terry Gilliam and screenwriter Charles McKeown wrote the script for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,[7] their first collaboration since The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988).[3] Gilliam described the premise as a "fun and humorous story about the consequences of our personal choices in life",[4] and explained his goal for the film: "It's autobiographical. I'm trying to bring a bit of fantasticality to London, an antidote to modern lives. I loved this idea of an ancient traveling show offering the kind of storytelling and wonder that we used to get, to people who are just into shoot-em-up action films."[3] Gilliam and McKeown based the character of Tony on former British prime minister Tony Blair, who "would say the most insane things and probably he'd believe them himself".[8]

The film received a budget of $30 million, considered unusually high for an independent production.[3] Production began in December 2007 in London,[7] at landmarks such as Battersea Power Station, Tower Bridge, and St. Paul's Cathedral.[3] Production for the remainder was planned to be done in Vancouver.[7] Gilliam finished the edit by November 2008, and work began on creating 647 effects shots.[8] According to the official ParnassusFilm Twitter channel[10][11] launched on March 30, 2009, the film's post-production finished on March 31.

[edit] Delaying effect of Ledger's death

Production was disrupted by the death of Heath Ledger in New York City on 22 January 2008. Ledger's involvement had been a "key factor" in the film's financing.[6] Gilliam was presiding over concept art when he received the phonecall that told Ledger had died; his initial thought was "The film's over, it's as simple as that."[8] Although production was suspended indefinitely by January 24,[12] according to Christopher Plummer, who plays Doctor Parnassus, Gilliam, determined to "salvage" the film, initially considered using computer-generated imagery to make Heath Ledger's character magically change his appearance, perhaps into another character, in order to keep his final work in the film, and, if the film was made, would dedicate it to Ledger.[13] The imagery would be similar to transformation techniques seen on Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and those employed to Roy Scheider in his posthumous release Iron Cross.

Actors Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law were cast to replace Heath Ledger, portraying the new idea of transformed versions of Ledger's character traveling through a magical realm. With the role recast, filming resumed in Vancouver in March 2008.[14] Depp was a friend of Gilliam who starred in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the aborted The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and had been compared to Ledger by cinematographer Nicola Pecorini. Law was a friend of Ledger and had been considered for the role of Tony, and Farrell had also been friends with Ledger.[8] Depp, Farrell, and Law opted to redirect their wages for the role to Ledger's young daughter, Matilda, who had been left out of an old version of Ledger's will,[15] and Gilliam altered the part of the credits saying "A Terry Gilliam film" to "A film from Heath Ledger and friends."[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Heath Ledger's final film 'struggling to secure release'". Telegraph.co.uk. 2009-03-02. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/4913936/Heath-Ledgers-final-film-struggling-to-secure-release.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-02. 
  2. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/10895291/year/2009.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-17. 
  3. ^ a b c d e Adam Dawtrey (2007-12-14). "Gilliam Mounts 'Parnassus' in London". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117977723.html?categoryid=19&cs=1. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
  4. ^ a b Stuart Kemp (2007-11-01). "Ledger, Plummer join Gilliam's 'Doctor'". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3iff716996ae2a7e2130a83bd33ce5f37a. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
  5. ^ a b c Campbell, Christopher (2007-10-09). "Details about Terry Gilliam's 'The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus'". Cinematical.com. http://www.cinematical.com/2007/10/09/details-about-terry-gilliams-the-imaginarium-of-dr-parnassus/. Retrieved on 2008-01-24. 
  6. ^ a b c Adam Dawtrey (2008-01-23). "'Parnassus' Team Faces Dilemma". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979492.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved on 2008-01-23. 
  7. ^ a b c d e "Gilliam, Ledger Reteam for Film". Variety. 2007-10-31. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975156.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Dan Jolin (March 2009). "'A Film by Heath Ledger and Friends...'". Empire: pp. 109-113. 
  9. ^ Adam Dawtrey (2008-03-10). "Shooting resumes on 'Parnassus'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982130.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved on 2008-03-14. 
  10. ^ http://twitter.com/ParnassusFilm
  11. ^ [Dreams: 2009 News Blog http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams/tgnews09.htm#Mar
  12. ^ Christine Kilpatrick (2008-01-24). "Production Suspended on Heath Ledger's Latest Movie". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20173511,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-24. 
  13. ^ Natasha Stoynoff (2008-01-28). "Show Will Go On for Heath's Last Movie, Says Costar". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20174404,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  14. ^ Adam Dawtrey (2008-03-10). "Shooting resumes on 'Parnassus'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982130.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved on 2008-03-14. 
  15. ^ Jessica Salter. "Heath Ledger's daughter given wages of stars in Terry Gilliam's Dr. Parnassus". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2578354/Heath-Ledgers-daughter-given-wages-of-stars-in-Terry-Giliams-Dr-Parnassus.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-18. 

[edit] External links

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