BuzzSugar

First Look: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:30:38 -0700

As director Terry Gilliam says in this teaser video, his fantastical movie The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is "full of magic and wonder, the stuff of dreams." Now having caught a few clips from the movie at Comic-Con (and you can check them out after the jump), I think that's even putting it mildly. This is a lush, dark, whimsical and chilling film that I think we'll feel more than just watch.

Most people know this movie as "Heath Ledger's Last Appearance," and after his death, three high-profile actors (Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell) stepped in to complete his role. As for the actual plot, it follows an immortal doctor (played by Christopher Plummer) with a traveling theatrical group and a magical mirror who must give up his daughter (Lily Cole) to the devil (Tom Waits) on her sixteenth birthday. Ledger/Depp/Law/Farrell play a masked supporting character named Tony (after Tony Blair).

In San Diego, Gilliam explained some more about the movie and Ledger's involvement:

I don't think it's ever happened before that a main actor dies, and three A-list actors come in and take over his part. It tells you how much they cared about him. It was unbelievably brave and foolish. There was no time to prepare. We had Johnny for one day, three and a half hours. He just came in and did it. I'd shown them some clips of some of the stuff that Heath had done. I didn't know that it was going to work, but it did.

There's so much luck involved with this movie. . . . Each one of the choices that were forced upon us improved the film. I've been saying Heath co-directed it - he forced me to do all these things differently, to make a better film than I was making.

The movie opens in the UK Oct. 16. The clips are cool to watch, so to check them out, read more.

Buzz News Roundup, 5/15

BuzzSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:30:38 -0700

Coldplay is giving away its live album for free online. - Billboard
Mickey Rourke will star in a remake of British gangster movie Mona Lisa. - Variety
NBC has renewed Last Call With Carson Daly. - Broadcasting and Cable
Terry Gilliam is making another attempt at bringing Don Quixote to the big screen. - The Hollywood Reporter
Kung Fu Panda will become a TV series for Nickelodeon. - ComingSoon
Susan Lucci and The View came up empty in the Daytime Emmy Awards nominations. - Zap2it
Chris Rock's Good Hair documentary will hit theaters this Fall. - The Hollywood Reporter
Comedy Central is developing an animated series with Jamie Foxx and a show called Ugly Americans from Simpsons writer David Stern. - The Futon Critic

Source

Johnny, Jude and Colin Take Over Ledger's Last Role

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:30:00 -0800

This weekend some bittersweet film news hit the wire regarding the last movie Heath Ledger was working on before he tragically died January 22. The film is Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, and rather than ceasing production altogether on the film, three actors will step into Ledger's role as "Tony" in the film: Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

Variety writes that in the fantasy film, "Ledger's character steps into three different dimensions, each transporting him into a new world; worlds which will now be inhabitated by Depp, Law, and Farrell."

Good for these guys for stepping up to the plate and taking on such a challenging and delicate task. I'm curious about this whimsical film and I look forward to seeing what these three can do with the part. I hope they can do justice to Heath's last role.

Source and source

Movies Face Uncertain Future After Heath Ledger's Death

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:38:07 -0800

Heath Ledger's sudden, shocking death yesterday has left several of his current projects up in the air. The biggest among them is this Summer's The Dark Knight, but Ledger was also shooting a film with director Terry Gilliam and was preparing for his directorial debut. Here's some of the latest news:

The Dark Knight is still on track for its July 18 release as of Tuesday. That film's studio, Warner Bros., issued a statement saying: "The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person.” Variety is reporting that the status of the film's marketing campaign is unclear, as it's built around sinister photos and appearances by The Joker.
Production on what was supposed to be Ledger's next film after The Dark Knight, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, was reportedly shut down on Tuesday. The movie had just completed shooting in London and relocated to Vancouver for the next leg of production. It's unclear what will happen to the film now, but Ledger - who was the biggest star in the cast, which also includes Tom Waits and Christopher Plummer - had been considered key to its financing. That film's producers have not issued a statement.
Ledger was also preparing his directorial debut, an adaptation of the novel The Queen's Gambit. According to Variety, Ellen Page had been offered the lead role of a chess prodigy, and Ledger, who was a chess player himself, was going to play a supporting part. His Parnassus director, Terry Gilliam, had said of his talent: "He’s watching everything, and he’s going to be a much better director than I will ever be."