March 11, 2008

Terry Gilliam's Parnassus Resumes Production

When Heath Ledger passed away it left many question marks concerning the projects he was working on. Of course, they were secondary to tragedy, as they should, but they still remained. The first on everyone's lips was the status of The Dark Knight, set to open this June. The worries were unfounded, as the film had wrapped shooting and Ledger's part was completed. Next to that there was the much more in question shooting of Terry Gilliam's latest project, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. The questions can now be lifted as Variety is reporting that the film has resumed shooting.

The film is a fantasy, and it is that fantasy which has allowed the project to continue. Now, this has already been widely reported, but for those of you who have missed it, allow me to recap. In the film, Ledger's character passes through magical mirrors into a fantasy world at three poitns through the film. All of the "real" world footage has been shot and will be used, they will not be altered. However, to do the fantasy segments, some clever re-writing was done to have the character's physical appearance change, allowing other actors to perform those parts. The three actors that have signed on to play the parts are none other than Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell. Not a bad trio to have fill in, if you ask me. Yes, I know you didn't.

Regarding the trio's involvement, Terry Gilliam is quoted as saying: “I am grateful to Johnny, Colin and Jude for coming onboard, and to everyone else who has made it possible for us to finish the film.”

I am very happy for this news, as while I do not know much of the story, a Terry Gilliam film is always welcome, even the bad ones are worthwhile. This was the second time Gilliam has collaborated with Ledge, they previously worked on The Brothers Grimm, which say Ledger co-star with Matt Damon.

There is no word on the complete schedule or when we can expect The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus to appear on the big screen, but it is coming!

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