The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (Terry Gilliam, 2009)

[Forrest Taft]

Johnny Depp to replace Heath Ledger?

[teddyleevin]

Johnny Depp to replace Heath Ledger?

Oh my god. How reliable is this source? Any other news of this. That "'ol switcheroo" idea is a bit lame, but if the movie gets made, I'm happy. Plus Depp is a better actor than Ledger, so I'm happy.

[Cold Bishop]

Johnny Depp to replace Heath Ledger?

Oh my god. How reliable is this source? Any other news of this. That "'ol switcheroo" idea is a bit lame, but if the movie gets made, I'm happy. Plus Depp is a better actor than Ledger, so I'm happy.

Barmy may be prove to be right?

Then again, the source appears to be the Sun.

[teddyleevin]

Barmy may be prove to be right?

Then again, the source appears to be the Sun.

Can we trust an article that discusses the work of "Terry Gilliman"?

[Cold Bishop]

Can we trust an article that discusses the work of "Terry Gilliman"?

Well, the original article spells it right.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

From the New York Times:

Joanne Camacho, an insurance broker on “Imaginarium,” declined to comment Thursday. But Brian Kingman, managing director of Aon/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services, a leading entertainment insurance underwriter, said that only 18 days of filming had been completed on the film, suggesting that about $14 million had been spent, and that Mr. Ledger had been named an “essential element” under the film’s cast-insurance policy.

That means the producers would have the right to abandon the film and recoup their spending on the project before his death. “Producers always try to complete the movie,” Mr. Kingman said. “The question is, can it be? They’ll have to analyze what’s been shot, what additional shots are needed, and can the missing scenes be doubled?”

He speculated that it might cost $10 million to reshoot Mr. Ledger’s scenes with another actor, but said the producers might not want to if they financed the movie based on his box-office appeal. (The film does not yet have a domestic distributor.)

Calls and e-mail messages to William Vince, one of the producers, were not returned. A woman answering calls at the movie’s production office declined to comment, saying, “We don’t know what’s happening; nobody’s told us anything.”

[Antoine Doinel]

Johnny Depp to replace Heath Ledger?

Oh my god. How reliable is this source? Any other news of this. That "'ol switcheroo" idea is a bit lame.

Well at least they are not going with Depp waking up in a bed and going, "Oh! It was all a dream....."

[davebert]

The idea would work if, as I assume they are doing, they reshoot all Ledger scenes with Depp instead, rather than abruptly switching. Depp and Gilliam go way back, and Depp has more box office clout than Ledger, which should make the producers very happy. If this is true - and I hope it is, for the sake of getting this movie done - than it should be a good resolution for everyone but Heath.

[Adam]

Why not a nice switch like the Buñuel film? Of course, that was planned. This is probably being filmed out of sequence.

But if his character was a mysterious figure, he could change appearances, or pull off a mask, or something equally profound or stupid, depending on how you look at it and how it's executed.

[teddyleevin]

At this point, I just want the film to be made. Gilliam can't afford to scrap another film. He needs a few more awesome flicks before he passes away. He only has like three films a decade anyway. Poor guy.

[starmanof51]

At this point, I just want the film to be made. Gilliam can't afford to scrap another film. He needs a few more awesome flicks before he passes away. He only has like three films a decade anyway. Poor guy.

Nobody should be remotely shocked if this turns out to be his last shot.

[teddyleevin]

If I was rich, I would give him all of my money. I don't understand why some philanthropic, rich film fan doesn't just give him money. They got Holy Grail and Time Bandits funded by rich musicians. Gilliam should start a foundation to get him money.

[tavernier]

George Harrison is dead.

[davebert]

Time to lean on Ringo and Paul!

[arsonfilms]

Is it really terrible of me to be briefly surprised by the idea that Paul and Ringo are still alive?

[Antoine Doinel]

Gilliam may end up giving Heath Ledger the Polar Express treatment. From IMDB:

'Imaginarium' May Go Forth Without Ledger

Although it was initially reported following Heath Ledger's death that writer-director Terry Gilliam would abandon his latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which Ledger was making at the time of his death, it now appears that Gilliam may go ahead with the film after all, using computer-generated images of Ledger. In an interview with People magazine, Imaginarium costar Christopher Plummer, remarked, "Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way perhaps of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI." Plummer said that Gilliam plans to dedicate the movie to Ledger.

[davebert]

When I saw that item, I was definitely perturbed. Of all the ways to salvage or downplay Ledger's involvement, CGI doubles or crazy story alterations seem the most intrusive. If this new movie turns out to be a total pile of crap, then we really won't have a solid idea of how great the movie could have been if Ledger stayed undead. I hope a documentary or Greed-style rough cut on a future DVD release clears that up.

[domino harvey]

Real creative individuals turn set backs into new avenues of expression. I don't think Gilliam is a very good director and how he handles this problem will say a lot about his actual skills. I think it's silly for anyone, fan or not, to focus so intently on what the movie would be like with Ledger alive to finish it-- it doesn't matter anymore, what matters is how the film does end up, and Gilliam could very well rise to the challenge.

[Antoine Doinel]

When a lead character dies halfway through production, of course people are going to wonder what would've happened otherwise. It's only natural that people would speculate. However, it is a bit naive to think that if the director chooses to salvage the film it won't be without major alterations or some kind of camera trickery to save the project. I'm sure the producers are pushing Gilliam to figure something out so they can bring HEATH LEDGER'S FINAL FILM to market. That alone will probably bring in more box office than Gilliam has seen in ages.

[Kirkinson]

Gilliam may end up giving Heath Ledger the Polar Express treatment. From IMDB:

'Imaginarium' May Go Forth Without Ledger

Although it was initially reported following Heath Ledger's death that writer-director Terry Gilliam would abandon his latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which Ledger was making at the time of his death, it now appears that Gilliam may go ahead with the film after all, using computer-generated images of Ledger. In an interview with People magazine, Imaginarium costar Christopher Plummer, remarked, "Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way perhaps of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI." Plummer said that Gilliam plans to dedicate the movie to Ledger.

This sounds to me like it's just Christopher Plummer's own speculation translated into "news" by IMDb.

[hot_locket]

What is this "CGI" he speaks of? Movie people and their lingo. . .

[domino harvey]

What is this "CGI" he speaks of? Movie people and their lingo. . .

Christopher's Great Idea

[Fletch F. Fletch]

According to this source, Johnny Depp will not be appearing in Gilliam's new film:

As for reports that Gilliam has approached Johnny Depp to step into Ledger's role, the actor's rep tells PEOPLE: "There have been no official talks, and he is currently working on Public Enemies for Michael Mann for Universal."

[ogygia avenue]

I don't think Gilliam is a very good director

Out of curiosity, do you mean that his films are shite or just that he's not good at problem-solving?

His earlier work (up to and including The Fisher King) is very, very good, but the fact that he's never met histrionics that he doesn't like, has had some very bad luck, and/or has dug huge holes for himself has hampered his directorial work.

[domino harvey]

I don't think his films are good. How he is at problem-solving, we're about to discover