Last month, filmmaker Terry Gilliam appeared at the eDIT9 Filmmakers Festival in Frankfurt to receive its prestigious Festival Honors, which he was awarded alongside fellow recipient, visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen. Gilliam started his career as an animator and strip cartoonist; one of his early photographic strips for Harvey Kurtzman’s Help! featured future Monty Python cast-member John Cleese. Gilliam continued his animation work and soon joined Monty Python’s Flying Circus upon its formation. He was the principal artist-animator of the cartoons that frequently linked the show’s sketches together, and defined the group’s visual language in other media.
Gilliam went on to become a motion picture writer and director. He has directed such films as Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys and The Brothers Grimm. He also found his way into the advertising business.
During the eDIT Festival, Gilliam took the time to talk with festival attendees and the press, preceding a special screening of his latest film, Tideland, which opened in limited release in the United States this month. Gilliam penned the screenplay for Tideland, which is based on a book of the same name by Mitch Cullin. The film follows a young girl named Jeliza-Rose whose mother dies from a heroin overdose and whose father then takes her to live on a farmhouse in a remote area. As time goes by, she adapts by talking only with her bodiless doll heads and odd neighbors.
Gilliam said of the movie, “It’s a grim picture of America…A film seen through the eyes of a child.” He sees children as very strong and adaptable, but also worries for them. “I never felt fear for myself,” the helmer admitted. “But I’m frightened for my children.”
Tideland aims to make people pause and think. “[Today] Movies are made to keep everything nice, but I like disturbing people. I like making them question, making them discuss…People are nervous about expressing things. I don’t think that is a healthy situation.”
He also emphasized that he hates censorship, and offered criticism of the United States today. “People are giving up a lot of their civil liberties in this period of fear,” he said.
Joking that he and the United States just went through a divorce, he reported, “I gave up my U.S. citizenship; I’m a Brit now.” He chuckled, adding, “any Americans who want to get out, I can tell you how to do it.”
When asked about advertising, he was brief, noting that he directs commercials, “when I’m depressed between features. I did the 2000 Nike World Cup campaign…There are amazing things being done in commercials. It doesn’t excite me.”
But he would be open to trying his hand at a video game. “If someone asked me to get involved, it might be interesting.”
Currently Gilliam is developing a film titled Good Omens, based on the novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More