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.
L.A. Location Lensing Declines In 2024 Despite Uptick In 4th Quarter
FilmLA, partner film office for the City and County of Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions, has issued an update regarding regional filming activity. Overall production in Greater Los Angeles increased 6.2 percent from October through December 2024 to 5,860 Shoot Days (SD) according to FilmLA’s latest report. Most production types tracked by FilmLA achieved gains in the fourth quarter, except for reality TV, which instead logged its ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline.
The lift across all remaining categories came too late to rescue 2024 from the combined effects of runaway production, industry contraction and slower-than-hoped-for post- strike recovery. With just 23,480 SD filmed on-location in L.A. in 2024, overall annual production finished the year 5.6 percent below the prior year. That made 2024 the second least productive year observed by FilmLA; only 2020, disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, saw lower levels of filming in area communities.
The continuing decline of reality TV production in Los Angeles was among the most disappointing developments of 2024. Down 45.7 percent for the fourth quarter (to 774 SD), the category also finished the year down 45.9 percent (to 3,905 SD), which placed
it 43.1 percent below its five-year category average.
The two brightest spots in FilmLA’s latest report appeared in the feature film and television drama categories. Feature film production increased 82.4 percent in the fourth quarter to 589 SD, a gain analysts attribute to independent film activity. The
California Film & Television Tax Credit Program also played a part, driving 19.2 percent of quarterly category activity. Overall, annual Feature production was up 18.8 percent in 2024, though the... Read More