The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

[Remali]

I'm dying to see this movie!! I think it is being released in the U.S. on January 8th. It had limited release here on Christmas Day.

YouTube- "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" - Official Trailer [HD HQ]

[gabhainn]

Yeah I an really looking forward to this after I heard how they finished shooting the movie.............Kevin

[Remali]

LOL..... I like your avatar Kevin. Too funny, that is one good pony you've got there.

And that was one of the best movie lines ever (underneath your name).... great movie, and Val Kilmer was great in that role!!

[palomino]

'Nothing is permanent, not even death'.

Creepy with Heath Ledger being in the movie.....

[Remali]

Kinda long, but I found this online about the movie, interesting how they went about replacing Heath Ledger....


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imaginarium_of_Doctor_Parnassus

Effect of Ledger's death

Production was disrupted by the death of Heath Ledger in New York City on 22 January 2008. Ledger's involvement had been a "key factor" in the film's financing.[8] Gilliam was presiding over concept art when he received the phone call that told Ledger had died; his initial thought was "The film's over, it's as simple as that."[10] Although production was suspended indefinitely by January 24,[19] according to Christopher Plummer, who plays Doctor Parnassus, Gilliam, determined to "salvage" the film, initially considered using computer-generated imagery to make Heath Ledger's character magically change his appearance, perhaps into another character, in order to keep his final work in the film, and, if the film was made, would dedicate it to Ledger.[20] The imagery would be similar to transformation techniques seen on Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and those employed to Roy Scheider in his posthumous release Iron Cross.

Eventually, actors Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law were cast to replace Heath Ledger in certain scenes, portraying the new idea of transformed versions of Ledger's character travelling through magical realms, thus the footage shot with Ledger would remain in the film as his character's "real-world" appearance. Initially, Tom Cruise expressed interest in being involved as another actor to replace Ledger, but Gilliam turned him down because Cruise had never been a close friend of Ledger[21][22]: "I just wanted to keep this family - it's as simple as that [...] There were people even offering to come and help, they didn't know Heath. It had to be in the family somehow, I don't know why; it was my attitude."[23]

With the role recast, filming resumed in Vancouver in March 2008.[24] Depp was a friend of Gilliam who starred in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the aborted The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and had been compared to Ledger by cinematographer Nicola Pecorini. Law was a friend of Ledger and had been considered for the role of Tony, and Farrell had also been friends with Ledger.[10] Depp's participation in Gilliam's film was the hardest to incorporate into any of the new actors' schedules due to his contractual obligation on Michael Mann's Public Enemies at the time. In the end, Gilliam had access to Depp for but one day and three hours. All the shots including him could be managed to be completed in one take in order to fit into Depp's compressed time frame. Depp, Farrell, and Law opted to redirect their wages for the role to Ledger's young daughter, Matilda, who had been left out of an old version of Ledger's will,[25] and Gilliam altered the part of the credits saying "A Terry Gilliam film" to "A film from Heath Ledger and friends."[10]

Gilliam said in retrospect about the first transition from Ledger to Depp in the film:

"He's extraordinary. That's why I put Johnny in first position [of the three new Tonys], because number one, he was going to be the most difficult to get any time with, and number two, I just thought if it works with the transition to Johnny and if the audience goes for it, they'll follow the next two. And that's exactly how it works. [...] That's what's funny, when Johnny appears so many people think it's Heath! And it's a trick: Johnny's not doing anything. He looks like Johnny. [...]

"[During the initial shoot] Heath was on stage and the Russians are appearing, and he was behaving in a very funny way, he was moving around, and I said, 'Heath, I know what you're doing.' He said, 'What are you talking about?' 'You're doing Johnny Depp, aren't you?' And can you believe, that helps this transition [when Ledger enters the mirror and becomes Depp]. This was not intended!"[23]

Depp said of the experience:

"Maestro Gilliam has made a sublime film. Wonderfully enchanting and beautiful, 'The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus' is a uniquely ingenious, captivating creation; by turns wild, thrilling and hilarious in all its crazed, dilapidated majesty. Pure Gilliam magic! It was an honor to represent Heath. He was the only player out there breathing heavy down the back of every established actors neck with a thundering and ungovernable talent that came up on you quick, hissing rather mischievously with that cheeky grin, "hey... get on out of my way boys, i'm coming through..." and does he ever!!! Heath is a marvel, Christopher Plummer beyond anything he's ever done, Waits as the Devil is a God, Lily Cole and Andrew Garfield, the very foundation, are spectacular, Verne Troyer simply kicks ass and as for my other cohorts, Colin Farrell and Jude Law, they most certainly did Master Ledger very proud, I salute them. Though the circumstances of my involvement are extremely heart-rending and unbelievably sad, I feel privileged to have been asked aboard to stand in on behalf of dear Heath."[1]

Jude Law also commentated, saying:

"I have always loved Terry Gilliam's films. Their heart, their soul, their mind, always inventive, touching, funny and relevant. When I got the call, it was a double tug. I liked Heath very much as a man and admired him as an actor. To help finish his final piece of work was a tribute I felt compelled to make. To help Terry finish his film was an honour paid to a man I adore. I had a great time on the job. Though we were all there in remembrance, Heath's heart pushed us with great lightness to the finish."[2]

[palomino]

That made me tear up- his poor daughter.