Welles never made another film after Ambersons

[Lance Morrison]

I have read more than once that Brazil was supposedly influenced by the aesthetic of the Trial, but have never known whether this has any merit. I would really like to think that some great films such as Gilliam's have been inspired by Orson's european works.

[Terry]

Gilliam cited Fellini as an influence. At some point he considered calling the film 1984&1/2.

[Roger Ryan]

You can definitely see the influence of Fellini in BRAZIL and Gilliam threw in the occasional homage to specific classic films (CASABLANCA obviously and BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN), but it's hard to say how much of THE TRIAL made it in there. The most direct connection seems to be in the way that different architecture and landscapes are juxtaposed; the characters move through them with the same fluidity as Joseph K. in Welles' film. There's definitely an overt Kafkaesque tone in BRAZIL, but much of that may have come from co-screenwriter Tom Stoppard in the same way that the Orwellian-like sloganeering came from co-screenwriter Charles McKeown (Gilliam admitted to not having read "1984" prior to making BRAZIL).

I'm sorry to hear that Gilliam's new film, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS, can't seem to get a U.S. distributor, despite having Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Heath Ledger (in his last screen appearance) in the cast. I thought the big names would pull through for Gilliam this time. Typical.

[Terry]

It has a Canadian distributor. I'll drive next door to Ontario and stimulate their economy for an evening.

What? Confirmed distributor for Pakistan? Yoiks, I'd better join the army.

From http://www.riskybusinessblog.com/2009/0 ... movie.html :

With reference to the international distribution of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus mentioned above, the film will be released in the U.K. and Ireland by Lionsgate later this year and has been sold to leading distributors worldwide. Principal teritories include Central and South America, Scandinavia, Mexico and Spain (all Sony), France (Metropolitan/Kinema), Germany (TMG/Concorde), Japan (Showgate), Italy (Movie Max), Australia (Hoyts), Benelux (NCV), China (Golden Harvest), India/Pakistan (Weg), South Africa (Nu Metro), South Korea (Showtime) and C.I.S. (West Film). Canadian distribution is being handled by Seville and US distribution will be confirmed once we have a completed film to screen.

Um, and I don't mind personally if the film goes straight to DVD over here...

[Roger Ryan]

"And as much as buyers might covet the Ledger aspect, the pic still presents a marketing challenge. Gilliam has grown more experimental in recent years, and experts say that retailing 'Parnassus' as a Ledger film risks running a word-of-mouth problem with general audiences unaccustomed to that kind of material."

I can imagine the same thing being said about Rita Hayworth in SHANGHAI or Charleton Heston in EVIL. Welles would say in his memos or script notations to the studio heads that a particular scene or moment in one of his films was meant to have a "strange" or "weird" effect, something to disorient the viewer. I think Welles hoped the studio types would find this kind of talk thrilling, but it probably just caused alarm. Gilliam is in the same boat everytime he talks about how "completely insane" his pictures are. Because he loves upending an audience's expectations and defying convention so much, he can't understand why a general audience (or studio heads for that matter) don't enjoy the ride as well. He has a specialized audience in the same way Welles did, yet strives to be a popular artist the way Welles did.

[Terry]

Gilliam namedrops Welles yet again, this time during his BAFTA Fellowship acceptance speech:

http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/fellow ... 68,BA.html