Teaser Image for Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

[Rappy Veteran]

This weekend, the first image of what will be Heath Ledger?s last film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, will be posted on the film?s website. Quick Stop Entertainiment has received a fraction of that image from director Terry Gilliam. A rumor was going around earlier this week that this film would be scrapped or re-shot due to the untimely death of Ledger, but that information was found to be false, and Gilliam will be going forward with the project as planned.

Gilliam, the visionary director behind Twelve Monkeys and The Brothers Grimm (also starring Ledger), is known for the vibrant and haunting images in his film. This image is no exception. I love the attention paid to detail on that stage and what appears to be mannequins in the forefront. What confuses me is that this is only a portion of the image that will be put on the website. That?s kind of crazy. Yes, we live in a world of marketing?The Dark Knight brilliantly utilized Comic Con to show us an image of the joker and a teaser that had already been leaked, I remember hearing multiple descriptions of the Cloverfield trailer before it came out?but a teaser or a teaser image? That?s awesome.

So what could the rest of this image be? My guess is that it will contain Dr. Parnassus himself, portrayed by Christopher Plummer. Most would guess that because they didn?t reveal the whole image it probably contains a shot of Heath as well. Will this be a promotional shot or a still from the movie? Lots of questions?

Either way, we?ll know when www.doctorparnassus.com goes live this weekend.

[Guest]

So, they're continuing filming with the footage of Ledger they already have?

[Rappy Veteran]

So, they're continuing filming with the footage of Ledger they already have?

Yeah plus they could hire someone else because of the nature of the film, something about a person changing body.

[MGS4-SS]

I read somewhere that Johnny Depp would continue Ledger's work on this film.

[Rappy Veteran]

I read somewhere that Johnny Depp would continue Ledger's work on this film.

Yeah thats what I heard and he would be a fitting stand in if that happens!

[Lt-DavidW]

Yeah plus they could hire someone else because of the nature of the film, something about a person changing body.

Wow, that's... convenient? :unsure:

[BigDaddy]

Wow, that's... convenient? :unsure:

It's Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. :shifty:

Edited February 9, 2008 by Outsider

[Rappy Veteran]

[Rappy Veteran]

Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell will appear as Heath Ledger's character in unfinished film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the BBC has learned.

A spokeswoman for Law confirmed the three would play the role of Tony in the film "subject to negotiations".

She said she did not know how the role would be restructured.

The Terry Gilliam-directed film was halted when Ledger, 28, died from a drugs overdose in the US shortly after filming scenes for the movie in London.

It is thought that original footage of Ledger will remain while Law, Depp and Farrell will play different incarnations of his character, Tony.

The fantasy film follows a travelling theatre troupe which offers audience members the chance to pass through a magical mirror to alternate dimensions.

'Great actor'

Depp, Law, and Farrell are each expected to "become" Ledger's character in one of these new worlds.

Law's spokeswoman said the actor, who is on holiday, was unavailable for comment.

Ledger died from an accidental overdose of six different types of prescription drugs in his New York apartment.

After filming for the movie had finished in London, the $30m (?15.1m) production then moved to Vancouver, Canada for interior and bluescreen scenes before it was suspended upon news of Ledger's death.

At the time, the film's makers described Ledger as "a great actor, a great friend and a great spirit" and said Gilliam and his producers would be "assessing how best to proceed".

Last weekend, international film stars were among mourners at a memorial service for the Ledger in his home town of Perth.

Speakers at the service, which was followed by a private burial for close family only, included actress Cate Blanchett and film director Neil Armfield.

[Rappy Veteran]

Heath Ledger has helped propel "The Dark Knight" to the top of the boxoffice. His presence might have a less beneficial effect on his next and final film, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."

For U.S. distributors, the quirky Terry Gilliam film -- centering on parallel worlds, a theater troupe and a devil-dealing 1,000-year-old doctor -- presents a conundrum. On the one hand, it's a chance for the history-making opportunity -- not to mention a marketing coup -- of releasing Ledger's last movie.

But it also comes with challenges that lately have followed the stubbornly noncommercial Gilliam. The director has been behind a series of boxoffice flops and hasn't had a hit since "Twelve Monkeys" in 1995. Buyers who might otherwise be willing to shell out for a Ledger film are holding back.

"In this market, unless I have a reason to think a movie like this is going to be a slam dunk I'm not going to take a flyer on it, even with Heath Ledger," one distribution executive said. One specialty exec added few execs at his company had been tracking it.

Those familiar with the project said that when it comes to commercial expectations, "Parnassus" is more of a mini-major play than a studio picture. The film, which has sold in many foreign territories, is being handled by Lionsgate, which has been mentioned as a candidate to pick up the film domestically.

/source/

[Rappy Veteran]

Teaser Trailer

[Crazysah]

Nice. I am looking forward to it!

[Konstanov]

Why do I feel like I am going to have to drop acid to enjoy this movie.

[Rappy Veteran]

Set Photos Released!

The folks over at EcranLarge have debuted a latest set and production photos from Terry Gilliam?s ?The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.?

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present day. It tells the story of Dr Parnassus and his extraordinary ?Imaginarium?, a travelling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Blessed with the extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, Dr Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. Long ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr Nick, in which he won immortality. Many centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his first-born reached its 16th birthday he or she would become the property of Mr Nick. Valentina is now rapidly approaching this ?coming of age? milestone and Dr Parnassus is desperate to protect her from her impending fate. Mr Nick arrives to collect but, always keen to make a bet, renegotiates the wager. Now the winner of Valentina will be determined by whoever seduces the first five souls. Enlisting a series of wild, comical and compelling characters in his journey, Dr Parnassus promises his daughter?s hand in marriage to the man that helps him win. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles - and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all?

The film stars Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.

?The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus? is currently in post-production with a release date sometime in 2009.

[SuperJediMedia]

Interesting movie indeed, Heath Ledger! :(

[Lqv2015]

Going from that last picture, I knew in Ledger's last days he looked like that for a reason. Most people thought the guy lost his mind & gone crazy.

[Rappy Veteran]

Three new stills and one behind the scenes image to promote Terry Gilliam?s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus have appeared on DVD Forum. You?ll be able to marvel over them all below the break.

Parnassus is being described in the same few terms over and over again. It was Heath Ledger?s final film, and after his death, Terry Gilliam turned to Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to complete the picture by stepping in and filling in for Ledger, playing his character in a series of fantasy

sequences. You?ve probably also heard some scaremongering that the film is going to bypass US cinemas but, truthfully, there?s nothing to that rumor at all. Indeed, a buyers screening this week seemed to spark a whole new wave of interest amongst American distributors even ahead of the film?s Cannes premiere. According to Entertainment Weekly, some of these buyers criticized the film?s storyline as being ?rather complex? but that reflects on the buyers more than the film.

In this first picture you?ll see Heath Ledger as Tony. He?s neither the protagonist nor the antagonist of the film but rather the spoils of their conflict. Tony is the story that happens to Dr. Parnassus and not the other way around, as it were.

And here is Lily Cole as Valentina, daughter of the titular doctor and key player in his magical, mysterious troop of traveling showfolk. She becomes, as you might expect, a love interest for Heath Ledger?s Tony.

Below, this is the good Doctor himself. The script describes this make-up and comfy looking attire as that of an ?Indian holy man? and this is how we see him in the opening scenes when he takes his Imaginarium to the streets of London

.

And here is the behind the scenes image with director Terry Gilliam appearing alongside Plummer.

Source

[Rappy Veteran]

The Above in UHQ

[Rappy Veteran]

[Victor Rambo]

Heath Ledger's last movie. :no:

Thanks for the screens rappy

[SuperJediMedia]

WOW, Good looking. Trailer soon, right?

[Cheshire Cat]

I'm looking forward to this and not because of Heath Ledger, but because of Terry Gilliam is a really good writer :yes:

[Rappy Veteran]

[Pretend]

As a lifelong Monty Python and Terry Gilliam fan, I?m obviously super excited to hear what goes down as the Comic-Con 09 panel, ?Terry Gilliam?s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.? From what?s been shown of the film so far it looks like classic Gilliam all the way, and Heath Ledger?s final performance will surely be the topic of many conversations for a long time to come.

And bringing you all that Gilliam goodness pertaining to all this Parnassus is G4tv.com's own Dana Vinson. And if you needed any more incentive to check out the live blog, it also happens to be the 40th anniversary of Comic-Con and Monty Python, so if you feel like being part of Comic-Con history, be sure to tune in.

[Pretend]

This afternoon at Comic-Con, Writer/Director Terry Gilliam introduced his latest creative endeavor: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

Before Gilliam arrived on stage, however, a montage of his work was shown followed by what looked to be behind the scenes interviews destined for DVD special features. He was then quickly presented with the Comic-Con?s own Ink Pot award for achievement in Film arts.

After receiving the award, Gilliam pretended that he was leaving the stage, before quickly re-taking his seat to promote his film.

From Gilliam?s discussion, we learn more about the immortal Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) and how he?s trying to save his daughter (Lily Cole) from the Devil (Tom Waits), after he made a bet with the Devil a thousand years ago. Parnassus heads a mysterious act which allows viewers access to an alternate reality known as ?The Imaginarium.? The act includes Percy (Verne Troyer) the dwarf, Anton (Andrew Garfield) the magician and an outsider named Tony (Heath Ledger). Together, they try to save the girl before it?s too late.

The only other panel attendee and cast member was Verne Troyer, who seemed excited to be present at the Con. Gillian talked about how the role of Percy was created with Verne in mind.

A few scenes from the movie were shown and Gilliam repeatedly called the clips the ?boring bits? promising that the trailer would in no way give away the best parts of the film. He emphasized his belief that if you show all the good parts in the trailer, by the time you see the finished film, you will already have seen the best parts. He argues that this way, you get your moneys worth.

The first scene we were presented with was a short clip showing how Parnassus and the Devil first meet. Tom Waits steals the show as he ascends a snowy mountain to approach the then-mortal monk, Parnassus. The visuals and sound are breath-taking and it left the audience wanting more.

Another scene involved a somewhat disturbing glimpse inside the Imaginarium, where a man is beat up by a woman and then carried into space by a giant jellyfish, before being dropped onto a giant thumb-tack (I wish I was making this up).

Gilliam?s philosophy about moving between the Imaginarium and the real world is that he wanted to quickly get in and get out before the audience gets bored. I would be more worried about the audience getting disturbed.

The dark fantasy themes, however, are nothing new to Gilliam, and can be seen in most of his previous works. Gilliam touched on his source of inspiration: a combination of sleep-deprivation along with a healthy dose of literature, paintings and music. He attributes his dark themes to keeping his work ?honest? saying how although his work may seem strange and abnormal to the audience, it is very ?normal? to him? giant body-snatching jellyfish in space?

As expected, the panel couldn?t escape the extra attention from the topic of Heath Ledgers final performance. Gilliam touched on Heath?s involvement early in his discussion of the film explaining how Heath had specifically asked to play the role of Tony. Once cast, Gilliam was hoping to leverage Heath?s fame to get some much needed financing.

Early into the audience questions, a fan asked Gilliam and Verne to share their experiences while working with Heath. Verne shared his thoughts first, explaining how although he only worked with Heath for a short time, he felt as though they were old friends. Verne continued to say it was an ?honor and a privilege? to work with Heath. An emotional Gilliam added how Heath was ?an exceptional actor and human being.? He ended with sharing how he thought Heath displayed a ?wisdom beyond his years? and a how he had a playful and fearless approach to his work.

After Heath?s death, production was suspended indefinitely, but was continued by casting Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law as Tony?s many magical personas.

When asked what?s next for Gilliam, he revealed that he procured the rights to The Man who Killed Don Quixote and that the film is currently in pre-production. He added that he is on the hunt for actors and financing.

The panel ended with a showing of a specially-prepared Comic-Con teaser trailer, where Gilliam reminded us again, that this is ?again, all boring bits.?

It wasn?t boring for me, it was more weird than anything but that?s not unexpected.

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