Here it is, the trailer for Heath Ledger’s last film role. He passed away during a hiatus in production, but after having filmed all the real world elements of the film. His character frequently ventures into alternate worlds, which allowed the film to be completed in a way that Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law could portray Ledger’s character in those other worlds with only minimal rewriting. The actors also arranged it so that their salaries went to Ledger’s daughter. Word is the film will also not include a credit saying “a Terry Gilliam film” but rather “a film from Heath Ledger and friends.” Gilliam had previously worked with Ledger on The Brothers Grimm and looked to be becoming one of the director’s go-to leads. Along with the aforementioned actors, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Verne Troyer and Lily Cole also star. Gilliam co-wrote the script with Charles McKeown.
Check out the trailer at Yahoo.
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, Doctor Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. An inveterate gambler, thousands of years ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick, in which he won immortality. 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 daughter reached her 16th birthday, she would become the property of Mr Nick.
Given the excellent cast and Gilliam’s filmography, I’m pretty excited to see this. It looks weird, fun and visually interesting, aside from some lackluster CGI here and there. Technical limitations have never hurt Gilliam’s films before though.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus doesn’t have a release date yet in the United States, but begins its European rollout in October.
