Terry Gilliam's unrealized projects

During his long career, American-born British film director Terry Gilliam has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these productions fell in development hell or were cancelled. The following is a list of projects in roughly chronological order.

Gilliam in 2019

1970s

Theseus and the Minotaur

Right after he finished Jabberwocky (1977), Gilliam’s next film project was going to be Theseus and the Minotaur, based on Greek mythology. The film was shelved when Gilliam chose to make Time Bandits (1981) instead.[1]

1980s

Enemy Mine

Gilliam turned down the offer to direct Enemy Mine (1985).[2][3]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Gilliam also turned down the offer to direct Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).[4] According to Gilliam, "I passed on that one, but that didn’t matter because it was just at a stage when it was still just the book and I didn’t want to get into animation. I just read the book and said, ‘This is too much work.’ Pure laziness on my part."[4] The film wound up being directed by Robert Zemeckis.[5]

Watchmen

In 1989, Gilliam and film producer Joel Silver unsuccessfully attempted to make a film adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen.[6] Gilliam was reportedly Moore's first choice to direct the film.[7] Gilliam tried to make the film again in 1996 but was unsuccessful.[8]

1990s

A Scanner Darkly

In the early 1990s, Gilliam attempted to make a film adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly.[9][10]

Alien sequel

Gilliam confirmed in 2018 that he turned down an offer to direct one of the sequels to Alien (1979).[11] It is presumed he turned down Alien 3 (1992) even though Gilliam did not specify which of the sequels he was referring to.[12]

The Defective Detective

In 1992, it was reported that Gilliam was going to make The Defective Detective next after The Fisher King (1991), only to abandon it in favor of making a Don Quixote film.[13] Then, Gilliam worked on The Defective Detective again to only to reject it in favor of directing 12 Monkeys (1995) instead.[14][15] Then, the Los Angeles Times reported in 1996 that Gilliam was working on The Defective Detective script with Richard LaGravenese.[16] According to the L.A. Times, the story was "about a middle-aged New York cop who’s having a nervous breakdown and ends up in a fantasy world."[16] The film was to have been produced by Scott Rudin and Margie Simkin and be distributed by Paramount Pictures.[17] Nicolas Cage was to star in the film.[9][18] In addition to Cage, Bruce Willis, Cameron Diaz and Nick Nolte were attached to the project.[19] Danny DeVito was also attached to the project.[20][21] Gilliam claims that Sean Connery was also involved.[22] In February 1997, Paramount put the film in turnaround.[23]

In June 2015, Gilliam hinted that The Defective Detective could possibly be made as a miniseries from Amazon Prime Video.[24][25] Variety reported in November that same year that Gilliam and LaGravenese regained the rights to the script from Paramount and "reworked it as a six-hour miniseries."[26]

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

It was reported in 1993 that Gilliam was going to direct a film adaptation of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court for Warner Bros. and producer Jerry Weintraub, with the script written by Robert Mark Kamen.[27] The film got cancelled when financing fell through.[16]

Forrest Gump

Gilliam turned down the offer to direct Forrest Gump (1994).[28][29]

A Tale of Two Cities

In 1994, Gilliam attempted to make a film adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities with Mel Gibson starring.[30][31][32][33] However, Gibson dropped out of the project in favor of directing and starring in Braveheart (1995).[9][16] After Gibson left the project, Gilliam replaced him with Liam Neeson and attempted to make the film via half the initial budget to no avail.[1] Madeleine Stowe was also attached to the project.[34] The film was ultimately shelved due to budget and casting reasons.[34][35][36] Gilliam then made 12 Monkeys (1995) instead.[16][37] When asked in 2009 if he still expressed interest in making the film, Gilliam replied, "Nah. That’s dead. That’s over."[38]

Braveheart

Gilliam turned down the offer to direct Braveheart (1995).[39]

Son of Strangelove

In 1995, Stanley Kubrick hired Terry Southern to write the script that would have been the sequel to Kubrick's 1964 film Dr. Strangelove.[40] The film was to have been titled Son of Stranglove and Kubrick wanted Gilliam to direct it.[41] The script was never completed.[42] Gilliam said in 2013, "I was told after Kubrick died—by someone who had been dealing with him—that he had been interested in trying to do another ‘Strangelove’ with me directing. I never knew about that until after he died but I would have loved to."[43][44]

Time Bandits II

In 1996, Gilliam and Charles McKeown wrote two drafts of an unproduced script titled Time Bandits II, which would have been the sequel to Time Bandits (1981).[45] Gilliam was to have produced the sequel and not direct it.[16] In 2001, Gilliam and McKeown attempted to make Time Bandits II as a television miniseries for the Hallmark Channel.[1][46][47]

The Truman Show

Gilliam was among the list of filmmakers considered to direct The Truman Show (1998) before Peter Weir assumed the position.[48]

2000s

Harry Potter

Gilliam was reportedly J.K. Rowling's first choice to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), the first film of the Harry Potter movies.[7][49][50][51] In a 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gilliam stated, "J.K. Rowling and the producer wanted me. Then wiser people — studio heads — prevailed. I was the clear choice. At one point they approached Alan Parker and he said, ‘Why are you talking to me? Gilliam is the guy who should be doing this!’ But I knew I was never going to get the job."[52] Gilliam was ultimately rejected by Warner Bros.[35][36][53] Instead, the studio replaced Gilliam with Chris Columbus.[2][54][55] Gilliam reportedly criticized the studio's decision of picking Columbus over him and stated, "I was the perfect guy to do Harry Potter. I remember leaving the meeting, getting in my car, and driving for about two hours along Mulholland Drive just so angry. I mean, Chris Columbus' versions are terrible. Just dull. Pedestrian."[56][57][58]

Gilliam turned down the offer to direct Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), the sixth film of the series.[59] When asked if he was interested in directing any of the Harry Potter movies, Gilliam replied, "Warner Bros. had their chance the first time around, and they blew it. It's a factory job, that's what it is, and I know the way it's done. I've had too many friends work on those movies. I know the way it works, and that's not the way I work."[60] In 2011, Gilliam expressed his regret entering into talks to direct the first Harry Potter film.[61]

Good Omens

In 2002, Gilliam attempted to direct a film adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens.[62][63][64][65] Johnny Depp and Robin Williams were to have appeared in the film as the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale respectively.[66][67][68][69] The film never came to fruition.[70][71][72] According to Gilliam, the film was cancelled due to the then-occurring aftermath of the September 11 attacks.[73]

The Sandman

In 2007, Neil Gaiman expressed interest in having Gilliam direct a film adaptation of The Sandman.[74]

The World Jones Made

In 2009, it was announced that Gilliam was going to adapt Philip K. Dick’s The World Jones Made into a feature film.[75]

2010s

1884

In 2010, it was reported that Gilliam was to serve as a creative adviser for an unmade animated film titled 1884.[76][77][78] The film has been described as a steampunk parody of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.[32] The film was to have used CGI and live action puppets.[79][80] Gilliam was to produce the film and Tim Ollive was to direct it.[81] The film never came to fruition.[1]

References
  1. Rossen, Jake (26 August 2015). "7 Movies Terry Gilliam Just Can't Seem to Make". Mental Floss. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  2. Embury, Sabra (14 December 2015). "Terry Gilliam Talks 'Gilliamesque,' the Surrealist Director's 'Pre-Posthumous Memoir'". Vice. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  3. Mathews, Jack (3 January 1986). "DIRECTOR GILLIAM SPINS TALES WITHOUT STRINGS". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  4. Lyttleton, Oliver (14 March 2013). "5 Things You Might Not Know About 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'". IndieWire. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  5. Freer, Ian (3 February 2006). "Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Review". Empire (film magazine). Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  6. Jensen, Jeff (21 October 2005). "Watchmen: An Oral History". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  7. O'Hehir, Andrew (20 September 2014). "Terry Gilliam: Hollywood is just "gray, frightened people" holding on for dear life". Salon (website). Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  8. Bailey, Jason (4 March 2014). "Let's Unpack Zack Snyder's Ugly, Mean-Spirited Terry Gilliam Slam". Flavorwire. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  9. "Everything That Can Go Wrong: A Brief Look at Terry Gilliam's Productions". Film School Rejects. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  10. Hughes, Kat (12 May 2017). "10 Things You Never Knew About 'A Scanner Darkly'". The Hollywood News. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  11. Fagerholm, Matt (5 July 2018). "KVIFF 2018: TERRY GILLIAM DREAMS THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  12. Scott, Ryan (9 July 2018). "Terry Gilliam Trashes Alien Franchise, Said No to Directing Sequel". MovieWeb. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  13. "BALDWIN IN LINE FOR 'INDECENT PROPOSAL'". Orlando Sentinel. 17 April 1992. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  14. Guthmann, Edward (8 January 1996). "'Monkeys' Evolved From the Peoples / Berkeley couple scripted hit movie". San Francisco Gate. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  15. Michael, Dennis (15 April 1996). "The Hollywood Minute". CNN. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  16. Mathews, Jack (7 January 1996). "UNIVERSAL SOLDIER : Terry Gilliam Gets 1 Monkey Off His Back". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  17. "Nicolas Cage May Star in 'Defective Detective'". Tulsa World. 26 November 1996. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  18. "DIRECTOR'S CUT OF 'FLAMINGOS' CELEBRATES 25TH". Hartford Courant. 1 December 1996. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  19. "Bruce Willis, Terry Gilliam and THE DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE'". Ain't It Cool News. 18 December 1999. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  20. Sokol, Tony (8 November 2016). "Time Bandits TV Series And Don Quixote Movie Coming From Terry Gilliam, Really". Den of Geek. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  21. Bell, Christopher (17 May 2011). "Will Terry Gilliam's 'The Defective Detective' Finally Hit The Big Screen?". IndieWire. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  22. Welk, Brian (10 April 2019). "Terry Gilliam's Epically Troubled 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote:' A Brief History". TheWrap. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  23. Busch, Anita M. (22 April 1997). "Helmer Gilliam readies 'Defective,' 'Loathing'". Variety. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  24. Towers, Andrea (11 June 2015). "Terry Gilliam to finally make his Don Quixote movie as part of Amazon deal". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  25. Cabin, Chris (10 June 2015). "Terry Gilliam's Amazon Deal Includes DON QUIXOTE, Possibly DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE Mini-Series". Collider (website). Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  26. Barraclough, Leo (18 November 2015). "Post-'Monty Python,' Terry Gilliam Keeps Delivering Something Completely Different". Variety. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  27. "STREISAND IS SET TO WORK ON 2 PROJECTS IN '93". Orlando Sentinel. 29 January 1993. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  28. Sherlock, Ben (10 October 2019). "Like A Box Of Chocolates: 10 Wild Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Forrest Gump". Screen Rant. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  29. Nilles, Billy (6 July 2019). "A Low-Balled Author, a Star With No Salary and a "Successful Failure" at the Box Office: 25 Forrest Gump Facts". E! News. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  30. Semley, John (13 August 2012). "Christoph Waltz joins cast of Terry Gilliam's new movie, which is actually happening (for now)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  31. Gavron, Assaf (23 February 2006). "Terry Gilliam's Flying Circus". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  32. Brady, Tara (14 March 2014). "Terry Gilliam: "The poetry of cinema has been replaced by the Dan Brown prose of cinema"". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  33. Plume, Kenneth (17 November 2000). "Interview with Terry Gilliam (Part 3 of 4)". IGN. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  34. Fleming, Michael (17 August 1998). "WB, Gibson dicker on Dickens pic". Variety. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  35. Bay Area News Group (5 January 2010). "'Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' director Terry Gilliam talks about his curious career". East Bay Times. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  36. "Parnassus' director Terry Gilliam fights to keep 'freak show' real". Deseret News. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  37. Blair, Andrew (27 March 2012). "Looking back at Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys". Den of Geek. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  38. Goldberg, Matt (18 December 2009). "Terry Gilliam Talks about His "Beleaguered" Past, Updates His IMDb Page, and His Thoughts on WATCHMEN". Collider (website). Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  39. Reynolds, Simon (24 May 2015). "Mel Gibson pranks, historical blunders and Jason Patric: 20 facts about Braveheart". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  40. Enk, Bryan (29 January 2014). "Dr. Strangelove Trivia". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  41. Jagernauth, Kevin (17 October 2013). "Stanley Kubrick Had Plans For A 'Dr. Strangelove' Trilogy". IndieWire. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  42. Brown, Todd (12 October 2013). "Stanley Kubrick Wanted Terry Gilliam To Direct SON OF STRANGELOVE". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  43. Taylor, Drew (16 October 2013). "Terry Gilliam Says Stanley Kubrick Wanted Him To Make A Sequel To 'Dr. Strangelove'". IndieWire. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  44. Bailey, Jason (29 January 2014). "10 Things You Didn't Know About 'Dr. Strangelove'". Flavorwire. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  45. "Reno checks in with the 1997 draft of TIME BANDITS 2... seriously". Ain't It Cool News. 23 January 2001. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  46. Cormier, Roger (9 November 2015). "15 Fun Facts About Time Bandits". Mental Floss. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  47. Hermanns, Grant (11 March 2019). "Taika Waititi Heading To Apple For Time Bandits Series". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  48. Charisma, James (4 June 2018). "How The Truman Show Predicted the Future". Vulture.com. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  49. McCasland, Kevin (14 July 2018). "20 Crazy Details Behind The Making Of The First Harry Potter Movie". Screen Rant. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  50. Lyttleton, Oliver (15 December 2011). "Marrakech Film Festival '11: Terry Gilliam Talks 3D, 'Harry Potter,' 'Watchmen' & The Inoffensiveness Of Modern Comedy". IndieWire. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  51. Chase, Stephanie (7 February 2014). "Could Terry Gilliam Have Directed Harry Potter?". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  52. Franich, Darren (6 May 2013). "Terry Gilliam talks 'Twelve Monkeys,' 'Brazil,' and 'Harry Potter' at the CapeTown Film Fest". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  53. Walker, Tim (3 October 2009). "Cursed genius: Terry Gilliam". The Independent. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  54. Jackson, Matthew (15 December 2012). "TERRY GILLIAM TRASHES TRANSFORMERS: 'WHAT'S THE POINT?'". SyfyWire. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  55. Kent, Camden (31 October 2015). "Cinema Spotlight: The Career of Terry Gilliam". KRUI-FM. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  56. Brew, Simon (23 February 2009). "8 directors who never got the Harry Potter gig". Den of Geek. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  57. Vincent, Alice (24 December 2016). "13 things you didn't know about Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  58. Kirby, Ben (7 March 2014). "The A-Z Of Terry Gilliam". Empire (film magazine). Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  59. Schedeen, Jesse (17 July 2019). "11 Things You Never Knew About 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'". Moviefone. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  60. Carroll, Larry (13 October 2006). "TERRY GILLIAM ON DEPP, 'POTTER' AND THE FILM HE PANHANDLED TO PROMOTE". MTV News. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  61. "Terry Gilliam's Harry Potter Regrets". Contactmusic.com. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  62. Trussell, Jacob (8 October 2018). "'Good Omens' Trailer: The Apocalyptic Buddy Comedy We've Been Waiting For". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  63. Fitzpatrick, Kevin (17 April 2016). "Neil Gaiman's 'Good Omens' Novel Finally Getting TV Adaptation". ScreenCrush. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  64. White, Cameron (20 January 2017). "'Good Omens': Neil Gaiman And Terry Pratchett Novel To Become Amazon Miniseries". Inquisitr. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  65. Coggan, Devan (31 May 2019). "Neil Gaiman breaks down Good Omens and its long, strange trip to the screen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  66. Menta, Anna (10 April 2018). "DAVID TENNANT WAS 'UNPREPARED' FOR THE 'GOOD OMENS' TV SHOW FANBASE". Newsweek. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  67. Barber, Nicholas (8 May 2018). "Terry Gilliam's Quixote: This 'cursed' film is finally here". BBC. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  68. Jeffery, Morgan (31 May 2019). "Neil Gaiman reveals why it's taken 30 years to bring Good Omens to the screen". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  69. Jackson, Matthew (3 February 2014). "TERRY GILLIAM'S STILL FIGHTING TO ADAPT GOOD OMENS (BUT MAYBE NOT AS A FILM)". SyfyWire. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  70. "Good Omens: How Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wrote a book". BBC News. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  71. Wilson, Benji (30 May 2019). "'Good Omens': Tennant, Sheen and Hamm dish on the demonic pleasures of apocalyptic tale". USA Today. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  72. Zemler, Emily (5 June 2019). "Nothing but 'Good Omens' as Neil Gaiman's series finally hits TV". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  73. Pahle, Rebecca (5 February 2019). "10 Nice and Accurate Facts About Good Omens". Mental Floss. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  74. "Neil Gaiman Wants Terry Gilliam to Direct Sandman". MovieWeb. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  75. Howell, John (August 10, 2009). "Terry Gilliam to adapt Philip K. Dick's The World Jones Made". SFFMedia. Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  76. Hopewell, John; Keslassy, Elsa (16 December 2010). "Gilliam to godfather '1884'". Variety. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  77. Williams, Owen (21 December 2010). "Gilliam Heads Back To 1884". Empire (film magazine). Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  78. Cooper, Sarah (17 March 2011). "Terry Gilliam". Screen Daily. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  79. Jagernauth, Kevin (21 December 2010). "Terry Gilliam To Godfather Retro, Sci-Fi Fantasy '1884'". IndieWire. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  80. Schaefer, Sandy (21 December 2010). "Terry Gilliam Working On Animated Film Titled '1884'". Screen Rant. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  81. "Tim Ollive to Direct 1884". MovieWeb. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.