For those of us not really ones to keep up with the latest mega-money Hollywood blockbusters, it's easy to lose trace of how good CGI is becoming these days. Sure, all too often it's allied to pitiful scripts and big bucks merchandising / sponsorship tie-in's, but over the last couple of weeks we have seen two stunning (actually breath-taking) trailers that have showed us what CGI can be in the hands of true genius directors.

A couple of weeks ago we watched in awe at the HD trailer of Tim Burton's forthcoming adaptation of 'Alice In Wonderland', which is has to be said visually looks as impressive as anything we've ever seen in any film before. So much so that upon it's release we'll definitely be hunting down a cinema that will be showing it in 3D. It's being released on 5th March 2010, and yes, it does feel like we are wishing our lives away waiting to watch it on the big screen.

A film that we have been waiting to see for quite some time, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, (Terry Gilliam's latest film) has also just released its official trailer. This is another trailer that we were amazed by, we of course expected nothing less the legendary lavishly immaculate Gilliam visuals, but this time the CGI seems to actually to have matched (and captured) his imagination. Check out the trailer below.



It looks to our eyes a wonderful mix of Brazil and Munchausen with some Time Bandits thrown in for good measure, which to us seems like an ideal blend.

Given the circumstances that the film was made under (that of the very sad passing of that fine actor Heath Ledger), it seems the film may receive wider audience than it might otherwise have expected. So rather than with previous Gilliam films, this may actually hit the mainstream box office rather than skirting around the arthouse circuit. This hopefully will give the money men more faith in Gilliam as the genius director that he undoubtedly is, and just perhaps, he won't have to struggle so hard and for so long to get his next features made.

The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus opens in UK cinemas on 16th October. We'll be there.

Labels: Heath Ledger, Terry GIlliam, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Our cyber friends, the wonderful people at The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Fan Site (which has received much praise and assistance from Terry Gilliam himself), are running a superb competition at the moment.

In conjunction with The BFI Southbank, London, there are 5 pairs of tickets for films showing throughout August at the Terry Gilliam season at The BFI Southbank, London up for grabs in their Terry Gilliam trivia competition. So if you would like tickets for films showing during the season, enter the competition and you might just be lucky enough to scoop the prizes. Check it out soon at The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Fan Site as the competition closes on Saturday 1st August.

I would heartily recommend any fans of Terry Gilliam and Heath Ledger to check out The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Fan Site. It has a wealth of information about the forthcoming The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus film, including HD trailers and other exclusive content, it also has the seal of approval and support of Terry Gilliam himself, along with a series of competitions with some very special prizes indeed. So keep tuning in to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Fan Site to keep up to date with all the very special things happening in support of the film's release.

Labels: Heath Ledger, Terry GIlliam, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

It has been confirmed that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will be released in the UK in October 2009. The official site at The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has just one picture on the site and nothing else, but it looks so gorgeous it's whet the appetite already. There is more on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Unofficial Fan Site which even features a live chat with Terry Gilliam on 24th July 2009. We can't wait for October, as it looks like Parnassus is going to be another slice of Gilliam perfection - it certainly wen't down well at Cannes where it received a 13 minutue ovation.

The BFI Southbank will be running in August a month-long retrospective of Terry Gilliam's cinematic work. It will include screenings of 10 of films including Brazil, Jabberwocky, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas and The Time Bandits. For full details go to the Terry Gilliam season at The BFI Southbank on the BFI website.

In other news Terry Gilliam is still confident of resurrecting his long standing project a film version of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and that filming of the project will commence in Spring 2010. The saga of the previous attempt to make it was documented in Lost In La Mancha. Little else has been confirmed, but Johnny Deep still seems likely to take the starring role.

Labels: Terry GIlliam, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The official selection for entries in this year's Cannes Film Festival have just been announced.

These include: Jane Campion's BRIGHT STAR, Michael Haneke's DAS WEISSE BAND (aka The White Ribbon), Ken Loach's LOOKING FOR ERIC and Quentin Tarantino's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS.

Some exciting films will also be shown out of competition includes Terry Gilliam 's THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS and Michel Gondry's L'EPINE DANS LE COEUR.

The feature film jury president this year is the ever wonderful Isabelle Huppert (our favourite actress bar none).

We have to say that it seems like a particularly strong competition this year, the festival is the highlight of the film festival calendar, and it will run this year frm the 13th to the 24th May.

Labels: Cannes, Ken Loach, Terry GIlliam