10 · 19 · 10 Terry Gilliam speaks candidly on filmmaking at 8th FICM Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard Gobi Stromberg “When I make a film, I have my own version,” Gilliam said. However, the director explained that he creates with the intent of getting people to, “use their own imagination and to make sense of it in their own way. I want the audience to come away with their own version one which is probably not the same as mine!” he adds with a chuckle. “Film is about telling a story. You have to be as a child you have to be innocent In film [mine], there is nothing judgmental; it is just the telling of the story.” When asked about the sources of his cinematographic inspiration, Gilliam announced that he doesn’t think up ideas: “ideas conceive me. I am a big wastebasket. Just throw things in and see what happens.” He also decried the tendency among directors to reference other films in their work. Regarding his films, Gilliam commented that, “Brazil was very successful among the critics; but it wasn’t so popular with some of the audiences. There were showings in which one half of the public would walk out in the middle of the film! “Then came Munchausen. When you make something good, then everyone comes offering money even people who were crazier than I was.” The director mentioned how the financier for the film had later charged him for fraud and about the ensuing battles. “Munchausen was a financial disaster. It was like Citizen Kane; that film was my falling on my face. I didn’t know what to do. Finally I did what one does: I found a Hollywood agent.” The renowned director’s advice to the young filmmakers present at the Festival was: “The best thing is not to have a plan and just let your enthusiasm and inspiration lead you. A good question to ask is who is going to be in the foxhole with you for the final battle. That’s how my films got made.” At the press conference on Sunday, hosted by Daniela Michel, director of FICM, the media questioned the Festival’s featured director, Terry Gilliam about his plans for the next project which he is currently in the process of filming, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. After speaking of his personal enchantment with Cervantes’ character, he claimed: “We are all chasing after windmills.” “Going to Mexico has been a secret in the back of my mind. I love the spirit of Mexico; especially the Day of the Dead ” He added that he is, “blown away by the architecture.” When he further speculated that he is considering filming his next film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, in Mexico, he surprised –and delighted- his audience, who were hearing this news for the first time.
