“The Zero Theorem” is just a few weeks away from being revealed at the Venice Film Festival and expectations are high for Terry Gilliam‘s new venture into Orwellian territory. A few weeks ago, a trailer unspooled online and was promptly eradicated from every corner of the interwebs due to copyright claims. So for those of you who didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the trailer, you can comfort yourselves by watching the videos below.
The first video documents the making of “12 Monkeys” (which is now being turned into a TV series), Gilliam’s 1995 science fiction masterpiece starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt and based on/inspired by Chris Marker‘s seminal short film “La Jetée.” This is not a regular making-of used as filler for the bonus section of a DVD but an in-depth documentary detailing every bit of Gilliam’s creative process on “12 Monkeys” and examining his love/hate relationship with Hollywood. The documentary was directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, who also documented the making of Gilliam’s aborted “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” in the excellent “Lost in La Mancha.”
If you still can’t get enough of Gilliam after watching this lengthy making-of, you can rejoice by listening to the filmmaker talking about the restoration of “Time Bandits,” his 1982 time-travel/fantasy classic that viewers will soon be able to watch in 2K—another high-definition format that will procure an out-of-body experience to the viewer. In this short interview by Premiere Scene, Gilliam talks about the handmade craftsmanship of making special effects before the advent of CGI and pixel-crammed screens.
A rogue filmmaker often at odds with Hollywood studios, Gilliam has had difficulties financing his ambitious projects in recent years. For “The Zero Theorem,” he didn’t have the same kind of big budget that he had when making “Brazil” in 1985. However, there’s no doubt that his inventiveness will be stimulated by these budgetary constraints; Gilliam was able to make wonders with shoestring budgets during his days with the Monty Pythons. Make some time for both videos below. [Make Film Teach Film/Movie Scope]