The man, the myth 'The Terry Gilliam'

I was doing pre production work last Monday, and someone called me from a private TV station and said, "could you come and talk about a movie for our show on our TV. I said, "I am on a script reading with my crew...could you call me later". He wouldn't hang up and went on. "Could you give us the name of the movie and the director, that you are going to talk about?". I was almost losing it, and my AD and the other assistants were noticing that I was getting a little edgy. I mean come on, I only have one month of prep work before I go to shoot and already people are calling me in the middle of meetings. I bet it can only happen in Sri Lanka....you give someone your cell number and next thing you know is that hundred different people are calling you. They don't even feel bad that they are willing to give away your number to anyone who asks for it. Wow!

Anyway, let's get into the character, as I was saying over the phone to the guy on the other side, "Hey look I am in a script discussion...could you call me later!". Then the guy on the other end says "Could you give us a name so our host Ajith can find the movie before you come to the interview". I mean come on! I couldn't even think what to say. "Brazil" I said. "What?" "Brazil by Terry Gillium" I said. I hung up. "Phew!"

Terry Gilliam : A genius

That evening I came home and did some homework again on Terry and Brazil.

Brazil has been one of my all-time favourites ever since I saw it in 1986. It was Monty Python movies that led to Brazil, because Terry Gillium has been one of the founder members of the show. When I was digging material about Gilliam, I felt very glad about the TV producer calling me and asking me to speak about a director.

Terry Gilliam was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1940. After an uneventful childhood he found himself at Occidental College in California studying physics. He soon switched to the art department but after a run-in with a professor, he switched his major again and graduated as a Political Scientist. Gilliam joined the staff of 'Fang', the college's literary magazine. Influenced strongly by 'Mad Magazine' and 'Help!' (a national humour magazine), he moved 'Fang' away from its literary roots and more towards the visual arts while making comedy the focus of every issue.

Gilliam was extremely influenced by the works of Kurtzman, the editor of 'Help!', and one of the co-founders of 'Mad'. In an effort to be accepted by one of his idols, he would routinely send copies of 'Fang' to Kurtzman in New York City. Gilliam sent several issues, and finally one day he received a response. Then Gillium decided to meet the great master. So after graduating, and with no real desire to put his degree to work, Gilliam boarded a bus to New York to meet Harvey Kurtzman.

Kurtzmen was so surprised when this kid from California knocked on his door and said: 'Here I am'. He also couldn't have been more relieved. In a twist of fate that seems to only happen in stories like this, the Assistant Editor of 'Help!' was quitting and Kurtzman had been having a difficult time filling the opening. With a great resume and precision timing, Gilliam got the job.

As Assistant Editor, Gilliam had the opportunity to work with a number of celebrities in the creation of 'Help!'s' content. He meets British comedian named John Cleese who was in New York performing for a photo shoot. Gilliam leaves "Help" after it was going down and decides to go to London. There he contacted with the only Englishman he knew, John Cleese. John Cleese connects Gillium with Humphrey Barclay, a television producer of a new children's program called 'Do Not Adjust Your Set'. Gilliam presented some written sketches Barcly. He loved the sketches so much that he not only bought them for the program, he also hired Gilliam to be a member of the writing staff; a staff that included, among others, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin (Later became the members of Monty Python group).

Barclay, discovered Gilliam's drawing skills, got Gillium to create some animated pieces for the show. Those animations showed a distinct Gilliam sensibility in the content and they most definitely were impactful: 'Do Not Adjust Your Set' turned out to be a critical and cultural hit. Barclay created his next series: 'We Have Ways of Making You Laugh'.

Airing for one season in 1968, the show was a combination comedy sketch/talk show. Gilliam hired to sit in on the talk show portion and draw real-time caricatures of the guests. With a few more shows he developed and style called 'Gilliam style'. This style was born half out of necessity and half out of inspiration. When he was living in New York, he had the opportunity to see 'Death Breath' (1964, Stan van der Beek).

This simple, short, stop-motion animation featured Richard Nixon, in photographic form, trying to talk with a foot in his mouth. The simplistic surrealness of it made a significant impact on Gilliam.

In 1969, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin (who had all worked with Gilliam) began talking to John Cleese and Graham Chapman about doing something as a group. Because of his unique talents, Gilliam was brought in and with that, Monty Python was born.

Soon after 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' assaulted British television. Gilliam's main role was that of the group's animator, creating buffers for the sketches as well as the show's opening credits. (One of these images, that of a massive foot descending from the sky, squashing whatever happens to be below it has become one of the defining images of the group.)

Gilliam in one of the movies

Gilliam is a genius, the way he uses the camera angles and the lenses. His compositions have made a lot with a wide angle lenses. I think most of my wide angle works have been influenced by Terry Gilliam. From Terry I learnt how to use unusual and abnormal characters on the screen.

I remember watching "Adventures of Barron Munchausen" on 23 street Samuel Goldwyn theatre. It was one of the biggest screens in New York City at that time, probably around 1988/or 89. By that time I have only seen three movies by Terry Gilliam before I saw Barron Munchausen.

The very first Gillium movie that I saw was, Brazil. Then I rented Time Bandits and Jabberwocky. I would like to discuss about his movies and how I connect with him a lot in my next week's article.

Movies by Terry Gilliam are, 'Storytime' (1968) (animated short) 'The Miracle of Flight' (1974) (animated short), 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975) (co-directed with Terry Jones), 'Jabberwocky' (1977) 'Time Bandits (1981), 'The Crimson Permanent Assurance' (1983) (a short supporting feature that accompanied Monty Python's, 'The Meaning of Life), 'Brazil (1985) 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' (1988), 'The Fisher King' (1991), '12 Monkeys' (1995), (inspired by Chris Marker's La Jetee). 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' (1998), 'The Brothers Grimm' (2005) 'Tideland' (2005), 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' (2009)