In person, Terry Gilliams every bit as mischievous, funny, generous and entertaining as youd hope.
I mean, youre sitting in Venice, inside, with the curtains closed and everything!
On these topics and many others, Mr Gilliam was effusive, candid and very amusing.
Heres what he had to say.
And you have people wholl work 24 hours a day and work for nothing!
Its a little bit more than imagination.
You need really good people who are so committed.
The cast, basically, worked for scale.
So thats how you do it.
Youve got to be lucky to be in that position.
The crews were great in Bucharest.
They really were good.
Where the invention comes in is with Carlo Poggiolis costumes.
Because he found this Chinese market that sold fabric crappy fabric by the kilo.
Not by the yard.
I love the suit Christoph Waltz wears to jack into the internet.
I wanted something that looked like a jester or maybe a demon.
You dont know, but its red.
Is this a complementary film to12 MonkeysandBrazil?
The only main concern I had was that it would be compared toBrazil.
And thats why I tried not to make it dark and grey.
[Laughs] Where they get their money to be so jolly, I dont know!
Yeah, Id like some.
It feels very much like an internet age dystopia.
Do you have an ambivalence towards technology?
Im ambivalent about most things!
But certainly technology, yes, which is overwhelming our lives for better and worse.
I think what bothers me most is the me, me, me-ness of it.
Its all about me.
I go to events, but its really me, and the event is the background.
That kind of thing is what makes me crazy.
And the constant tweeting.
I had a look at some tweets, because I dont really do any of it.
I cant understand it.
Its not really communication.
Its basically, Im making noise.
Its just neurons firing axons and dendrites [makes a sound like a machine gun].
Its not an idea.
Theres no shape there.
Its just, I am here.
Then when it stops, I guess its, I am dead!
Im obsessed about being alone.
And wanting to be alone.
Or trying to come to terms with who I am.
Im not talking about me specifically Im trying to encourage people to just be alone.
And see if anybodys home.
If youre not part of that web connection of interconnecting tissue, are you still there?
I suspect that so many people arent there.
So in a sense, thats what intrigued me about the script.
Thats really a comment on advertising.
It reminded me a bit of Philip K Dicks work, and I know youre a fan of his.
So do you think of it as a slight homage to him?
I think Ive absorbed all of his stuff, and Im only aware afterwards that Im ripping him off!
Its always been like that, because I dont think specifically about something.
So I had the whole art department look at Neo Rauchs paintings.
Okay, look at that colour palette.
Look at how hes juxtaposing styles of painting or imagery, or different times all in one painting.
Its a nice model for what were doing, in a way.
Because even though its set in the near future, I do it with retro things.
Technologys always a mixture, so I enjoy having fun playing with all that.
The telephone I had them design a Bakelite body, and then put this weird little thing on.
But what I really like is it has an ashtray and a place to put your cigarette.
Im really happy I got that one made!
Its that texture that makes it interesting, because its quite an interior film.
That was the biggest concern.
The kitchen is Ikea!
[laughs]
And I did it because Im trying to build a world: who is this guy?
He was in love and probably going to get married.
And then the relationship crashed, and so hes left with all these bits and pieces.
I just wanted to put something in as outrageous as that without really explaining it.
I was reflecting as I was watching it, that its becoming rare in mainstream filmmaking to have that.
I think its actually happening in society.
People are more serious.
People dont want to cause offence.
Its a weird kind of timidity thats taken over, and it makes me crazy.
Because I do want to offend.
I like getting discussions going, I like getting arguments going.
Because out of that you learn something.
We cant even talk about the problems we face.
Its like when the Tottenham riots occurred.
If youll notice, for the first several days, there was no mention that everybody involved was black.
That solves a problem!
You couldnt say that it was black kids doing it.
That means something why are black kids rioting like that?
Because theres a problem.
What are they angry about?
Can we solve it?
But nobody wants to talk in those terms, and its very weird.
Because everybody out there is trying to play it safe.
Films, clearly, are expensive things to make.
And it seems very successful now, because the studios have basically given up on everything buy tentpoles.
So its kind of like a casino.
This year well bet on red.
Last year we bet on black.
Thats all it is.
Enough people go to maintain that financial structure.
Even though last summer was a bit of a disaster for some tentpoles.
My ultimate faith is in humanity to be human; people will get bored.
Im bored, and people are now bored.
Weve seen the same trailers for 12 years.
There are subtle differences, but still.
[Laughs]
Your experiences while makingBrazilwere well documented.
But how was making12 Monkeys,your second science fiction film, in comparison?
They wanted to get their money back.
My job was basically to find a cast to make it work.
And then we made the film.
This is too complex.
But we did it, and everything was handled right about it.
So we opened really well, and Brad had also become a big star fromLegends Of The Fall.
It was just all these coincidences leading to the success of it.
But it proved that there was an audience for intelligent films.
Two words: Brad Pitt.
I was saying, Wait!
But of course thats the way it works.
Then afterwards they threw Brad intoSeven Years In Tibet, The Mexican, Joe Black all failed.
Eventually, it worked out for him, but you cant do that, and yet they do it.
When you might spend $80m on promoting a film, theres a reasonable chance of people coming in.
You dont see that on something like this [The Zero Theorem].
You havent seen a single poster forZero Theoremin town.
They havent spent any money on it.
Is it a bit likeBrazil, getting a film made in Hollywood?
Like dealing with a brick wall of bureaucracy?
Its worse now in a strange way.
Now its just bland, bureaucratic middle-men running everything, and theyre just frightened about their stockholders.
Theyve got to make money, so they play it safe.
The independent business is out there, but even theyre struggling because of the financial situation at the moment.
Theyre frightened, and theyre playing it safe.
Weve had a hard time selling this film.
We only just sold it to America, and its like, Man, give us a break.
But youve got to reach them!
Well, I hope you do!
Do you think youll ever direct an animated film?
Youd be the perfect fit for something like that.
Theres the guys who madeCoraline[Laika], who keep wanting to get together with me.
Im really quite confused as to where Im going to go next or what Im going to do.
I keep saying, Why arent I designing videogames?
Id be perfect for it!
[Laughs]
You could use Kickstarter.
Thats what you should do: Kickstart a videogame.
I might have to use Kickstarter forDon Quixote.
Well, well support you all the way.
Terry Gilliam, thank you very much.
The Zero Theoremis out in UK cinemas now.
Like us onFacebookand follow us onTwitterfor all news updates related to the world of geek.
AndGoogle+, if thats your thing!
