Gilliam's Doctor Parnassus might not show in the U.S.

Heath Ledger's last performance has proven to be a marketing nightmare (and you'd think winning an Oscar would make everything easier). The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Terry Giliam's film about a traveling magician who lets customers go beyond reality through a devil-powered mirror, has hit yet another roadblock, as the movie continues without a U.S. distributor.

After Heath Ledger died in January 2008, Gilliam's production came to a halt without the star. However, a month later, Hollywood A-listers Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell were cast to pay tribute to the late actor and finish his final movie. The actors will play different renditions of Ledger's character as he goes through the magic mirror.

The film already found distributors in Europe and Australia, but has yet to find a distributor in the United States because of its experimental storyline. Gilliam's films have a tendency to deviate away from commercial audiences, as was the case with The Brothers Grimm. However artful, experimental movies are difficult to market and gain profit from general audiences, to say the least.

The distributors also worry that the only way to market this movie is as Ledger's last film, taking advantage of his death (which would be far from ethical), just to attract an audience. The film is currently in post-production and as soon as it is completed, the film will be screened to U.S. distributors and with a little luck, one of them will choose to distribute the film.

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1 Comment

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By Kate on March 7, 2009

Good! That will leave more copies for us! other non USA countries to buy! Some countries like the experimental non traditional movies where some actual thought and creative activity transpires. North America is way too hung up on movies with perfect looking people, some with giant fake breasts no dialogue, cars speeding and blowing up while having sex and laughing at gross out sperm jokes. Remember "Brokeback Mountain?" It was thought of as "not mainstream" It only opened in a handful of theatres across the USA! Heath Ledger knew what he was doing, too bad you big movie studio turds cannot appreciate him.