As the rest of London suffocated under industrial quantities of eyeliner, theWest Endenjoyed an altogether more sophisticated Hallowe’en treat: the Gala screening of Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm.
While the films three stars, Heath Ledger, Matt Damon and Monica Bellucci were absent, Gilliam was on fine form, entertaining bystanders and press in equal measure.
”It’s nice to actually get a movie out,” he said of his seven year absence from the cinema. “It’s nice to remind myself I actually know how to make these things. It was pestering me. Chuck Roven who produced Twelve Monkeys was pursuing me with this script. I was trying to get my own projects off the ground, but he eventually tracked me down and there was no escape.”
Heath Ledger and Matt Damon were cast through recommendations. “I’m very casual sometimes when I cast. A friend was working with Heath on a film, called me up and said ‘This kid is fantastic, you’ve got to work with him!’ And Matt, who I’d bumped into a few times, said ‘Why aren’t we working together?’ It was as simple as that.”
The two actors were originally going to play the other’s parts, but felt they were too close to others they played. “Matt tried to convince me he could play the part of Will, and I said ‘No, you don’t play those parts, that’s what Ben Affleck normally plays.’ We spent a whole evening arguing about this one and he left saying ‘Well, I’ll play whichever part you want me to play.’ Next morning, Heath came over: ‘No, I want to play Jake.’ Oh God, here we go. I ran Heath over to Matt who was making a movie with the Farrelly brothers and said, ‘Meet your brother Jake’ and Matt said, ‘Last night you convinced me I’d play Jake?’ No, last night you convinced me you could play Will – get to work!”
Monica Bellucci posed no such problems in casting: “She does exactly what’s needed for the film. Suddenly there’s this raw sexuality and poor Heath is like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming juggernaut and so is many a young man in the audience.”
This sounds vaguely similar to Gilliam’s own favourite fairytale which: “I save it for my personal use late at night.” (It’s The Emperor’s New Clothes since you asked.)
Check back later for pictures from The Brothers Grimm screening.