Source: Dreams Terry Gilliam Fanzine
Press Conference Attended by Terry Gilliam, Amy Gilliam, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole and Samuel Hadaida
(To Gilliam, A) Is your father as difficult as we heard he was?
No, not at all!
Being a producer, tell us a little about your experience?
It was fantastic. It was pretty incredible to work with your father in a producing capacity. It was not easy, especially when you go home at night and your father at the dinner table wants to talk about the film, so you can never have time off. Family gatherings are always about work. But being on set and working day-to-day with him was amazing. We get on incredibly well. It gets difficult when you have to try and tell him no. As he is older than me, wiser, and obviously more mature, it gets difficult, and we have our disagreements. He advises me that he knows best. I tell him he doesn’t.
(To Gilliam, T) What went through your mind when you knew about Heath Ledger’s passing, and what were the other options you considered before casting Depp, Law and Farrell to replace him?
The first, and obvious, choice to me was to close the film down. I didn’t see how we could finish it without Heath because we were in the middle of production, he had done about half of his role, and that was it. Fortunately, I was surrounded by really good people who insisted that I couldn’t be such a lazy bastard and I’d better go out and find a way of finishing the film for Heath.
We discussed for a long time whether one actor could do the part and I felt that that was impossible. I didn’t think it was respectful, and I didn’t think it would work at all. And because we had the magic mirror, and Heath goes through it three times, we thought OK three actors, that would be the way to approach it, it’s much more interesting and surprising.
So I started calling friends. Johnny Depp said I’m there. Basically I was calling people who knew and loved Heath. It had to be in the nature of what we were doing. We ended with Colin, Jude and Johnny to play the parts. Everybody in the cast and everybody in the crew was determined that this film would be finished and everybody worked longer, harder, and somehow we got through it. It was really people’s love for Heath that propelled this thing forward.
(To Gilliam, T) One of the things that happened backstage at the Oscars was that some of us had a chance to meet the Ledger family. Their humility and strength was astonishing. They were eager to find out what you were going to do with Heath Ledger’s final performance. If curious if you liaised with them and discussed your plans with them, because they seemed really excited at the prospect of seeing this film and having this treasure from their family member maintained for posterity. I’m curious if you had a relationship with them on that regard and what it means to you to present this film for them.
When Heath died, I went down to LA and spent a day with the family. We started crying and then we start laughing. It’s going to be a positive thing, a celebration for Heath, and that’s what we did. I didn’t spend a great deal of time talking about my plans exactly, but they knew that Johnny, Colin and Jude were going to come on board and they were delighted. So they have been completely supportive, yet they haven’t seen it yet. There’s still a surprise for them.
What was important for me was just to make the film and have Heath’s last performance up there alive and well. I think they’re going to be delighted by it. I’ve been very lucky because even though Heath died over a year ago, I’ve been working with him in the cutting room – so he’s been alive and well. So it’s been completely different for me. He doesn’t seem that long departed from us. He’s just the guy I work with daily.
Could you tell us about the working experience with Mr Ledger. What was he like on set in his character Tony?
Gilliam, T: Ask the others, I’ll just say the same old thing. I’ll just say he was wonderful, he was brilliant, he was fantastic.
Garfield: I don’t think you’ll get much differing from him being just a wonderful, beautiful, soulful, energetic incredible presence. And generous.
Cole: I’m sure you all saw that come through in his personality in the film.
Gilliam: I think what was interesting on this film, Heath was enjoying himself so much, and he was adlibbing a lot. I don’t normally allow that much adlibbing in the film, but Heath was just brilliant at it. He got everybody else going. Andrew, who was nervous about adlibbing, suddenly was in there. Everybody was just energised by Heath. He was exhausting. He was coming up with new ideas, every minute. It was a joy to watch this part just blossom – so much more extraordinary than what we had actually written, and that just passed on to everybody else. Everybody’s part grew because of Heath’s energy.
It enthused everybody so much, and it just carried on. It was interesting to watch people filling the void that Heath left. Andrew’s part was a very underwritten part. It just grew I just felt that. Everybody was just growing to make sure there was no void left in the space that Heath had left us.
(To Cole and Garfield) Was it difficult for the two of you when Ledger passed away?
Cole: The whole experience is weird and difficult, just because you are mourning somebody at the same time you are immediately going back to work. And it’s such an unusual environment where you are presented with actors who are playing reminders of that character and that person. I certainly found it weird doing that for the first time and I think it’s a testament to how good those three actors were also at playing Tony’s character. Of course the whole experience was strange and weird, but as Terry said there was a kind of really good hard love and understanding between cast and crew as to why we were doing it. That just carried it through, and made it pleasant.
Garfield: It wasn’t only difficult for us to be working with the alternate Heaths, the alternate Tonys. But it was extremely difficult for the three guys who came in because his shoes were so big (not literally!). Well, actually he had quite big feet – one of the things I’ll remember. It was extremely difficult, generous, and brave of them to step into this huge void of energy that Heath left.
Cole: And they were still friends of his so also they were missing him too.
Garfield: It was a very tender situation. That we can only get through because we were all touched, respected and moved by Heath so much. We wouldn’t have been able to get through it unless he’d had that effect on us.
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