Terry Gilliam Net Worth

Terry Gilliam's Quotes

• There's a side of me that always fell for manic things, frenzied, cartoony performances. I always liked sideshows, freakshows. Jerry Lewis was a freakshow...Absolutely grotesque, awful, tasteless. I like things to be tasteless.
• People in Hollywood are not showmen, they're maintenance men, pandering to what they think their audiences want.
• To be deemed to be OK, to be part of the culture, that's the kiss of death. When I'm pushing against something it helps me define what I believe. I've always been led to see what's beyond, what's round the corner. The world tries to say that this is what it is, and don't go any further, because out there are monsters. But I want to see what they are. So when I talk about the others in the group not having done more, that's because I really admire them, and I get angry when I see those with extraordinary talents not using them.
• I am getting tired of these fights [with backers.] Each time you get into a fight the world closes in a bit. You start losing an innocence, a belief that everything is possible. Terry Jones thinks I'm belligerent and egotistical, and that I've got to get into a fight to keep me going. It does keep me awake. But I limit it to the fights that are worth it nowadays.
• All I do is hunt. I want to be thrilled. And I'm not being thrilled at the moment. So I'm being old and bitter and curmudgeonly, because I want sensory buzz and I'm not getting it!

Interesting Facts about Terry Gilliam

1. Founding editor of and principal contributor to campus humor magazine, "Fang", at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA in the early 1960s.
2. He started to direct "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" in 2001 (in Spain) with Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis and Jean Rochefort but the shooting was unfortunately stopped a couple of days after it started because of numerous factors including storms, lack of financing, and Jean Rochefort's health problems (he couldn't ride a horse any more). There is a documentary based on the struggle in production entitled "lost in la mancha".
3. During the filming of Brazil (1985) he became so stressed that he temporarily lost the use of his legs, which only returned to normal several weeks later.
4. Has taken British citizenship.
5. Father of Amy Gilliam (aka Amy Rainbow Gilliam), Holly Gilliam (aka Holly DuBois Gilliam) and Harry Gilliam (aka Harry Thunder Gilliam).
6. J.K. Rowling, creator of the "Harry Potter" book series, originally wanted Gilliam to direct Harry Potter en de steen der wijzen (2001), but Warner Brothers studios wanted a more family friendly film and eventually settled for Chris Columbus.
7. Turned down the opportunity to direct Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Enemy Mine (1985), and Forrest Gump (1994) and Alien: Resurrection (1997).
8. Has been off and on to write and direct a movie adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's graphic novel "Watchmen." Gilliam has said he attempted to write an accurate screenplay but it would be unfilmable, but he would consider directing it if it were made into 10 or 12-part cable television series.
9. Was slated to direct an adaptation of the novel "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. The project languished in development for three years before finally being abandoned.
10. Directed a series of TV ads for Nike in 2001. They were part of The Scorpion Knockout Campaign, which featured some of the best soccer players on the globe. That campaign went to win a Cannes award in 2002, in the category of Best TV Campaign.
11. Also turned down directing Braveheart (1995), when briefly solicited by Mel Gibson to direct an abandoned film version of Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities".
12. Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 54th Cannes International Film Festival in 2001.
13. Raised in Los Angeles.
14. He did not originally intend to cast Sean Connery as King Agamemnon in Time Bandits (1981), he merely wrote in the screenplay that when Agamemnon took off his helmet that he looked "exactly like Sean Connery." To Gilliam's surprise, the script found its way into Connery's hands and Connery subsequently expressed interest in doing the film.
15. Born in Minnesota, he is the only non-British member of the Monty Python comedy troupe
16. The Fisher King (1991) was the first film that he directed in which he was not involved in writing the screenplay.
17. He and John Cleese are the only members of 'Monty Python' to be nominated for Oscars. Coincidentally, they were both for Best Original Screenplay, Gilliam for Brazil (1985) and Cleese for A Fish Called Wanda (1988). Both screenplays did not win their Oscars, and both films featured Michael Palin.
18. Gave up his US citizenship in January 2006. [source: Haaretz interview, Feb. 2006].
19. Was offered the chance to direct Troy (2004). He stopped reading the script 5 pages in and declined the offer.
20. Is a fan of science fiction author Philip K. Dick.