Somebody needs to send Peter Jackson and New Line’s head guy Robert Shaye to marriage counseling:
In an interview with SciFi.com, Shaye says that, “Not that I don’t think Peter is a good filmmaker and that he hasn’t contributed significantly to filmography and made three very good movies. And I don’t even expect him to say ‘thank you’ for having me make it happen and having New Line make it happen. But to think that I, as a functionary in [a] company that has been around for a long time, but is now owned by a very big conglomerate, would care one bit about trying to cheat the guy, … he’s either had very poor counsel or is completely misinformed and myopic to think that I care whether I give him [anything].”
Shaye, who was also an executive producer on the “Rings” films, added: “He got a quarter of a billion dollars paid to him so far, justifiably, according to contract, completely right, and this guy, who already has received a quarter of a billion dollars, turns around without wanting to have a discussion with us and sues us and refuses to discuss it unless we just give in to his plan. I don’t want to work with that guy anymore. Why would I? So the answer is he will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I’m still working for the company.”
I really need to rent Tideland one of these days. Gilliam deserves that much.
Gilliam hasn’t made anything worth watching since 12 Monkeys. Never has a director fallen so quickly in my opinion. Honestly Brazil is one my all-time favorite movies. Yet I can’t think of a movie that I’ve detested more than Brothers Grimm. It looks like Tideland is only continuing down the same awful path.
To be fair, he’s barely made anything since 12 Monkeys…and most of that time was spent trying to make the Don Quixote movie, which looked amazing from what I saw on “Lost in La Mancha.”
So I still have faith that he’ll do something worthwhile in the near future.
And, while not worthy of the man’s talents and with all due respect for your opinion, Brothers Grimm was at least watchable (though not re-watchable). And all that despite fabled battles between Gilliam and the Weinsteins over the making of the film, including the firing of Gilliam’s DP, which are often cited as at least one cause of its mediocrity.