Terry Gilliam Biography

Terence Vance "Terry" Gilliam (born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed several films, including Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). The only "Python" not born in Britain, he became a naturalised British citizen in 1968. In 2006, he formally renounced his American citizenship.

Early life

Gilliam was born in Minneapolis to Beatrice (née Vance) and James Hall Gilliam. His father was a traveling salesman for Folgers before becoming a carpenter. Soon after, they moved to nearby Medicine Lake, Minnesota.

The family moved to the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Panorama City in 1952. Gilliam attended Birmingham High School where he was class president and senior prom king. He was voted "Most Likely to Succeed", and achieved straight A's. During high school, he began to avidly read Mad magazine, then edited by Harvey Kurtzman, which would later influence Gilliam's work.

Gilliam later spoke to Salman Rushdie about defining experiences in the 1960s that would set the foundations for his views on the world, later influencing his art and career:

Career

Animations

Gilliam started his career as an animator and strip cartoonist. One of his early photographic strips for Help! featured future Python cast-member John Cleese. When Help! folded, Gilliam went to Europe, jokingly announcing in the very last issue that he was "being transferred to the European branch" of the magazine, which of course did not exist. Moving to England, he animated sequences for the children's series Do Not Adjust Your Set, which also featured Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.

Monty Python

Gilliam was a part of Monty Python's Flying Circus from its outset, at first credited as an animator (his name was listed separately after the other five in the closing credits), later as a full member. His cartoons linked the show's sketches together, and defined the group's visual language in other media (such as LP and book covers, and the title sequences of their films). Gilliam's animations mix his own art, characterized by soft gradients and odd, bulbous shapes, with backgrounds and moving cutouts from antique photographs, mostly from the Victorian era.

Besides doing the animations, he also appeared in several sketches, though he rarely had any main roles and did considerably less acting in the sketches. He did however have some notable sketch roles such as Cardinal Fang of the Spanish Inquisition, the bespectacled commenter who said "I can't anything to that!" from the Election Night Special sketch, Kevin Garibaldi (the brat on the couch shouting "I want more beans!" from "Most Awful Family in Britain 1974", Episode 45) and the Screaming Queen in a cape and mask singing "Ding dong merrily on high." More frequently, he played parts that no one else wanted to play (generally because they required a lot of make-up or uncomfortable costumes, such as a recurring knight in armour who would end sketches by walking on and hitting one of the other characters over the head with a plucked chicken) and took a number of small roles in the films, including Patsy in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (which he co-directed with Terry Jones, where Gilliam was responsible for photography, while Jones would guide the actors' performances) and the jailer in Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Directing

With the gradual break-up of the Python troupe between Life of Brian in 1979 and The Meaning of Life in 1983, Gilliam became a screenwriter and director, building upon the experience he had acquired during the making of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Gilliam says he used to think of his films in terms of trilogies, starting with Time Bandits in 1981. The 1980s saw Gilliam's self-written Trilogy of Imagination about "the ages of man" in Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). All are about the "craziness of our awkwardly ordered society and the desire to escape it through whatever means possible." All three movies focus on these struggles and attempts to escape them through imagination; Time Bandits, through the eyes of a child, Brazil, through the eyes of a thirty-something, and Munchausen, through the eyes of an elderly man.

Throughout the 1990s, Gilliam directed his Trilogy of Americana: The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), which were based on scripts by other people, played on North American soil, and while still being surreal, had less fantastical plots than his previous trilogy.

Themes and philosophy

As for his philosophical background in screenwriting and directing, Gilliam said on the TV show First Hand on RoundhouseTV: "There's so many film schools, so many media courses which I actually am opposed to. Because I think it's more important to be educated, to read, to learn things, because if you're gonna be in the media and if you'll have to say things, you have to know things. If you only know about cameras and 'the media', what're you gonna be talking about except cameras and the media? So it's better learning about philosophy and art and architecture [and] literature, these are the things to be concentrating on it seems to me. Then, you can fly...!"

His films are usually highly imaginative fantasies. His long-time co-writer Charles McKeown comments about Gilliam's recurring interests, "the theme of imagination, and the importance of imagination, to how you live and how you think and so on [...] that's very much a Terry theme." Most of Gilliam's movies include plot-lines that seem to occur partly or completely in the characters' imaginations, raising questions about the definition of identity and sanity. He often shows his opposition to bureaucracy and authoritarian regimes. He also distinguishes "higher" and "lower" layers of society, with a disturbing and ironic style. His movies usually feature a fight or struggle against a great power which may be an emotional situation, a human-made idol, or even the person himself, and the situations do not always end happily. There is often a dark, paranoid atmosphere and unusual characters who formerly were normal members of society. His scripts feature black comedy and often end with a dark tragicomic twist.

As Gilliam is fascinated with the Baroque due to the historical age's pronounced struggle between spirituality and logical rationality, there is often a rich baroqueness and dichotomous eclecticity about his movies, with, for instance, high-tech computer monitors equipped with low-tech magnifying lenses in Brazil, and in The Fisher King a red knight covered with flapping bits of cloth. He also is given to incongruous juxtapositions of beauty and ugliness, or antique and modern. Regarding Gilliam's theme of modernity's struggle between spirituality and rationality whereas the individual may become dominated by a tyrannical, soulless machinery of disenchanted society, film critic Keith James Hamel observed a specific affinity of Gilliam's movies with the writings of economic historian Arnold Toynbee and sociologist Max Weber, specifically the latter's concept of the Iron cage of modern rationality.

Look and style

Gilliam's films have a distinctive look not only in mise-en-scene but even more so in photography, often recognizable from just a short clip; in order to create a surreal atmosphere of psychological unrest and a world out-of-balance, Gilliam makes frequent use of unusual camera angles, particularly low-angle shots, high-angle shots, and Dutch angles. Roger Ebert has said "his world is always hallucinatory in its richness of detail." Most of his movies are shot almost entirely with rectilinear ultra wide angle lenses of 28 mm focal length or less in order to achieve a distinctive signature style defined by extreme perspective distortion and extremely deep focus. Gilliam's long-time director of photography Nicola Pecorini has said, "with Terry and me, a long lens means something between a 40mm and a 65mm." This attitude markedly differs from the common definition in photography which qualifies 40mm to 65mm as the focal length of a normal lens instead due to resembling natural human field of view, unlike Gilliam's signature style defined by extreme perspective distortion due to his usual choice of focal length. In fact, over the years, the 14mm lens has become informally known as "The Gilliam" among film-makers due to the director's frequent use of it since at least Brazil. Gilliam has explained his preference for using wide-angle lenses in his films:

In another interview, Gilliam mentioned, in relation to the 9.8mm Kinoptic lens he had first used on Brazil, that wide-angle lenses make small film sets "look big". The widest lens he has used so far is an 8mm Zeiss lens employed on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Production problems

Gilliam has made a few extremely expensive movies beset with production problems. After the lengthy quarreling with Universal Studios over Brazil, Gilliam's next picture, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, cost around US$46 million, and then earned only about US$8 million in US ticket sales. The film saw no wide domestic release from Columbia Pictures, which was in the process of being sold at the time.

In the mid-1990s, Gilliam and Charles McKeown developed a script for Time Bandits 2, a project that never came to be made. Several of the original actors had died. Gilliam also attempted to direct a version of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, which collapsed due to disagreements over its budget and choice of lead actor.

In 1999, Gilliam attempted to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, budgeted at US$32.1 million, among the highest-budgeted films to use only European financing; but in the first week of shooting, the actor playing Don Quixote (Jean Rochefort) suffered a herniated disc, and a flood severely damaged the set. The film was cancelled, resulting in an insurance claim of US$15 million. Despite the cancellation, the aborted project did yield the documentary Lost in La Mancha, produced from film from a second crew that had been hired by Gilliam to document the making of Quixote. After the cancellation, both Gilliam and the film's co-lead, Johnny Depp, wanted to revive the project. The insurance company involved in the failed first attempt withheld the rights to the screenplay for several years but the production was finally restarted in 2008.

Gilliam has attempted twice to adapt Alan Moore's Watchmen comics into a film. Both attempts (in 1989 and 1996) were unsuccessful. Most recently, unforeseeable problems again befell a Gilliam project when actor Heath Ledger died in New York City during the filming of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Box office

On the other hand, Gilliam's first successful feature, Time Bandits (1981), earned more than eight times its original budget in the United States alone; Gilliam's infamous box office flop The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) was nevertheless nominated for four Academy Awards (and won, among other European prizes, three BAFTA Awards); his $24 million-budgeted film The Fisher King (1991) (his first film not to feature a member from Python) grossed more than $41 million at United States box office; and 12 Monkeys went on to take over US$168 million worldwide; whilst The Brothers Grimm, despite a mixed critical reception, grossed over US$105 million worldwide. Gilliam's $30 million-budgeted film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus had also became an international box office success, grossing over $60 million in worldwide theatrical release. According to Box Office Mojo, his films have grossed an average of $26,009,723.

Recurring collaborators

Since his first feature, Gilliam has shown a propensity to work with particular actors in numerous productions. Up until the 1990s, each of Gilliam's non-Python films was to feature at least one of his fellow Monty Python alumni (particularly Palin, Cleese, and Idle), and for his finished projects Gilliam has worked with the following actors at least twice (in order of first film appearance):

• Derrick O'Connor (Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, Brazil)
• Ian Holm (Time Bandits, Brazil)
• Peter Vaughan (Time Bandits, Brazil)
• Jack Purvis (Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen)
• Jim Broadbent (Time Bandits, Brazil)
• Charles McKeown (Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
• Katherine Helmond (Time Bandits, Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
• Ray Cooper (Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
• Roger Ashton-Griffiths (Brazil, The Brothers Grimm)
• Jonathan Pryce (Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Brothers Grimm)
• Simon Jones (Brazil, 12 Monkeys)
• Robin Williams (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King)
• Jeff Bridges (The Fisher King, Tideland)
• Michael Jeter (The Fisher King, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
• Tom Waits (The Fisher King, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
• Christopher Plummer (12 Monkeys, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
• Christopher Meloni (12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
• Johnny Depp (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
• Verne Troyer (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
• Matt Damon (The Brothers Grimm, The Zero Theorem)
• Heath Ledger (The Brothers Grimm, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
• Peter Stormare (The Brothers Grimm, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Zero Theorem)

Other recurring collaborators include Gilliam's cinematographers Roger Pratt (Brazil, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys) and Nicola Pecorini (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Brothers Grimm, Tideland, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), and his co-writer McKeown (Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus).

Gilliam and Harry Potter

J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, is a fan of Gilliam's work. Consequently, he was Rowling's first choice to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2000, but Warner Bros. ultimately chose Chris Columbus for the job. In response to this decision, Gilliam expressed that "I was the perfect guy to do Harry Potter. I remember leaving the meeting, getting in my car, and driving for about two hours along Mulholland Drive just so angry. I mean, Chris Columbus' versions are terrible. Just dull. Pedestrian." In 2006, Gilliam added that he found Alfonso Cuarón's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to be "really good...much closer to what I would've done." In retrospect, however, Gilliam has stated that he wouldn't have liked to direct any Potter film. In a 2005 interview with Total Film magazine, he said that he would not enjoy working on such an expensive project due to interference from studio executives.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows " Part 1, director David Yates paid homage to Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil, portraying the Death Eater-infiltrated Ministry of Magic in a fashion reminiscent of Gilliam's totalitarian bureaucracy.

Secret Tournament

In 2002, Gilliam directed a series of television advertisements called Secret Tournament. The advertisements were part of Nike's FIFA World Cup campaign, and featured a secret three-on-three tournament between the world's best football players inside a huge tanker ship, with the Elvis Presley song "A Little Less Conversation" playing during the advertisements.

Slava's Diabolo

In 1996, Gilliam directed the stage show Slava's Diabolo created and staged by Russian clown artist Slava Polunin. The show combines Polunin's clown style, characterized by deep non-verbal expression and interaction with the audience, with Gilliam's rich visuals and surrealistic imagery. The show premiered at the Noga hall of the Gesher theater in Jaffa, Israel.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed and co-written by Gilliam, was released in 2009. In January 2007, Gilliam announced that he had been working on a new project with writing partner Charles McKeown. One day later, the fansite Dreams reported that the new project was titled The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. In October 2007, Dreams confirmed that this would be Gilliam's next project and was slated to star Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits. Production began in December 2007 in London.

On 22 January 2008, production of the film was disrupted following the death of Heath Ledger in New York City. Variety reported that Ledger's involvement had been a "key factor" in the film's financing. Production was suspended indefinitely by 24 January, but in February actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell signed on to continue Ledger's role, transforming into multiple incarnations of his character in the "magical" world of the film. Thanks to this arrangement principal photography was completed 15 April 2008 on schedule. Editing was completed November 2008. According to the official ParnassusFilm Twitter channel launched on 30 March 2009, the film's post-production FX work finished on 31 March. During the filming, Gilliam was accidentally hit by a bus and broke his back.

The film had successful screenings including a premiere at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. The UK release for the film was scheduled for 6 June 2009 but was pushed back to 16 October 2009. The USA release was on 25 December 2009. Eventually, this $30 million-budgeted film had grossed more than $60 million in worldwide theatrical release.

The director stated his intent to dedicate the film to Ledger. Depp, Farrell, and Law donated their proceeds from the film to Ledger's daughter.

The Damnation of Faust

Gilliam made his opera debut at London's English National Opera in May 2011, directing The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz. The production received positive reviews in the British press On 16 September 2012, the production opened at the Vlaamse Opera in Ghent, Belgium, in the opera's original French language version and received praise from critics and audiences alike. After a number of performances in Ghent, the production moved to the opera house in Antwerp for sold-out run of performances.

Projects in development or shelved

Gilliam has several projects in various states of development, including an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's and Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy novel Good Omens. Other projects Gilliam has been trying to get off the ground since the 1990s are an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (starring Mel Gibson), an adaptation of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain (which has been adapted into movies several times before), and a script titled The Defective Detective that Gilliam has co-authored with Richard LaGravenese (who wrote Gilliam's The Fisher King before).

It was rumoured that Gilliam may direct " or be involved in the production of " the animated band Gorillaz' movie. In a September 2006 interview with Uncut, Damon Albarn was reported saying "... we're making a film. We've got Terry Gilliam involved." However, in a more recent interview with Gorillaz-Unofficial, Jamie Hewlett, the co-creator of the band, stated that since the time of the previous interview, Damon's and his own fixation on the film had lessened. In an August 2008 Observer interview, Gorillaz band members Albarn and Hewlett revealed the nature and title of the project, Journey to the West, a movie adaptation of the opera of the same name based on a 16th-century Chinese adventure story also known as Monkey. In January 2008, while on set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Gilliam stated that he was looking forward to the project, "But I'm still waiting to see a script!"

The Zero Theorem was a planned feature film project by Gilliam. The science fiction film would have starred Billy Bob Thornton. Participating were producer Richard D. Zanuck and screenwriter Pat Rushin. When little was revealed about the nature of the film writer Pat Rushin suggested that his short story "Vow: A Prolix Parable" was an example of the screenplay's sensibility. An article at film website Tout Le Cine stated the film was to be about a reclusive and tortured data processing genius working on a mysterious project. Production was said to start May 2009. However, in June 2009 Gilliam stated that he had dropped the film having to invest more time than expected in the promotion of the 2009 film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus as well as in preparation for his film of Don Quixote. In October 2012, the film was finally shot with Christoph Waltz replacing Thornton.

Future projects

After regaining the rights to the screenplay of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Gilliam restarted pre-production in 2008, with Johnny Depp still attached to the project. The film will be reshot completely, and Rochefort's role will be recast. Michael Palin reportedly entered talks with Gilliam to step in for Rochefort and play Don Quixote. However, Gilliam revealed on Canadian talk show The Hour on 17 December 2009, that Robert Duvall had been cast to play Quixote.

On 16 December 2010, Variety reported that Gilliam is to "godfather" a film called 1884 which is described as an animated steampunk parody of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, with several former Pythons lending their voice talents to the project whereas Gilliam will be credited as "creative adviser".

During the second half of 2011, Gilliam wrote a screenplay, co-authored by Paul Auster, for a film adaptation of Auster's novel Mr. Vertigo.

In July 2012, Gilliam revealed plans for a future film, which would be shot in Bucharest, Romania, but although he denied that it would be Don Quixote, refused to give any details. Actor David Walliams reportedly entered talks with Gilliam to play a part in it, and was told that he'd have to "be willing to work with Johnny Depp and fly to Bucharest where the movie is to be filmed." Depp, so far, has made no mention of his involvement, but was seen in Bucharest around the same time in mid-July as Romanian news outlets reported Gilliam was staying in the city for negotiations on studio work with Romanian film production company MediaPro Studios. On 13 August 2012, this project was officially announced to be The Zero Theorem, set to start shooting in Bucharest on 22 October, produced by Dean Zanuck (son to the late Richard D. Zanuck who was to originally produce in 2009), worldwide sales handled by Voltage Pictures, Toronto and starring Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz in the lead, replacing Billy Bob Thornton who had been attached to the project in 2009. In October 2012, it was reported that David Thewlis and Tilda Swinton had joined the cast.

Charitable Activities

Gilliam has been involved with a number of charitable and humanitarian causes. In 2009, Gilliam became a board member of Videre Est Credere (Latin for "to see is to believe") a UK Human Rights Charity. Videre describes itself as "give[ing] local activists the equipment, training and support needed to safely capture compelling video evidence of human rights violations. This captured footage is verified, analysed and then distributed to those who can create change." He participates alongside movie producer Uri Fruchtmann, music producer Brian Eno and Executive Director of Greenpeace UK John Sauven.

Personal life

Gilliam has been married to the British make-up and costume designer Maggie Weston since 1973. She worked on Monty Python's Flying Circus, many of the Python movies, and Gilliam's movies up to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. They have three children, Amy (b. 1978), Holly (b. 1980), and Harry (b. 1988), who have also appeared in several of Gilliam's films.

In 1968, Gilliam obtained British citizenship, then held dual American and British citizenship for the next 38 years. In January 2006 he renounced his American citizenship. In an interview with Der Tagesspiegel, he described the action as a protest against then President George W. Bush, and in an earlier interview with The Onion AV Club, he also indicated that it was related to concerns about future tax liability for his wife and children. As a result of renouncing his citizenship, Gilliam is only permitted to spend 29 days per year in the United States, fewer than ordinary British citizens. Gilliam maintains a residence in Italy near the Umbria-Tuscany border. He has been instrumental in establishing the annual Umbria Film Festival, held in the nearby hill town of Montone.

Filmography

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, co-directed with Terry Jones)
• Jabberwocky (1977)
• Time Bandits (1981)
• Brazil (1985)
• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
• The Fisher King (1991)
• 12 Monkeys (1995)
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
• The Brothers Grimm (2005)
• Tideland (2005)
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
• The Zero Theorem (2013)

Awards, nominations and honours

• Time Bandits (1981)
  • 5 Saturn Awards nominations Best International Film, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Supporting Actor (Craig Warnock), Best Special Effects
• Brazil (1985)
  • 2 Academy Awards nominations Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration"'
  • 3 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Film, Director, and Screenplay
  • 2 BAFTA Awards "'Best Production Design, Best Special Visual Effects"'
• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
  • 4 Academy Awards nominations Best Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup
  • 3 BAFTA Awards Best Costume Design, Best Make Up Artist, Best Production Design, 1 BAFTA Award nomination "'Best Special Effects"'
  • 3 Silver Ribbons awarded by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design
  • 4 Saturn Awards nominations Best Fantasy Film, Best Costumes, Best Make-Up, Best Special Effects
  • Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation
• The Fisher King (1991)
  • Academy Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Mercedes Ruehl)
  • 4 Academy Awards nominations Best Actor in a Leading Role (Robin Williams), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Music, Original Score, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
  • 2 Golden Globes Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical (Robin Williams), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Mercedes Ruehl)
  • 3 Golden Globes nominations Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Jeff Bridges)
  • 2 BAFTA Awards nominations Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Amanda Plummer), Best Screenplay-Original
  • Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress (Mercedes Ruehl)
  • 6 Saturn Awards nominations Best Fantasy Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Robin Williams), Best Actor (Jeff Bridges), Best Writing, Best Costumes
  • Venice Film Festival Silver Lion Winner
  • Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actress (Mercedes Ruehl)
  • 4 Los Angeles Film Critics Association nominations Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Amanda Plummer), Best Screenplay
  • Toronto Film Festival People's Choice Award Winner
• Twelve Monkeys (1995)
  • 2 Academy Awards nominations Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Brad Pitt), Best Costume Design
  • Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Brad Pitt)
  • 3 Saturn Awards "'Best Science Fiction Film, Best Supporting Actor"' (Brad Pitt), "'Best Costumes"'
  • 4 Saturn Awards nominations "'Best Director, Best Actor"' (Bruce Willis), "'Best Actress"' (Madeleine Stowe), "'Best Writing"'
  • Empire Award "'Best Director"'
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
  • Cannes Film Festival Official Selection
• The Brothers Grimm (2005)
  • Venice Film Festival Official Selection
• Tideland (2005)
  • Saturn Award nomination "'Best Performance by a Younger Actor"' (Jodelle Ferland)
  • San Sebastian Festival Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
  • 2 Academy Awards nominations Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction
  • 2 BAFTA Awards nominations Best Production Design, Best Make Up & Hair
  • 2 Saturn Awards nominations "'Best International Film, Best Make-Up"'
  • 2 Empire Awards nominations "'Best British Film, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy"'
  • Best Fantasy Film nomination by the Costume Designers Guild of America
  • British Independent Film Awards nomination for Best Achievement in Production
  • International Press Academy Satellite Award Best Costume Design, 3 more nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction & Production Design, Best Original Song
  • Voted Best Fantasy Film of the Year by readers of the Total Sci-Fi Online magazine.
• An asteroid, 9619 Terrygilliam, is named in his honor.
• Gilliam was given the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award in 2009 for his contribution to motion picture arts.
• Gilliam was also given a BAFTA Special Award in 1969 for the graphics and animations in Monty Python's Flying Circus.
• Terry Gilliam awarded the Fellowship of the Kermodes, by film critic Mark Kermode.
• Gilliam was honored with the Director with Unique Visual Sensitivity Award at the Camerimage film festival in ?ód?, Poland in 2009.

Further reading