Very few of Terry Gilliam's films have been produced without some kind of grievous production problem. Gilliam appears to be cursed, with his films victimized by studio tinkering, bad filming conditions, or the health of his actors. The saga of his "Brazil" is well known to cineastes, and his more recent "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" had to be made twice, after the first version of the film fell through. In 2009, Gilliam released "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," a melancholy nightmare about
a mystical closet that travels around in the possession of the titular doctor (Christopher Plummer). Inside the closet is a mystical pocket dimension where surreal dreams are manifested. Dr. Parnassus heads a theater troupe and is immortal, having been tricked by Satan (Tom Waits). Into his company comes the handsome young Tony (Heath Ledger), who may offer salvation. At the very least, Tony offers to spruce up the troupe's act and is handsome enough to charm wealthy dowagers into investing in the show.
Ledger — who appeared in Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm" — tragically died while "Doctor Parnassus" was still in production, however, with many scenes left un-filmed. Gilliam and his screenwriter, Charles McKeown, quickly restructured the film to incorporate a new fantasy element, concocted to cover for Ledger's absence. When people step inside the magical Imaginarium, the powers inside transform them into newer versions of themselves. As such, when Tony stepped through the portal-like door, he transformed into Jude Law, Johnny Depp, or Colin Farrell. Law, Depp, and Farrell were friends of Ledger, and they were happy to honor their recently deceased compatriot by playing the same character. The conceit works, and was a marvelous way to salvage Ledger's final performance for posterity.
Back in 2009, it was reported by Collider that Tom Cruise, a great admirer of Ledger, was also interested in filling one of the roles. Gilliam, despite Cruise's star power, turned him down, saying that Ledger would be more properly honored by personal friends and colleagues. Cruise wasn't a friend.
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Tom Cruise Wanted To Be In The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Gilliam's reasoning was simple and straightforward. He mentioned that this was a "have your people call my people" situation, as it seems that Gilliam and Cruise never actually met face-to-face. Had Cruise made an impassioned plea, Gilliam may have folded, but just taking Cruise out of hand was not something Gilliam was interested in doing. As he said succinctly:
"I know there was a period when Tom's agents were keen. The thing is, I was only interested in people who were friends of Heath. Simple as that. I wanted to keep it in the family."
Apart from "Parnassus," Ledger didn't share any credits with Farrell, Depp, or Law. They were just friends of his. Tom Cruise wasn't buddies with Ledger, and he was turned away. It's also wholly possible that Gilliam rejected Cruise because he didn't want cinema's biggest movie star to eclipse the presence of Heath Ledger, giving what was to be his final performance. If Gilliam had cast Cruise, it would cease to be a Heath Ledger film and only ever be seen as a Tom Cruise film.
It's also possible that Cruise would have required too much pay or creative control over the project; the actor notoriously likes to give directives to his directors. Or perhaps Gilliam isn't a fan of Cruise as an actor. All these are possible. In the end, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" does hang together well enough, and the "shifting faces" conceit feels less intrusive than one might expect from its description. Depp, Law, and Farrell fulfil their roles well, and are happy to play Ledger's character while also getting out of his way. "Doctor Parnassus" ended up getting only lukewarm reviews (it has a 64% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes), as it bore Gilliam's usual sense of fantastical, tragic, anarchic chaos, something not every critic jibes with.
It's still moving, though, to see Ledger again.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
