Terry Gilliam reflects on his “conflictual” relationship with Hollywood
Monty Python member and Brazil director Terry Gilliam has detailed his “conflictual relationship” with Hollywood and outlined how he has always strived never to compromise on his work.
Gilliam offered the comments in a discussion with The Hollywood Reporter at the 2023 Ora! festival in Monopoli, Italy. As well as detailing his thoughts on the state of the world today by stating that he is “very depressed about the state of the world we live in”, Gilliam then reflected on his complicated relationship with Hollywood and how he has often found himself at odds with executives.
Asked what relationship he’s had with Hollywood over the years, which includes a very public battle with Universal Pictures, the director responded: “It’s always been kind of a conflictual relationship. I became known as a bit of a terrorist. I never compromised. I always fought for my stories. Because storytelling is what it’s all about, you don’t fuck with the stories.”
“But there’s always a moment at the end of every film where the executives, who are basically panicky people being paid a fortune to supposedly know what they’re doing, even though they don’t, where they get nervous,” he continued.
Gilliam said: “Always at the end, they say: ‘Oh, change this or cut this, blah, blah, blah, and then it’ll work.’ I always fight that. The only way I win these arguments is by making sure that the leading actors are on my side.”
He concluded: “Because I don’t have the power. The stars have the power. That’s how I was able to make my movies. The people who put up the money must always believe that you know exactly what you’re doing, even if you don’t have a clue. It’s all about make-believe, pretending. I’ll tell you a secret: I seem to be all jolly, a bit of a clown. That’s just make-believe. The truth is, in real life, I am a big jerk. I feel most sorry for my wife. I know how much she’s suffered being around someone like me.”
Watch the trailer for Brazil below.
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