Dreams and Nightmares: Terry Gilliam, The Brothers Grimm, & Other Cautionary Tales of Hollywood

A behind-the-scenes chronicle of the creation of the Terry Gilliam's `The Brothers Grimm', charting all the highs and lows in the film's journey from script to screen. Told by both Gilliam and McCabe, who provides an on-set diary, this unique account reveals exactly how a film is made - or ruined - in today's Hollywood system. THE BROTHERS GRIMM is Terry Gilliam's film for autumn 2005. After two years of pre-production hell, the film was finally greenlit in March 2003 by Miramax's Dimension Films with a budget bigger than anything Gilliam has ever had to work with - on condition that the film was fast-tracked for a 2004 release. With stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger playing the brothers Jake and Will, and co-starring Jonathan Pryce, hero from Gilliam's seminal BRAZIL, this movie is hailed as an Indiana Jones and the Brothers Grimm -style adventure, in which two Middle-Ages conmen who travel the countryside inventing horrendous ghost stories, only so they can claim to have defeated evil and be showered with gifts and women, finally encounter a real magical curse and are forced to find the courage to do a proper day's work of evil-vanquishing. Drawing upon numerous crewmember's diaries and candid, outspoken interviews with Terry Gilliam and the stars as the basis for this book, author Bob McCabe follows Gilliam through the pre-production battle of wills between director and producers, the nightmares of filming without budget, equipment or even cast, and the anarchy and brinkmanship of post-production inevitable in a Gilliam film. He seeks to unravel the truth buried between the lines, and reveals exactly how a film is made - or ruined - in today's Hollywood system. Guaranteed to fascinate film buffs and Terry Gilliam fans alike - already intrigued after the collapse of his Don Quixote movie formed the basis of a captivating documentary film - this amusing chronicle will be an unputdownable read and should put anyone who has aspired to direct a film in the future completely off the idea!