The Next Reel Film Podcast

Terry Gilliam has said that ‘The Fisher King’ and ‘Twelve Monkeys’ were two of the easiest films for him to make. Perhaps that’s because he found the right way to work in the studio system, perhaps it’s because he found the right people to work with, perhaps it’s because he wasn’t working with his own scripts. It’s hard to say why that is, but they certainly proved successful at the box office, showing that Gilliam wasn’t box office poison and allowing him to continue his career. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we conclude our Terry Gilliam series with his 1995 film ‘Twelve Monkeys.’

After the financial disaster that was ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,’ Terry Gilliam needed a way to prove to the studio brass that he could make a great movie that was on budget and made money at the box office. He found it in ‘The Fisher King,’ the film he made and released in 1991. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Terry Gilliam series with the fantastic ‘The Fisher King.’

After the battle that Terry Gilliam had to endure to release ‘Brazil,’ it’s a shame that his next movie ended up being another debacle. From producer problems to studio exec switcheroos to plain old bad luck, ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ has a tough film to get made. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Terry Gilliam series with this beautiful but troubled film.

Terry Gilliam has always been an ambitious director with wild visions for his films. Sometimes that’s worked out, sometimes it hasn’t. In the case of the follow-up to his successful film Time Bandits, Brazil didn’t work out, at least at the time. Gilliam had a very public battle with Sid Sheinberg, the president and CEO of MCA-Universal at the time, who didn’t want to release Gilliam’s film as it was presented to him. It wasn’t until 1996 when Gilliam’s director’s cut was finally released, but people could tell long before that there was a great film here. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Terry Gilliam series with Andy’s favorite movie, Brazil.

Getting out from under the shadow of Monty Python proved difficult for Terry Gilliam early in his solo career — no one in America would finance any films for him — so while he waited to get his big movie, “Brazil,” off the ground, he wrote a script for an idea he’d been kicking around that would appeal to the whole family. “Time Bandits” proved to be a box office success and still is one of Gilliam’s most profitable movies, allowing him to make “Brazil” immediately afterward and continue in the business. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we dig into his 1981 film.