Terry Gilliam has had such headaches in trying to fund his last few projects that he’s hinted about retirement. However, back in April, fansite Gilliam Dreams had reported that the director was set to direct “The Carnival at the End of Days.”
It turns out that, yeah, Gilliam does want to direct ‘Carnival’ as his next feature, but the problem is — let me know if you’ve heard this one before — he can’t find the funding for it .. That’s what Gilliam told a Lumière Film Festival crowd over the weekend, jokingly asking if anyone had Elon Musk’s number.
The premise of the film would revolve around God wanting to wipe out humanity, because he's so disappointed by what has gone down on planet earth, only for Satan to convince God to create a new Adam & Eve to result in a new improved humanity.
Gilliam already spoke about this project last september in this interview. He mentioned working with a "young screenwriter” on the script and that final draft was more or less completed. That screenwriter turned out to be Christopher Brett Bailey.
Also, in a recent French interview he revealed that the budget for this film would be around $30 million dollars.
The last time Gilliam directed was 2018’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” a film he was trying to make for more than two decades. It came and went without much excitement, although I thought it was his — de facto —best film since the late ‘90s.
That is essentially the reason why Gilliam can’t seem to find funding for his projects. His films of the last 25 years have been both critical and commercial misfires. Risking $30 million on this legendary filmmaker is not going to be a walk in the park for any producer.
Many forget just how important and vital a cinematic voice Terry Gilliam was during his peak years, especially when he was battling Universal for the final cut of his 1985 masterpiece, “Brazil.” He’s given us other great films over the years, including “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “12 Monkeys.”
Having an insurance director is not uncommon in Hollywood. Aging filmmakers, in case a health issue arises, sometimes need to have one. It seems like that’s what might have occurred on “What Happens at Night.”