What a pleasure it is talking to Terry Gilliam. Not only he one of the founding members of Monty Python – a troupe I love more than words can describe – but this is the man who directed TIME BANDITS, BRAZIL, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and 12 MONKEYS. It's also not every day you get to meet a bona fide cinematic genius – who just happens to be a hell of a nice guy. I could have talked to Gilliam for hours, but alas I only has a scant four minutes available to me. We take what we can get.
The reason for my fortuitous meeting with Terry: THE ZERO THEOREM, a strange and personal new movie directed with his signature quirky style and attention to freaky detail. The film stars Christoph Waltz as a corporate drone who spends almost all of his time in his apartment/office (an abandoned church) but soon discovers there's more to the world than waiting for your destiny to come to you. It's very much "a Terry Gilliam" film, even though he didn't write it, as pointed out in the interview. Terry and I talk about THE ZERO THEOREM's relation to his other works, working with a smallish budget, shooting on film and what comes next for the artist.