Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Friday. That’s it, people, 2020 is officially the worst year ever. Sad news, rock and roll fans. Eddie Van Halen, the iconic guitarist by one of the most famous and iconic bands in history, Van Halen, has died. According to TMZ, his son Wolfgang Van Halen confirmed the tragic news. Back in 2019, it was reported that Van Halen was being treated for throat cancer. Eddie Van Halen died at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica alongside his wife Janie, his son Wolfgang and older brother Alex. According to TMZ, in the last 72 hours, the guitarist’s ongoing health battle went “massively downhill.” Doctors discovered his throat cancer moved to his brain as well as other organs. Battling cancer for over a decade, he had been in an out of the hospital over the past year, including in November 2019 for intestinal issues, and recently underwent a round of chemo.
Mourning his father’s death, Van Halen’s son posted an Instagram with the caption, “I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning. He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss. I love you so much, Pop.”
Here I was thinking that I have seen it all. Turns out a gross Louisiana priest was arrested for obscenity charges last week after allegedly being caught having sex with two dominatrices on the altar of his church. Talk about an intense and wild crime. According to authorities, a passerby in Pearl River, Northeast of New Orleans, called police on September 30th after allegedly viewing Rev. Travis Clark through a window engaged with two high-heeled corset women. The 37-year-old was partially dressed in his priestly attire.
The trio had allegedly set up the stage lighting, appearing to be recording the encounter on a cell phone. According to the New Orleans Advocate, the witness stated that they became suspicious when they noticed a light at Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church on late at night. The alleged incident was then recorded by a witness and shown to the police. Whatever happened to snitches get stitches? Just kidding, this is bad, this is really really bad. It’s a sacred place for crying out loud, there is no room for threesomes in there. Clark, who had been a NOLA pastor at the church since 2019, was then arrested by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office for allegedly having group sex in a publicly visible location. Court documents stated the two women involved, 41-year-old Mindy Dixon, and 23-year-old Melissa Cheng, were also arrested. Dixon is an adult film actress who works as a dominatrix, according to the New Orleans Advocate. The newspaper reported that a social media account post from Dixon the day before her arrest stated that she was going to New Orleans to meet another dominatrix and “defile a house of God.” Clark was also the chaplain of a nearby Catholic High School and was ordained as a priest back in 2013.
As expected, the Archdiocese of New Orleans suspended Clark the day he was arrested. Town council member Kat Walsh stated “What upsets me is, why did he have to do that there? I’m upset for all of us, the parishioners of the church. Why there?” In regards to the church altar, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said he went to the church days later for a church ritual to restore the altar’s sanctity. Apparently on the same day of the arrest, another New Orleans priest, Rev. Pat Wattigny, revealed that he had allegedly sexually abused minors in 2013. He was then removed from the ministry immediately.
Clark had taken over the chaplain position at the high school for Wattigny after he had resigned last summer over some alleged inappropriate text messages with a student. Clark was released from jail on a $25,000 Bond and is now facing up to three years in prison. Neither Clark nor the Archdiocese has made a public opinion about the arrest. Also, did we forget about COVID?
I’m a parent, and I know what it’s like when my kid is disobeying me. I always give it to parents who know exactly how to raise their children in order for them to become better humans. Like this mother, who decided to take matters into her own hand after she physically caught her child skipping school.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, several schools have decided to continue the rest of the year online. Meaning several classes, whether it’s elementary, high school, or college, are now partaking in Zoom classes. This means that you can pretty much stay at home all day and just pretend to be listening when really you’re watching TV while the teacher is talking. It’s normal, we all know everyone is doing this. But just because your classes are now online, means that you can skip school. At the end of the day, you’re still paying for your tuition so you might as well take advantage of it. Which is why this mother was insanely mad at her son. Who is probably just trying to buy some chips and a coke because he was hungry. Basically, the video shows a teenager going up to the cash register waiting to pay. That’s when a woman comes in, wearing a purple bonnet, with a belt in her right hand. She begins to ask the boy why he is there and what he’s doing, telling him to go back home. The boy then looks at her as she tries to grab his hand and pull it, only for him to flinch it back.
The mom attempts to grab him again, and the boy once again pulls his hand away to which the mom takes a step back and with no hesitation begins to whoop his ass. The mom is seen hitting him on the butt as he’s on the floor, attempting to get up with his pants down.
Realizing that he probably made the biggest mistake of his life, he stands up and walks straight to the door to walk out of the store, as a mother is seen beating him from behind. Honestly, I respect this woman so so much. You know that things are not going to end well for this kid, but hey at least you know she’s raising some good boys. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do in order for people to listen to you. Plus, this mom is probably spending so much money on his education for him to just nonchalantly skip class as a nothing. if I was him, I would wash the dishes every day until further notice because it’s all going to go downhill from here kid.
If you watched the vice presidential debate Wednesday night between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, then you know that there was one star that stole the spotlight, and it had absolutely nothing to do with politics either. A creature landed on Mike Pence’s head, and the general public just can’t get enough of it. “The fly,” as it now has been branded due to its quick rise to fame, has honestly caused more ripples in society’s attention than the actual content of the debate itself, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing.
Nevertheless, I won’t denote the entertainment the world is getting from this little pesky insect. It’s all fun and games, and within less than 24 hours of the VP debate, the fly might as well have a manager or agent. On social media, specifically on Twitter, many have called for actor Jeff Goldblum himself to play the fly on "Saturday Night Live." Could you imagine?
So why Jeff Goldblum? Well, if you haven’t already put the two and two together, Goldblum played an eccentric scientist who turned himself into a fly-hybrid in the 1986 sci-fi horror film The Fly, directed by David Cronenberg. The hilarity of the irony was too much of a massive opportunity to pass up, as Twitter exploded in calling the Jurassic Park star and Phile Alum to be the fly on "SNL." Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden tweeted...
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul jokingly said that the fly was sent by “the deep state” to spy on Pence.
Obviously, there are more pressing matters than an annoying insect trending across social platforms when it comes to politics. We’re in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. But hey, it wouldn’t hurt to seize the opportunity to create an "SNL" skit or just to enjoy the nostalgia of old sci-fi horror movies. Which, you could totally catch The Fly on Hulu, Starz, Amazon Prime, YouTube, iTunes and more.
Spooky season seeps into all aspects of life as summer turns into fall. There’s an eerie atmosphere that tends to take over as temperatures start to drop, colors start to change, and playful mischief runs amok. Haunting stories are always fun for those who enjoy the thrill of a good scare. But how about actually living in a fictional psychopath serial killer’s house in real life? Could you do it?
Iconic thriller The Silence of the Lamb‘s serial killer Buffalo Bill’s house is now on the market, and I’m not one to believe in coincidences, but it’s uncannily close to Halloween to be putting a house like this one up. The Victorian, Queen Anne-style home served as the set of the 1991 film but has been a “normal” home since then. Real-estate agents, the Sisters, say, “Most of America has seen this house but now you have a chance to buy it,” and it runs for a reasonable asking price at $298,500. Located in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania, it’s a four-bedroom house with a front porch on 1.7 acres of land, along the train tracks you might recognize from the opening shot of the Buffalo Bill scene.
If you’ve seen the Academy Award-winning film, you’ll recognize the trim and hardwood floors where FBI agent Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster, confronted Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine. And the basement is still dark and creepy, although you won’t find the hole with a well and basket (that part was filmed at a sound stage). It does, however, included a storage area with a brick-lined cold cellar to which the realtors did admit was “actually kind of creepy.” The house does have some history that has essentially not much to do with Anthony Hopkin’s character, Dr. Hannibal Lecter at all. It’s a detached garage, now converted into a workspace, was actually the town’s post office and train station at one point. And there’s also more history in the vintage caboose that is next to an in-ground pool.
Aside from those that wouldn’t mind living in a house that is associated with the crazies, competition includes PETA, who wanted to buy the house as an empathy museum. Visitors would’ve been able to wear the skin of mistreated animals, ironically just like good ol’ Buffalo Bill himself.
I joke around about spooky season and horror movies, but I do want to point out how low the price seems for this house. Is there more? Was it just more than a set for a horror thriller? I don’t care if the story’s fictional, you won’t catch me near that house at all.
October is breast cancer awareness month, so if you’re naturally a lover of pink, you’re probably all set to support breast cancer awareness. While many organizations sell breast cancer awareness month t-shirts, some are beginning to sell breast cancer awareness masks.
I love this idea so much! I think this could speak volumes to many people who aren’t fans of masks. Someone just a few feet away from them could be battling cancer or know someone who is. Keeping the vulnerable safe is something we’re all capable of doing. All it takes is a mask. Like this one...
These disposable face masks have been popular during the coronavirus pandemic. They’re one size fits, unisex, and have ear straps. Instead of buying your typical blue masks, go with pink. It's pumpkin spice season but some companies are taking that just a little bit too far...
See what I mean? They tell me I would see some weird sights at Walmart. I did not believe it until I saw this...
This is a weird football season. Some teams are changing their logos, like this new from the Eagles...
I just shrug. Have you seen the new GOP logo? I have it here...
I told you about the fly that landed on Pence's head, right? Well, look what Biden is selling...
Only 10 bucks, people. If I had a TARDIS I would like to go back in time and meet Eddie Van Halen and his brother Alex. But knowing my luck I might end up going too far back...
One of the best things about the Internet is you can see porn for free and so easy. But the problem is you might get in trouble and I want you to stay on the Phile and not go off to another site. So I came up with a solution...
You're welcome. Shaming people on social media for their parenting skills is never a good idea, especially when you don't know the whole story...
Many people have different opinions on the "right" way to parent, but as long as children are safe and loved, sometimes it's best to keep your judgements to yourself. And, while it's normal to want to protect your child and defend them when a stranger is criticizing their behavior, it's important to also understand when your child is completely in the wrong. Even good kids can sometimes be entitled brats!
Sharing every minute of being alive is considered normal behavior now, and many people have built businesses and personal brands from sharing every intimate detail of their personal lives online. For teenagers who didn't know what the world was like before the number of likes had to validate every fun event, it can be easy for them to blur the lines of what is an isn't appropriate to share publicly.
So, when a mom decided to consult the Phile about a verbal fight she got into with a teenager who was filming her husband and her baby without their consent and planning to post it to social media, I was ready to help.
"Am I wrong for ‘intimidating’ a teenager and not apologizing about it? Myself and my husband and our six month old daughter, Dany and I had gone to the departmental store to get some groceries. Now, Dany gets a bit fussy when the person who’s holding her is standing still. So we decided that my husband would take Dany out for a little walk so she doesn’t get fussy while I pay for stuff.
When I was done, I walk out of the store to see Dany crying and my husband doing the absolute best he can to stop that. I also see a young girl, about 15, filming the scene. I guess she didn’t realize I was right behind her, or that I was related to them, because she was filming and saying ‘this is why men are trash. Exhibit 101.' I asked her to stop filming and needless to say, she was a bit shocked. This was the exact conversation that happened, since this is important. Me: Were you gonna upload that online?
Her: Yes. Why do you care?
Me: Because that’s my husband and my daughter. Do you know that filming people without their consent isn’t legal? You should delete the video. She deletes the video. After hearing the story, she accuses me of ‘intimidating’ her kid. She asks me to apologize to her child. I admit, I was being stern with the girl, and she did look a little freaked, but that isn’t intimidation by any means. So I told her mom that yeah, that’s not happening and walked away. My husband, even though is on my side, agrees that I can be scary when I’m angry while the rest of my friends think that I shouldn’t have bothered with the teenager.
Am I wrong?" There’s no reason for someone to be recording your infant without your consent. No telling where that video could end up. You had every right to be stern. A teenager was filming your husband while holding your crying child and then intended to shame him online for that? This was just disrespectful on her part, especially using it as an example for "why men suck." She needed to be called out. And based on the mother's behavior, you can see why she has no respect. But it actually is completely legal to film anyone in public and share it on the Internet, but she should know by now that morally it's just rude. The mom sounds like she was just embarrassed and trying to blame shift. You handled it perfectly. Hopefully the teen learns a lesson about filming people without their consent. So, there you have it!
This woman had every right to protect her husband and her daughter, and sometimes teenagers need to be harshly reprimanded by strangers to learn respect. While it isn't exactly "illegal," it's definitely rude to film a family and make assumptions about their dynamic without context. Good luck, everyone! If you have a problem you'd like my help on email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com.
If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York here is...
Top Phive Reactions To The Fly That Landed On Mike Pence's Head During The Debate
5. Unfortunately, a fly got more air time during the VP debate than LGBTQ issues did.
4. The fly on the phone with his friends like “Yasss bitch, did you see me on TV??”
3. WME has signed the fly.
2. What message do you suppose God was trying to convey by placing a fly on Pence's head during the debate?
And the number one reaction to the fly that landed on Pence's head was...
1. Our kids will answer SAT essay questions about the fly.
Okay, let's take a live at Port Jeff, shall we?
Looks like a nice busy evening there. Okay, here's another story from this crazy state...
A Florida woman faced charges of nearly being responsible for her child becoming a hot car death statistic after police said she left her child in a hot vehicle and then told police “it was hot” when she was put into the back of a police cruiser, according to a report.
Police were called to a Dollar General store in South Daytona for a report of a child left in a parked car. They said they found a 5-year-old sitting in a locked Hyundai alone, in a car seat, with the front seat side window down and both rear seat passenger side windows rolled up. The rear driver’s side window was slightly open, a report said. The car was parked in direct sunlight without any shade, police said. A perfect situation for a vehicular heatstroke death and a total lapse in child safety.
Police said the boy appeared upset and was sweating profusely.
Police dashcam video captured the interaction between mother Colleen Walker, 30, officers and firefighters.
“He wasn’t in the car for two hours, it was like, 12 minutes,” Walker told police as she walked out of the store, adding her son had wanted to stay in the car while she shopped.
“Don’t get all huffy and puffy because I’m not going to feel bad for you. I don’t care,” the firefighter said.
The witness who called 911 said the child was left for about 20 minutes and that the child was crying and screaming.
The manager of the store told police Walker has been walking around the store for nearly 30 minutes.
Surveillance video showed Walker in the store for about 30 minutes with her 3-year-old daughter.
A firefighter told Walker her son was lucky to be alive.
In regards to kids in hot cars and the child deaths that result, one firefighter said, “We get cases and cases where, 10, 15 minutes the kid is dead.”
The South Daytona Fire Department checked the temperature of the vehicle, which was 107 degrees, far higher than the outside temperature.
The young child’s vitals were checked and he was okay.
Police said while she was being driven to jail, Walker told officers to put on the air conditioning because it was “too hot.”
“She was complaining that the backseat of our patrol car was too hot on her way to the jail, and asked the officer to turn the AC up,” Lt. Dan Dietrich said.
She’s faced child neglect charges and was jailed on a $5,000 bail.
If Katniss and Peeta from Hunger Games were Hollywood celebrities, their super couple nickname would either be Katpee or Peeniss.
The 137th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Lamont will be on the Phile next week.
Eddie Van Halen
January 26th, 1955 — October 6th, 2020
Runnin' with the devil.
Bob Gibson
November 9th, 1935 — October 2nd, 2020
"He'd knock down his own grandmother if she dared to challenge him," is actually a compliment for a pitcher. Few things are as boring here as scandal-free athletes.
Today's guest is is an American-born British film director, screenwriter, animator, actor, comedian and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Brothers Grimm, Tideland, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and his latest
. Please welcome to the Phile... Terry Gilliam.
Me: Hello, Terry, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Terry: It's nice being here, thank you.
Me: You're the second member of Monty Python to be on the Phile, so I'm excited you're here. So, lemme get this straight... you've been working on a movie about Don Quixote for thirty years? Is that right?
Terry: Over the years their have been many attempts to make Don Quixote the famous Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes, into a good movie. Orson Welles and Walt Disney both tried and gave up. Despite those setbacks, I persisted in trying to make his movie. Now, after 30 years, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is finally here.
Me: So, how are you feeling now that the movie is done?
Terry: Really relieved is the way to describe it. It's finally out of my system. I can get on with the rest of my life.
Me: What is it like putting out a movie with so much mythology around it?
Terry: That's been my big worry from the beginning. When we started shooting the film finally I think for the first two weeks I was kind of frozen with fear of that other people are expecting.
Me: Why is that?
Terry: Because some people have been waiting for 20 years and I'm sure their version of the film is better than mine.
Me: Was there a point where they went away and you could just focus on making the film?
Terry: Yes, just every day with all the problems I just gave up thinking about everybody else and I tried to get through the next several weeks of work. I just dealt with details so all those kinds of concerns vanished once I seriously focused on shooting the film.
Me: What is it about Don Quixote made you want to make this film in the first place?
Terry: Well, he's the great icon for the dreamer, the fantasy the man who dreams the more heroic, the more beautiful, the more wonderful world and reality keeps knocking him down.
Me: So, after all this time why didn't quit and give up making this film? I would've done.
Terry: That's an extraordinary character and I just kept at it because at a certain point I started identifying with the character. Each time we failed to get the money and another several years lapsed and I just got back up until I got it done. The thing is I think it's the problem of being born and raised in Minnesota does this to a person. I survived winters, I survived everything and I keep coming back because that seems to be my role in life.
Me: So, the story about Quixote is a story about yourself, is that right?
Terry: It wasn't intended to be like that, but people seem to read that into it. I don't really read into it. The experience of trying, failing, and trying and failing is totally quixotic. There is that aspect, but the film doesn't feel like that, what I like about the film it's joyous, it's full of life. It's not full of suffering and the main thing to me is when people see it, forget about what went in to making it, enjoy it. That's all.
Me: So, when you first started to make the film all those years ago what went wrong?
Terry: The problems with the original film started on day one of filming. We were in Spain with a full cast and crew snd there was a NATO airbase someplace near by us.
Me: What was wrong with that?
Terry: Well, what was happening we were at this place near Zaragoza in Spain it was at a time when the war was going on in Kosovo. Now this location has been used in a lot of different films and commercials and so normally there jets would not be flying but they were preparing to go off to Kosovo. Big surprise. So they were flying overhead and it was just making life irritating, I was losing time waiting for them to get out of the way. Then when this storm came bursting in and it wiped out the set and destroyed a lot of equipment. The guy who was going to play Don Quixote was hospitalized with a back injury. We were almost on our knees by that point and didn't think we were going to continue.
Me: What was the final straw that made you stop filming then?
Terry: We got Jean Rochefort back on his horse despite he was feeling ill and we had two men to get him off the horse about an hour later and he was sent off to Paris in a helicopter. That was really the end of it, there was no way we could continue. So five days of work and it was over.
Me: Is there one setback you have in mind that maybe that would've been the last straw?
Terry: No, not really. There was a weird kind of sense of relief when Jean Rochefort had been helicopter back to Paris.
Me: Why was there a sense of relief, sir?
Terry: Because I actually knew the production was in trouble and probably a month or two down the road the potential disaster would happen and I would get the blame for it. So in this instance after five days of shooting nobody could blame me for the problems. I thought that was a relief frankly.
Me: So, the movie now is now a retelling of the famous book, right?
Terry: No, it's about a small Spanish village in someway, that's turned upside down after a film crew arrives and shoots a film there.
Me: Have you seen anything like that in your own career?
Terry: Actually I was thinking about when I was writing that scene when Monty Python and the Holy Grail was made in Scotland in a little village, we had come up from London and we were quite famous at that point. All these people trailed us down to London thinking they would get into the movies and we disrupted so many marriages in the village.
Me: Disrupted marriages?
Terry: Yep. They came trailing down to London. Ha ha ha ha. My marriage is secure, mine of 46 years is still secure but many others failed. I felt a sense of guilt about that, people being inspired by movie makers turning up and their lives being turned upside down. So I said let's incorporate that into this film.
Me: So, the movie is about an actor who thinks he is Don Quixote, right? How did you get that idea?
Terry: The idea seems to be right because the character of Toby who had made that film years before he became successful doing dog food commercials. He had bascially created a monster in this little shoemaker that was so involved with playing Quixote he went crazy. It's really sad.
Me: I don't really know anything about Don Quixote expect for he fights windmills thinking they are monsters or something. What's so great about him, Terry?
Terry: Well, we got to care for him because on one hand he's so entertaining and he's so crazy at the same time. If we don't care for these characters than the film falls on its feet. To me Jonathan Pryce and Adam Driver working together became this brilliant double act. We care for both of them despite Adam's character in the beginning really is not a nice person anyway. By the end he's transformed in the course of his journey with this lunatic who really thinks he is Don Quixote. That is the transformative element that is important to me in the film. That's what Quixote is capable of doing, he forms others peoples lives by his belief in this other world that doesn't really exist.
Me: Have you seen a character like Adam's character in your life before?
Terry: Yes, there are so many directors I have known that their first film was wonderful and then were attracted to Hollywood or the easier world of commercials. And so money takes over their lives and it's betrayal of their talent, which is why Adam;'s character is punished in the course of the film. It almost makes me crazy when people who have exhibited extraordinary talent and then just sell it down the river just for something else. It's very sad.
Me: Do you think your feelings about that come from your early days working with Monty Python?
Terry: Yeah, we were very lucky to be six people with the BBC as an outlet for our insanity and the freedom to do exactly what we wanted. Whatever made us laugh went into the show. So that's a very rare position to be in, many ways I've been very lucky. It gave me the confidence and arrogance that my ideas are more interesting than studio executives ideas is all I could say. So I was off on a very easy beginning... Holy Grail, Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, and off we went. It's almost a fair balance that my later career has been the difficult time. My early career was easy. Ha ha ha!
Me: Time Bandits is one of my favorite films by the way. You still know more than studio executives even in the more difficult time, right?
Terry: Yeah. That was always about that because my mistakes will always be more interesting than their mistakes. They're making decisions based on fear opposed to a positive sense. I'm out trying to surprise and entertain. They're just fearful if they back my movie and if it fails they'll lose their jobs! That's a very different approach.
Me: Do you ever think about what your life would be like of you didn't join Monty Python?
Terry: Yeah, I know, I'm really a lucky guy. I was in the right place at the right time, I really don't know what it would've been, I can't imagine because Python changed everything for me. Come to England and teamed ups with the others and off we go. I have no idea who I would've been.
Me: Didn't you meet your wife on set?
Terry: Heh heh. Yes, she was in the make-up department. Ha ha ha. I've never been to a barber because she did make-up and hair so she takes care of what's ;left of my hair and my beard which keeps growing. She trims it for free.
Me: A lot of your films and stuff you did for Monty Python with the animation is surreal, Terry. Why do you think that is?
Terry: I just want to surprise myself. I love the fact that it's a way of looking at the world is more interesting than if I just look at the facts. Surrealism is always about juxtaposition, put two things together that probably don't go together. Yet it makes the human brain try to make sense of this, or at least be excited by it or surprised by it. To me that's the point of what I try to do, is make people see the world in a different way. Be surprised and not irritated, I try to do things that will wake people up justo it of sheer anger with what I'm doing with it. What I'm putting them through. I just don't want the world to be limited to the boring world that is delivered to us daily by the media and most of the people in our lives.
Me: I wouldn't know how to make something surreal I think. How do you do it?
Terry: You need two things... you need reality at least the sense of it because if you don't look both ways when you cross the street a bus is going to run you over. On the other hand you don't want to be limited by just busses going down the road. When I walk around and look at the world I keep imaging what it could be or how things could be something else. It's like never growing up, really what the key is. Because children see the world constantly in surprising ways. Every day when they're young it's a new developing world that's happening. They haven't had the time or experience to limit it to simple things where they play it safe because going beyond those bounds will get them in trouble. So I just work very hard not growing up is what I do.
Me: Now we're back to the studio executives again.
Terry: Ha ha ha. But the studio executives can be your "parents," just remember that.
Me: So, when did you first dream about making this movie?
Terry: In 1989. I was given, or offered 20 million dollars to make it '89 and then I read the book. But that's when I started, I ended up making the film 30 years last year for 20 million dollars. Ha ha ha ha ha.
Me: Twenty million dollars now is a lot different than it was back in '89, right?
Terry: Oh, yes, the budget has always gotten smaller over the years. When I was doing it with Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort in 2000 our budget and the money we had was 32 million, again about twice what we ended up doing it for. It's very interesting, what it is is a film that's a product of that limitation in many ways. A product of limitation and determination I guess what it is.
Me: In many ways this film is your lives work, Terry, How do you direct this film without passing on your expectations to your cast like Adam Driver?
Terry: Funnily enough, he was feeling me when we finished it the thing that had been difficult for him, he knew the history of the film and was worried that he was going to let ME down.
Me: Did a lot of people working on the film know the history about it?
Terry: Yes. The good thing about it a lot of people involved who were involved in the version with Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort in 2000. So we had that sense of continuity with the earlier versions. It was wonderful, we were old buddies, we've been through a few wars together. Here we were working on a project that failed twenty years before.
Me: Is there a part of you that's sad to let go of this dream?
Terry: No, not at all. I'm relieved that the bugger is out of my head now. The fact is I made a movie that I'm very proud of and that I think is very good. That's what worried me so much that it would just be a disappoint to me. I'm forgetting about other people at the moment but I'm really pleased and delighted and I'm delighted most by all the people that did just a brilliant job on the movie despite my failures which I'm always aware of the I watch some of my films. Other people were so good other people won't notice my failures.
Me: I always say everything happens for a reason. Do you think that applies here?
Terry: Maybe, It's a better script, it's a better cast, better most things if I would have ben able to do it way back when. That's all I can, it's much better. And that's why I'm happy, if if happened for a reason I don't know. But the film, always when I'm making a film, the film is making itself and I think the film waited all these years until everything was right. And in the right place and allowed itself to me made.
Me: Congrats on it, sir. Thanks so much for being on the Phile. This was truly an honor and one of my favorite interviews. Please come back again soon.
Terry: Thank you so much, it was a pleasure and a joy being interviewed by you. Bye bye.
That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Terry Gilliam for a great interview. The Phile will be back on Monday with Charlotte Caffey from the Go-Go's. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Kiss your brain.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
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