Terry Gilliam Is Prepping Another Movie, and He Came to Annecy to Find Animators to Inspire Him
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film Critic Nearly a lifetime ago, in 1975, Terry Gilliam submitted his five-minute short film “Miracle of Flight” to the Annecy Animation Festival in France.
An absurdist gem about homo sapiens’ disastrous desire to take to the skies — using the same cut-out technique made famous by the irreverent interstitials and opening credits Gilliam designed for the British sketch comedy series “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” — the film screened, but won no prizes.
Suddenly, half a century later (as “Miracle of Flight” might put it), Annecy corrected the oversight by awarding Gilliam an Honorary Cristal.
Turns out, it’s a much nicer trophy — considerably bigger and far easier to dust — awarded in appreciation of lifetime achievement in the field. “Can you believe how long it has taken me to get this fucking award?” Gilliam joked in mock outrage. “I think they know I might not be around next year.” But the director of “Time Bandits,” “Brazil” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” didn’t travel all the way to Annecy just to collect a prize. “I read in Premiere magazine that I’m doing a film with Johnny Depp, Jeff Bridges, Adam Driver and Aquaman [star Jason Momoa], apparently,” he said.
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