It’s been a while since I posted anything LEGO related, but after seeing this mechanized imaginarium, I just had to share. Bear in mind that the following video clip is entirely automated with LEGO Mindstorm pieces, so its not only a triumph of imagination, but a wonder of robotics as well!
Everything is perfect down to the details in the curtain and stage construction, to the movement of the waves. It also reminds me of the theater scene in Terry Gilliam’s Munchausen, as well as the little bits he’s teased of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. You readers have seen this teaser, right? This film looks like a real treasure — the perfect antedote to all the splosions of summer. I can’t wait!
Stumble Upon
Del.icio.us
Buzz
Yay, someone else finally knows about this movie! Whenever I mention it in a conversation you can practically see the “…?” above the person’s head. Dr. Parnassus is a long-awaited film as well as a miracle one; after Heath Ledger’s death they almost cancelled production. Fortunately, Terry Gilliam really didn’t want to give this one up so he called in actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell to fill in Ledger’s role (there will be dimension travelling so each actor will play Ledger’s character in the different dimensions, it really sounds quite brilliant) Hopefully we’ll be seeing this in theaters June 6 when the UK gets it and not have to wait until September
This and the movie 9 are the top two films I’m looking forward to this year =) Looking forward to discussing it with everyone at long last!
And RIP, Heather Ledger, this is your official last film and I’m sure it will bring you even more honor than Dark Knight
I can’t wait for Dr Parnassus, I love Terry Gilliam’s work and can’t wait to see one of his films in the cinema (I never got chance to see the Brothers Grimm on the big screen).
The trailer would have been find if it hadn’t been for that awful, cliche ridden narration at the beginning. I think the phrase ‘Beyond Imagination’ has been used fifty million times too many.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to it. I hope it’s a success, poor Terry deserves some good fortune after all the terrible things that keep on happening to his movies.
The lego robotics are pretty awesome!
The movie I’ve only heard vaguely about, around the time Heath Ledger died. After that I kinda forgot about it. But it looks very interesting.
And am I crazy, or was the sound effects in the very beginning from the opening of Kingdom Hearts? It sounded a lot like it…
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus sounds and looks awesome! I can’t wait to see it…
Mollie, I agree that 9 looks amazing, too; that’s another one I’d like to see on my birthday… Goodness, I might as well just live at the theatre that week of September…
RIP Heath Ledger, indeed. I miss his work quite a lot. And it’s a pitty they probably won’t do another Joker in the Nolanverse… He was just too good…
Rachael, what horrible things happened to Mr. Gilliam’s movies? I think I missed something…
Maggie, I think you’re right. It does sound a lot like the sound effects at the opening of Kingdom Hearts. Weird, ain’t it?
And the lego thing is pretty amazing, too. Someone must have a lot of time on their hands to be able to create such an awesome piece of work like that!
Kendra,
Here’s an article on Gilliam’s notorious bad luck:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2008/jan/28/gilliam
The biggest breaks happened over The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. There’s actually a great documentary about the failed attempt to make that film called “Lost in La Mancha.” If you like Gilliam at alll, you should definitely check it out!
I hope people see this and like it for what it is and not because it’s Ledger’s last film. It looks very promising so hopefully everyone will enjoy it.
Hey Jake, I want to do another RtL music video but I’m asking your permission to use scans from the manga first. It won’t be whole pages, just bits and pieces. I’ll give the credit to you and Chris Lie of course but I just thought it best to ask beforehand.
Mollie,
Permission isn’t really mine to give since I don’t own any copyright for Return to Labyrinth — the Jim Henson company has that. In any case, as long as it’s a reasonable number of images and not a page-by-page way to read the book, you should be fine.
Like you, I hope people will love Parnassus for what it is, but if Ledger (and Depp!) bring more people into artist-driven fantasy films, so much the better!
Oh ok. No, it definitely won’t be page-by-page. I’m looking forward to this project very much because I’ll be experimenting with new video effects and such; the results might be a bit interesting.
On a side note, I found a book today titled “The Faerie Lord”. It’s part of a series called “The Faerie Wars Chronicles” by Herbie Brennan. I chose not to purchase it (seeing as I was only there for my friend’s graduation present) but maybe the rest of you would be interested? You’d have to read the premise of the story on Amazon though since I merely scanned the description on the back.
Mollie,
I look forward to seeing it!
Ok, now I’m not sure if the songs will go over well with everyone. The first one is Poker Face with Moppet and Sarah but does anyone else like that song? The other one is a Jareth video with the song Womanizer. These beats go really well with the ideas I have, however I’d like to make sure everyone will enjoy the songs.
If you guys have video requests for RtL, please feel free to share them!