Terry Gilliam's THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS now complete–may screen at Cannes

Director Terry Gilliam has finally completed post-production work on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and the much-anticipated film is now ready to screen for possible distributors in the United States. Doctor Parnassus lost its leading man when Heath Ledger died in January 2008, but a trio of A-list actors–Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell–stepped in to complete Ledger’s role. “Everybody in the crew and cast said, ‘We have to finish this thing.’ It was a team effort,” Gilliam told ITN.co.uk. “It’s done and it’s . . . wonderful, it’s beautiful and I’m very happy with it.”

Steven Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter writes that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is considered a likely candidate for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, although the official announcement of Cannes offerings is still a few weeks away. The Zone thanks Emma and FANtasticJD for the updates. –Part-Time Poet

"Puerto Rico has been kind to me," Johnny Depp tells reporter in San Juan

Filming continues in Old San Juan on Bruce Robinson’s The Rum Diary, and in what has become a daily ritual, crowds gather on the street, hoping to catch a glimpse of Johnny Depp and other stars as they enter and leave the building which houses the set of the fictitious newspaper, The San Juan Star. Melba Bruguera of El Vocero exchanged a few words with Johnny on Wednesday: she describes a tumultuous scene with hundreds of people constantly shouting and attempting to take the actor’s picture with their cell phones. “The Puerto Rican hot sun has not been an impediment to being close to the public,” Bruguera writes. She adds that Johnny has been “friendly and accessible,” walking out after shooting ends in the evening to greet fans individually. Often he is still in costume as Paul Kemp, wearing 1950s attire: to see a larger photo of Johnny in costume, CLICK HERE.

“I love Puerto Rico,” Johnny told the reporter, saying that it is easy to be kind to Puerto Rico because the people of Puerto Rico have been so nice to him. Bruguera tells a heartwarming story of one little girl named Gladys who waited in the crowd dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow; she did get her chance to meet Johnny, and he autographed her Captain Jack Sparrow action figure.

The Zone thanks Emma for the El Vocero story; you can read much more about the filming of The Rum Diary on the Zone’s News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet