Terry Gilliam has revealed that he was initially reluctant to release Bruce Willis in his classic sci-fi film 12 Monkeys, because he didn’t like the actor’s ‘rectal’ mouth.
Former Monty Python star, 80, chose Willis, 65, as the main character James Cole in the 1995 futuristic film, about a prisoner sent in time to stop a virus he had decades before. finished with all humanity.
And while the film won praise and proved to be a box office success, Gilliam has admitted that it took him a while to calm down with the idea of Willis on paper.
Reluctant: Terry Gilliam has revealed that he was initially reluctant to release Bruce Willis in his classic sci-fi film 12 Monkeys, because he didn’t like the actor’s ‘rectal’ mouth.
He told Inverse, “I’ve never been a big fan of Bruce, but I liked talking to him and I thought,‘ Okay, this guy is smart; it is fun.
‘I explained my concerns about him as an actor. I hated the Trump mouth that makes movies. Rectal. It’s like looking at someone a ** hole.
During the interview, Gilliam also revealed that people like Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage were also suggested and rejected for the blockbuster.
He recalled, “It was at a time when I was still a hot director, so people wanted to come up to me and touch me. So they were thinking about all those names. And he kept saying no. Tom Cruise, Nic Cage, they were all throwing me at me.
Role: Bruce Willis played James Cole in the 1995 futuristic film, about a prisoner sent in time to stop a virus that decades before had wiped out all of humanity.
Gilliam’s interview comes exactly after he attacked political correctness in Hollywood, saying he was “tired, as a white man, of being guilty of everything” and that Harvey Weinstein’s victims were “decision-making adults.”
The filmmaker also repeated criticism of the #MeToo movement, calling it a “witch hunt” that has victimized “a lot of people, decent people.”
“Yeah, I said #MeToo is a witch hunt,” the director told The Independent last year. “I really feel like there were a lot of people, decent people, or slightly annoying people, who were busted. That’s wrong.
“I don’t like the mafia mentality. These [women who came forward with claims] they were ambitious adults.
Co-star: appeared alongside Brad Pitt in the film, which was a critical and box office success
Weinstein is the powerful film mogul who in October 2017 was first accused of sexual misconduct by actress Ashley Judd.
Judd was quoted by The New York Times as investigating numerous other allegations against Weinstein that go back decades.
The pioneering report opened the floodgates as dozens more women filed charges of a litany of crimes committed by Weinstein, including harassment, assault and rape.
Alyssa Milano, the actress of the Charmed program, invited other women who were harassed or assaulted to share their stories on Twitter with the hashtag #MeToo, which ignited the viral phenomenon.
Weinstein’s revelations inspired other women to file claims against powerful men in a variety of industries, including Hollywood, the media, music, sports, politics, and academia.
Award-winning performance: Pitt was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, for which he won a Golden Globe
Weinstein, 68, pleaded not guilty to charges filed by New York prosecutors who said he sexually assaulted two women: one in 2006 and one in 2013.
He was later found guilty of two of the five crimes in February 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Gilliam, however, said in his interview published a month before the tycoon’s conviction that Weinstein’s victims share some responsibility for what happened to them.
“There are a lot of victims in Harvey’s life and I feel sympathy for them, but then Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and make decisions,” Gilliam said.
“We all make decisions and I could tell you who made the decision and who didn’t.”
Slammed: Gilliam had previously killed the #MeToo movement, calling it a “witch hunt”
He recalled having a negative experience working with Weinstein, saying, ‘I hate Harvey. I had to work with him and I know the abuse, but I don’t want people to say all men [are abusive]. “
Gilliam said that when she directed the hit 1991 film The Fisher King, “two producers were women. One was a good producer and the other was a neurotic. It wasn’t about their gender. It was about the position of the power and how people use it ”.
Gilliam said then that he recently spoke with a famous actor. The topic of conversation was #MeToo.
“She has her story of being in the room and talking about her departure,” he said. “She says,‘ I can tell all the girls they didn’t, and I know who they are and I know the blows of their careers. ’The point is, you make decisions.
Gilliam continued, “I can tell you about a very well-known actress who came to me and said,‘ What do I have to do to get into your movie, Terry? “
Classics: The British-American filmmaker directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail and wrote the screenplay for Brian’s Life of Monty Python
“I don’t understand why people behave as if this hadn’t happened as long as there were powerful people.
“I understand that men have had more power for longer, but I am tired, as a white man, of being guilty of all that is wrong in the world.”
Then Gilliam reported that he raised his hands and exclaimed, “I didn’t!”
The Independent writer stepped back and said that while not all white men are to blame, they are automatically given privileges that others do not have.
Gilliam replied, “It’s been so simplified what I don’t like. When I announce I’m a black lesbian in transition, people get offended. Why? ‘
Gilliam said then, “I don’t like the term black or white. I now refer to myself as a clear man with melanin. I can’t stand the simplistic, tribal behavior we’re living in right now.
Then Gilliam tried to clarify and said, “I’m talking about being a man accused of all the evil in the world because I’m white-skinned. So it’s better not to be a man.
It is better not to be white. Okay, since I don’t find men sexually attractive, I have to be a lesbian. What else can I be? I like girls. These are just logical steps.
Controversial: Gilliam looks good with Harvey Weinstein at the Venice Film Festival in 2005. Gilliam said Weinstein’s victims were “adults who made decisions.”