Comments on: Talking Out Of Turn? Are Terry Gilliam & Nicola Pecorini Going Too Far Speaking On Heath Ledger’s Behalf?

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:32:13 +0000

Huh, i figured it was possible Biskind took his quotes out of context, but it seems that Gilliam stands-behind the article whole-heartedly as he's requested that journalists preface their interviews with him by reading the Vanity Fair story.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:58:31 +0000

So then if you don't hate Terry Gilliam, are you at least an impartial paid hit-piece writer for the establishment? Because any Gilliam fan even paying attention half of the time has realized by now The Playlist has been attempting to assail Parnassus and Gilliam since way back when you "writers" allegedly read the film's script. Since then it's been one spurious jab after another. Who exactly do you think you are fooling?

BTW, your last bit of angling smells more like a TMZ report than any decent blog.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:54:35 +0000

I, for one, really enjoyed the ENTIRE article as it appeared in the magazine. I think Terry Gilliam and the others have far more right to their feelings and opinions than anyone making comments on the net (myself included) because they were there and they KNEW him. Period. Only one tiny bit of the article concerned Michelle and the breakup. And frankly, I'm a little tired of seeing Michelle portrayed as the grieving saint and Heath as the villain. Did anyone ever stop and ask themselves WHY Ms. Williams has been so "silent" about the whole thing? Because she's a saint? I also agree with Matt… The whole world was speculating and talking trash, not only before the autopsy report was released, but long after. Then TDK came out and suddenly that shifted. Heath's friends have every right to their opinions. I see no fault in them for speaking the TRUTH. And I'm certain there was probably much more Terry, Nicola, Steve and Gerry could have said but didn't. And I'll tell you one thing: reading that Heath was supposed to have seen his daughter right before he died and was denied that, BROKE my heart for him.

By: Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 03:09:52 +0000

I have to agree with Playlist and the other moralists here for being so distressed by that gossip mongrel, Biskind, and that douchey loose canon, Gilliam. Can't Biskind write about Hollywood without covering actor's actual lives? And can't Gilliam just shut up about his film and his star? What he says may be true but it's unnecessary to spout truth, for heaven's sake. No one wants to hear about what goes on behind the headlines. It offends us. Harsh stuff should be filtered, filtered, filtered.

I, for one, never watched that Lost in La Manchacha documentary because I hate learning about how things fall apart. Why is Gillian compelled to share what really went down with Keith Ledger? I don't want to know stuff like that. No interest whatsoever. Not even sure how I can be criticizing Gllligan, because I would never read his unfiltered babbling anyway. Or Biskit, because I would never read his smut. Thank you, Playlist, for standing up to the outrage of plain-talking filmmakers. Good to know that at least here I'll never find the unvarnished truth.

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:45:55 +0000

"I'm not a huge Ledger devotee and if I were to chose one guy based on their body of work, I would certainly choose Gilliam, but you gotta call 'em as you see 'em and he and Pecorini really need a filter."

By: kingdomofdoom

kingdomofdoom — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:26:45 +0000

Everything you write about him is negative. You're always assuming the worst about his motives. It's like you don't want him to succeed at all. Sorry if that makes me high but I'm not the only one who has made this observation.

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:20:48 +0000

Hatred of Gilliam? you're high.

By: kingdomofdoom

kingdomofdoom — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:17:14 +0000

As usual, The Playlist is just demonstrating their irrational hatred of Gilliam and will do anything to make him look bad. If you read the article, you'd understand that it had very little to do with Michelle Williams and was almost entirely about how Doctor Parnassus was affected by Heath's death. It was actually a thoughtful and well-researched article by Peter Biskind who is more than just a cheap tabloid writer.

Anyway, I think it's sad that nobody wants Heath's dark side to be discussed. Just like the Michael Jackson coverage; let's just pretend those last 10 years never happened and talk about his music. Truth is truth, people. Get over it.

By: Matt5

Matt5 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:45:38 +0000

So its not OK for people who actually knew Heath to talk about their experience with him, but its perfectly all right for you people who did not know him,to write this article about Heath? You do realize that a lot of what they said could have been taken out of context,or maybe just plain made up? When people break up,its stressful and you throw a child in the middle it can get rough.That is normal. The negative stuff that Terry said concerning Heath and Michelle was directed to and was about the lawyers, not Michelle. You media people are all up in arms about what is being said about Heath by friends/co-workers, yet when all the garbage and lies were being printed about him while we waited for the autopsy you all sat back and rode the "lets trash Heath train" to sell more copies and make more money! NONE of you defended Heath then! So don't start now, its too late! This was one of the few trutheful articles,it was not perfect but very close to the truth.Heath was not perfect,he had problems like everyone else. Heath was my friend and I miss him terribly.You do not have the right to defend Heath now,not ever! Matt.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:12:09 +0000

Whatever happened between Heath ledger and Williams.Heath Ledger never made a nasty comment about his ex in public.His real friends said after his death that Heath Ledger would have wanted his two girls to be happy.Gilliam should respect that.

By: notanotherblog

notanotherblog — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:56:29 +0000

Thank God for writing about this so I don't feel like I'm the only one who knows about the article.

Anyway, it's hard not to be sceptical of what Gilliam has to say about Michelle Williams as an award fiend. If she was one, she would have gotten an Oscar by now.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:59:07 +0000

Did somebody note that the part about Michelle Williams was a very very small bit of the entire article ?
Sad to see that even blogs about cinema just focus on this (and where's the problem ? A guy likes his friend, his friend divorces so don't wait for the guy to support the wife)

By: J.D.

J.D. — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:32:09 +0000

I think that it is also important to remember who wrote this article… Peter Biskind, a gossip hound of the tallest order. I mean, look at the EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS book. A great read but at times veers waaay too close to petty gossiping of who banged who, who pissed off who, etc. His follow-up book about the Weinsteins and Redford is more of the same. Considering how many people he's pissed off in Hollywood I'm surprise anybody talks to him anymore.

By: Will the Turk

Will the Turk — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:26:21 +0000

I don't think Gilliam is that much of an outsider anyway and this is the type of move anyone would play to make it seem like they knew "who" best. It's not like he's Jodorowsky or Rivette calling Spielberg an asshole or a fascist and threatening to kill him. He's talking about someone else's broken marriage.

It's like Ray Carney's arrogant, obnoxious and condescending shit about Gena Rowlands. It may be true but its unnecessary to spout about it just because you were best ol' pals with the guy who died.

By: stone the truthtellers

stone the truthtellers — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:18:32 +0000

Unpleasant news? Let’s kill the messenger. Yeah, Gilliam’s a loose canon, but he’s being condemned for his refusal to lie and maintain some fantasy about Heath and his babymama. No one is used to hearing harsh truths; people prefer the Bad Heath and Saint Michelle version.

Gilliam reputedly loved Ledger like a son. He obviously understands how private he was. But he also must be aware that rumors of what went down are waay slanted against Heath – you know, that he was a junkie slut whom Michelle had to dump to save their child. Come ON. I think Gilliam’s speaking out because he thinks it’s more important to defend Heath’s legacy than to play that Hollywood game. It’s about time someone balanced the scales. I'm surprised people here would prefer to buy in to the bs.

Plus, anyone who could make a film like Brazil is a creative genius in my book. Haters can go worship soulless Hollywood product.

By: movie scary

movie scary — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:34:48 +0000

Its sad that Heath didnt get to live a long and prosperous life

By: Will the Turk

Will the Turk — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:33:15 +0000

What the slob? I didn't delete my comment. Repost:

Gilliam is worthless, both as a person and as a filmmaker.

The stuff they said is like something Zach Galifianakis, Michael Showalter or Michael Ian Black would say as jokes when doing their asshole characters. I wouldn't expect a living, breathing human being to be able to sink to this level.

This is just blatant retarded verbal diarrhea and you'd think a so-called artist would have the brains to think, "Oh, shit, maybe I shouldn't be saying this." Especially with the emotional wringer Michelle Williams has been put through the past couple of years. I seriously hope she keeps her daughter, as she grows older, away from all this shit.

By: jazzbuns

jazzbuns — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:07:01 +0000

*Too

By: rodrigoperez

rodrigoperez — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:31:07 +0000

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I'm not a huge Ledger devotee and if I were to chose one guy based on their body of work, I would certainly choose Gilliam, but you gotta call 'em as you see 'em and he and Pecorini really need a filter.

By: aaron

aaron — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:28:20 +0000

i read the article the other day in the library. my thoughts were: the article had little to do w/ ledger, it didn't say anything about him that people didn't already know, and holy christ, gilliam and this pecorini guy are total douchebags. right after ledger died, gilliam, almost immediately, accused WB and chris nolan of "exploiting" his death in promoting TDK. wow, really? and how exactly did they do that? did nolan consent to trashy celebrity pieces like this VF article? did he go on tirades, bad-mouthing everyone and build himself up as ledger's "true bff"? no. if anyone can be accused of exploiting his death, it's fucking gilliam. and pecorini really needs to get over his jealousy regarding TDK. anyone who watches that movie can clearly see that ledger was channeling something altogether otherworldly in his performance. to say that he didn't take it seriously, really, is to undermine his talent and what he brought to the role. he and gilliam just come off as extremely bitter knowing, deep down, that TDK will go down as ledger's crowning achievement. i'm still looking forward to parnassus but honestly i'd prefer to see it for free at this point; i have no interest in supporting gilliam in any way whatsoever. if he was really heath's friend he would not be slinging shit like this after he died. REALLY bad form.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:24:58 +0000

So, Michelle Williams is Yoko?

Yeah, I don't know, I take this kind of stuff with a pound of salt, not to mention that as collected and private of a person Heath was, I doubt he would appreciate this talk even if it were true, so maybe Gilliam should respect his friend and keep it to himself.

Nobody likes a loudmouth.