In an interview with The Independent, 79-year-old writer and director, Terry Gilliam had a lot to get off of his chest.
What We Know:
- The interview set out to promote his new film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, but Gilliam had other plans. “I’m so booored of talking about the film,” he groaned while rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.
- With having to jump over so many hurdles to tell the story of the film, one would think Gilliam would be itching to discuss all that the film is and how much work went into putting it out. There were lawsuits, funding failures, collapsed distribution deals and natural disasters – that even a documentary was made about it in 2002.
- The interview goes on and Gilliam mentions the #MeToo movement in saying that he wants people to take responsibility and not point the finger at somebody else for ruining their own lives.
- The interviewer asked Gilliam, “Isn’t it a bigger problem that men are refusing to take responsibility for abusing women, and abusing their power?” To that, Gilliam responded “No. When you have power, you don’t take responsibility for abusing others. You enjoy the power. That’s the way it works in reality.”
- He referred to victims of the #MeToo movement as “ambitious adults,” and compared the movement to a witch hunt. “There are many victims in Harvey’s life,” he adds, “and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices. We all make choices, and I could tell you who did make the choice and who didn’t.”
- Gilliam says that he understands that men have had more power longer but “I’m tired, as a white male, of being blamed for everything that is wrong with the world.” “I didn’t do it!” he says as he hold his hands up.
Read the entire interview here.
