Gilliam takes a long view of credits for ‘Grimm’

There are some interesting end credits to be found in Terry Gilliam’s fantasy “The Brothers Grimm,” which opens Friday, more than two years after it began production in Prague.

Coming in first place in the category of “star with the biggest entourage” is Matt Damon, who plays Will Grimm. Receiving credit recognition are Damon’s stunt double (Patrice Cossoneau), dresser (Barnaby Smith), hairstylist (Kay Georgiou), assistant (Colin O’Hara), stand-in (Johnny “Cheeks” Cicco), two drivers (Madou Sall and Martin Cerny), two chefs (Alex Hillbronner and Jon D. Harris) and movement coach (Lynne Hockney).

But the winner of the “most exotic” credit -- dress pattern makers -- goes to Gilliam and screenwriter Tony Grisoni, who collaborated with the director on “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”

Confused? Well, it’s the Monty Python alum’s way of slyly thumbing his nose at Hollywood.

“The idea of a screenplay by one person is such a nonsense, it’s basically the Writers Guild, an ancient bureaucracy, holding on to a false idea of how films are made,” Gilliam told the online fanzine Dreams.

“And so that’s why we’ve ignored that side of things and made a dress pattern, and the crew worked from the dress pattern.” (“The Ring” scribe Ehren Kruger gets solo credit for “The Brothers Grimm.”)

Gilliam did share writing credit with Tom Stoppard and Charles McKeown on what many critics believe is his greatest film, 1985’s “Brazil,” which will screen Friday at the Egyptian Theatre and Saturday at the Aero Theatre as part of “The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Presents: The Films That Got Away” festival.

“Brazil,” a dark phantasmagorical comedy starring Jonathan Pryce (who is also in “Grimm”) and Robert De Niro, garnered Gilliam his only Oscar nomination -- for original screenplay.

Initially, Sidney J. Sheinberg, president of MCA Inc., parent company of Universal, wanted Gilliam to make several changes in “Brazil” to make it shorter and more “accessible” to audiences. A heated battle erupted. At one point, Gilliam bought an ad in Variety asking Sheinberg when he would release the film.

It was the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. that came to Gilliam’s rescue. In December 1985, after seeing Gilliam’s cut of “Brazil” at secret screenings, the group awarded it best film, director and screenplay.

Two weeks later, Universal released Gilliam’s version.

-- Susan King