Tom Waits Is The Devil (But American Audiences Might Never Find Out)

noah | August 12, 2009 10:45 am

The trailer for Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus—which features Tom Waits as the devil himself, and also has the final filmed performance by Heath Ledger before his death last year—debuted online yesterday, and according to our pals at Movieline it hasn’t picked up a U.S. distributor yet. This despite it featuring not one but two popular musicians (in addition to Waits, former P bassist Johnny Depp plays a role in the flick) and looking mind-bogglingly awesome. Plus, I mean, Tom Waits playing Satan, come on. The trailer’s after the jump.

Waits chatted with himself about the flick last year:

I am the Devil in the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus– not a devil… The Devil. I don’t know why he thought of me. I was raised in the church. Gilliam and I met on Fisher King. He is a giant among men and I am in awe of his films. Munchausen I’ve seen a hundred times. Brazil is a crowning achievement. Brothers Grimm was my favorite film last year. I had most of my scenes with Christopher Plummer (He’s Dr. Parnassus). Plummer is one of the greatest actors on earth! Mostly I watch and learn. He’s a real movie star and a gentleman. Gilliam is an impresario, captain, magician, a dictator (a nice one), a genius, and a man you’d want in the boat with you at the end of the world.

How does this not have a U.S. distributor? Why can’t we have nice things? The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus Trailer [YouTube] When Will Heath Ledger’s Last Film Find A U.S. Distributor? [Movieline] Tom Waits True Confessions [Anti- via Pitchfork] [HT: The Awl]