Damon, Ledger Laugh Through Gilliam's Grimm Tale PRAGUE (Reuters) - Standing in front of a monitor watching their latest take during the filming of "The Brothers Grimm," Matt Damon and Heath Ledger burst out laughing.
Not exactly the reaction one would expect from a fairy tale, but precisely one director Terry Gilliam was aiming at.
"This film certainly is like nothing I have ever done before," Damon told Reuters in an interview.
Gilliam, looking to move on from the disastrous end to his film about Don Quixote when financing was abruptly pulled, has chosen to guide the stories of the Brothers Grimm in a not so fairytale way for co-producers MGM and Dimension Films.
As with previous films "Brazil" and "Twelve Monkeys," Gilliam, once part of the British comedy team Monty Python, has brought his exaggerated sense of space and shapes to the stages of Prague's Barrandov Studios.
FAIRYTALES OR CON MEN? His take on Jake and Wilhelm Grimm is that they were 19th Century conmen who duped people into paying them to drive out "evil creatures" that are actually fictitious beings created by the brothers themselves.
Eventually the two are asked by the French government to deal with an actual real-life evil creature -- played by Monica Bellucci -- that sends them on a wild adventure.
Damon and Ledger, heartthrobs to millions, are barely recognizable in their Bavarian costumes.
For Damon, the role was one he couldn't turn down, even if shooting delays have eaten up any chance for a holiday before filming a sequel to his hit "The Bourne Identity" later this month in Germany.
"I saw the script and knew I wanted to do the movie. I knew it would cut it close with the next Bourne movie, but I didn't care. Now, when I see what is going on film, I have no doubts I made a great choice," said the affable American.
Damon and Ledger have hit it off during filming, with the Australian referring to Damon "like he's my brother."
WARPED SETTING If the costumes and acting are exaggerated, they are equaled by the set.
In a sign of the determination of Gilliam and set designer Guy Hendrix Dyas to create a dream world, they traveled to dozens of the Czech Republic's medieval towns before realizing the real thing was pretty, but too practical.
Instead, after shunning some of the world's best preserved castles, Hendrix Dyas created his own village barely a stone's throw from the studios and within sight of the ugly concrete apartments that serve as a reminder of nearly five decades of Communist rule.
"After talking to Terry, I realized very quickly we were on the same page," said Hendrix Dyas.
"That made it easy to test the boundaries, and in the end, it's true, we would never have found a village such as this. No one would ever have left something like this standing!"
Guy Hendrix Dyas captured the imagination of director Terry Gilliam with sketches of set designs such as this. Hendrix Dyas then recreated the drawing on a massive sound stage at Prague's Barrandov Studios for the shooting of 'The Brothers Grimm.' The movie, starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, is scheduled to be released in autumn 2004.
