I would ask him how he bounced back from his failed attempt to do Don Quixote, and how he is able to maintain artistic integrity in the face of Hollywood insistence on the bottom line.

ask him whether he _knew_, when shooting Brazil, that it was going to be considered, in about 20 years time, as a documentary -- or it was an accident

I knew you'd be the commenter in this thread, sci.

(he's gonna love that question, he recently gave up his US citizenship)

I would probably just *squee* and faint.
Failing that, sciurus's questions is pretty good.

wtf, "sciurus's questions is"? It's been a long morning.

I would ask him if it's true that when receiving The People's Choice award for The Fisher King at the Toronto Film Fest he really said, "Thanks for legitimizing my sell out." And, if he did say that, what he meant and if he still feels that way. If not how did he get back on track?

By if not, I meant "If he doesn't still feel that way..."

I'd be too awestruck to ask anything.

*squees with muddgirl*

I'd ask him if he could lend me fifty quid

sciurus, dobbs: excellent questions. I never heard about that 'Thanks for legitimizing my sell out" line-- that's really interesting.

muddgirl, BoringPostcards: I feel like squeeing as well. Terry Freakin' Gilliam!

Keep those questions coming!

Fuzzy, it may very well be bunk. I dunno. The day after the award ceremony, I was told that's what he said. I've never seen it in print, though.

Is it "Gill-ee-um," "Gill-um" or "Gill-em"?

Terry Gilliam's always had a very different view on things that has been reflected in his movies. Different in that they definitely don't follow the "standard Hollywood mode" of things (ie. the ending of Brazil and the fate of the main char.). Does this make his films and films of a "different" nature harder to produce, and does he see any sort of increase in people finding different ways to produce them, or an increasing demand for non-standard movies?
(I'm mostly unaware of the movies that have been produced in Europe, as it's rare that anything different gets released in North America unless they find some form of major backing.)

another vote for "squee"

Keep in mind, however, that Gilliam has been quoted as saying:

"Because I dislike being quoted I lie almost constantly when talking about my work."

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/movies/brazil-faq/

Ask him is this is true.