The Zero Theorem Behind-The-Scenes Video Explores Management’s Homebase

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

We haven’t heard much from Terry Gilliam’s latest The Zero Theorem in a while. The film is finished and screened at film festivals like Venice and Fantastic Fest last year, but there is no release date in the U.S. yet. Gilliam has already moved on to his next film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a movie that he has been trying to make since 1998, and he has the Monty Python reunion coming up this summer in England. While it’s unclear when The Zero Theorem will see the inside of theaters, a new behind-the-scenes featurette has emerged.

This video from IGN showcases Management’s (Matt Damon) big computer. Management is the mysterious figurehead that oversees and controls the government in Gilliam’s Orwellian future society. You don’t actually see Management’s computer here, but rather the big room that houses the machine. While it seems that computers and phones are getting smaller and smaller today, in Gilliam’s world, they’re getting bigger and bigger.

Gilliam found an image on Google Earth of an old Communist blast furnace and thought it was fitting for the film’s “mancom,” the center of Management’s operations and the advanced camera system that watches your every move, in public and behind closed doors. The scout team found the structure, which was two hours away from the shooting location in Romania. Although they couldn’t film in the dilapidated building for safety reasons, the production team re-created it on a sound stage. The rest of the video highlights production.

According to this video, the movie will be released on March 13th, but I’m not sure if that’s a European release date or an American one. The Zero Theorem was supposed to be released last Christmas, but Sony got cold feet and delayed the film indefinitely. It seems like a good opportunity to release the science fiction film would be during the summer with all of the attention Gilliam will get from the Monty Python reunion. Hopefully Sony will release the movie sometime this year. I need my Terry Gilliam fix and I need it now.

A few weeks ago, the studio released the first theatrical trailer. It looks like The Zero Theorem is an updated version of Brazil, which Gilliam released in 1985. He has even mentioned the similarities of the two films, while the newer movie deals “with the madness of the world in 2013. Through the Internet and smartphones we are overwhelmed with connectivity and information.”

The Zero Theorem takes place in a future and follows Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz), a reclusive computer genius, who works on a formula to solve the mysteries of life and existence, but is constantly distracted by the seductive Bainsley (Melanie Thierry) and Management’s son, Bob, who threatens to put an end to his findings.

Gilliam’s latest stars Waltz, Damon, Thierry, Lucas Hedges, David Thewlis, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Peter Stormare, Ben Whishaw, Dana Rogoz, Emil Hostina, and Tilda Swinton.