The Zero Theorem VFX Breakdown Features Christoph Waltz And Matt Damon
This article is more than 2 years old
The Zero Theorem set to make its North American premiere at this year’s Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and the new science fiction/fantasy hybrid from Terry Gilliam seems like a spiritual successor to the filmmaker’s 1985 film Brazil. The above VFX video from The Zero Theorem highlights some of the film’s action and dazzling special effects.
Swedish visual effects company Chimney created all the special effects for Terry Gilliam’s latest. In the video we see some before and after images of the post-production process on The Zero Theorem. We also see a white-haired Matt Damon as Management and a meek David Thewlis as Joby.
Although filmmaking technology has surpassed anything featured in Brazil, it’s great to look back at that movie’s miniature work and practical effects. The Zero Theorem looks slicker and cleaner, but there’s something about the textures and weight of practical effects that CGI just does not have. Regardless, The Zero Theorem looks impressive.
Considering Terry Gilliam has renounced his American citizenship, he mainly works and lives in Europe. The Zero Theorem was shot largely in Romania, so it’s not surprising that the VFX Company behind the film, Chimney, mostly deals with the production of European films. Chimney also does commercial work for some of Europe’s leading corporations such as BMW and Volvo.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview, Gilliam says he is aware of the comparisons between his new film and em>Brazil. “I think Zero Theorem is vaguely related to Brazil in that it tries to deal with the madness of the world in 2013,” Gilliam tells SFX. The madness in question is the advent of social media and the Internet in the 21st Century. It will be interesting to see how The Zero Theorem will tackle our modern short attention spans.
The film doesn’t open in the States until December, so there’s no trailer available to watch yet. One leaked a few months ago, but was taken down almost immediately. If you were lucky enough to watch the mind-bending trailer, you saw just how crazy and visually stunning the film looked. It’s most likely that a new trailer will be released soon, after The Zero Theorem finds a distributor in the United States. Drafthouse Films perhaps?
The Zero Theorem takes place in a future where numerous “man-cams” watch everything you do, in public and behind closed doors. The Orwellian government is led by an intrusive figurehead called “Management” (Matt Damon), who oversees and controls the society. Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz), a reclusive computer genius, is working on a formula to solve the mysteries of life and existence, but is constantly distracted from his work by the seductive Bainsley (Mélanie Thierry) and Management’s son, Bob (Lucas Hedges), who threaten to put an end to his findings.
Gilliam’s latest also stars Sanjeev Bhaskar, Peter Stormare, Ben Whishaw, Dana Rogoz, Emil Hostina, and Tilda Swinton. It hits theaters on December 20.
