This was another movie that was shown at San Diego Comic-Con that I was worried wouldn’t get a U.S. ditribution deal in time for a 2009 release. My worries were unfounded. Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the U.S. distribution rights and set a Christmas Day release. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus will open in the U.K. on October 16 and will also be shown at the Toronto Film Festival on September 18 (although any attending media is restricted from giving any reviews until after the U.S and Canadian release date. (wha…???)). Seems like a lot of the people who control the purse strings are worried that this movie has only two directions it can go with no gray area to palying: Oscar contender and flop. Terry Gilliam is known for making quirky movies that don’t do real well in the theaters, but really well in DVD sales (Brother Grimm, Brazil, hell… Time Bandits) but the studio needs to remember the collected star power carrying this movie (Colin Ferrel, Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger…) and the fact that this was Ledger’s last on screen performance. It’ll do fine. Especially after the footage I saw at SDCC09…