JB: My Dad had no idea this would happen. When he signed us up for HBO, somewhere back in the prehistory of the early 1980s, he had no idea I would discover Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, watch it a couple of dozen times or more, and, one day, co-edit a book on the director. Well, it did and it has. But beyond that happenstance, I would like to thank my father, Robert Birkenstein, for all his love, support and enthusiasm. I would also like to thank my entire extended family, some of whom are related to me and some of whom are not, especially my siblings, in descending age: Brian Birkenstein, Jennifer Fiduccia, Kara Lucca, Beth Stillwell and Jonathan Michaels. Ashley E. Reis and my mom, Diana Michaels, have for many years been my proofreaders and so much more. My step-dad, Richard Michaels, taught me lots of computer tricks along the way, including screen grabs. I am grateful to all my wonderful colleagues at Saint Martin’s University for their love and support over the years, especially David Price (a longtime Gilliam fan) and everyone in the English Department: Olivia Archibald, Nathalie Kuroiwa-Lewis, Fr. Kilian Malvey, O.S.B., Gloria Martin, Stephen Mead and Jamie Olson. There is one name missing from that English Department list, of course, that of Les Bailey, who passed away on 24 December 2010. I don’t know if the phrase ‘like a father’ explains it, but something like that. I only have room now to mention two more people, for whom I do not have enough room to express my true feelings: Anna Froula and Karen Randell, my dear, dear friends and co-editors. I could say more, but what would be the point? They know.
AF: First thanks go to my brother Matt, who introduced me to the subversively outrageous hilarity of Monty Python and the Holy Grail decades ago, and to Sally Sain, who watched it with me almost incessantly and always let me replay my favorite scenes (the absurdity of that tortured prisoner clapping along to the beat of ‘Knights of the Round Table’ and the rabbit that was not so very ‘ordinary’). I also deeply appreciate the indulgence of my colleagues at East Carolina University, who have engaged my Gilliam enthusiasm both in conversing about and watching his films, whose helpful comments on my chapter were invaluable, and whose continued support continue to sustain me in my ongoing academic labours. Thank you Jeffrey Johnson, Lee Johnson, Don Palumbo, Michelle Eble, Rick Taylor, Will Banks, Jim Holte, Tom Shields, Donna Kain, David Wilson-Okamura and especially my beloved femidemics – Marame Gueye, Andrea Kitta, Amanda Ann Klein and Marianne Montgomery – who kept me focused on the importance of jouissance in Gilliam’s art. As always, the support of my parents and extended family has bolstered me emotionally and intellectually throughout my work. For continuing to travel to North Carolina and London to meet with me, collaborate, and make this book possible, thanks to both Karen and Jeff, who first proposed, ‘hey, we should do a book on Gilliam’ while we watched Brazil together. Finally, I reserve my deepest appreciation and gratitude to my husband, Sean Morris, who nourished us with stores of fine food and finer wit during our writing retreats, re-viewed all of Gilliam’s films with me, and provided incisive commentary out loud and in prose along the way, and whose unconditional love and enduring buoyancy help keep me on a productive tack and even keel.
KR: I thank the film folk of the Screen Research Cluster in the School of Media at Southampton Solent University, UK, for their continued enthusiastic support, friendship and inspiration; Mark Aldridge, Sarah Arnold, Claire Hines, Darren Kerr, Mark de Valk, Donna Peberdy and Tony Steyger; extra special thanks go to Jackie Furby for just loving Terry Gilliam’s work and inspiring years and years of our students to love him too. We got our passion for his work from a great teacher, Professor Linda Ruth Williams; Linda, thank you for this and everything else. Work for this volume carried out at the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Library, Beverley Hills, CA, was funded by the Southampton Solent University Research & Enterprise fund for which I am very grateful; thank you to Professor Maurice Owen & Professor Jane Longmore for this opportunity. Thank you family: Jason Lucas, Victoria Brant, Will Brant, Alex Brant and Jessie Rae Randell Lucas, you always ‘get me’, it’s important. Anna and Jeff made this project happen, over pizza and beer, as all the best ideas are made… the best idea I ever had was working with you guys. And Sean Morris (Mr. Anna) what can I say? You make me want to have a writing retreat every weekend … please make me a Carolina coffee again sometime soon. Finally, I would like to thank the Monty Python team for adding a little bit of hilarity and subversion to my school days; to recite the parrot sketch in double English felt like pure anarchy.
The editors would collectively like to thank: Yoram Allon of Wallflower Press who believed in this project and saw it through to the end, and Jason Lucas for final image editing – you made us look like pros! Finally, Sean Morris for being a bigger part of this book than one can notice… but we notice.