The Brothers Grimm (2005)

Image credit: The Brothers Grimm: Ralph Nelson

LEDGER AND DAMON

We've got a happy ending! Or at least a beginning. The much-delayed Brothers Grimm will finally enjoy an open airing — about 18 months after it wrapped. The Gilliam film features Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as roaming grifters who promise locals they'll exorcise nonexistent ghoulies. Their con game leads them to a real curse, courtesy of Monica Bellucci's evil queen. The movie had its own tests. Aside from the delay, caused in part by the Disney-Miramax split, there was an exhausting dust- and dry-ice-filled shoot in the Czech Republic that stretched more than five months. Leading the good fight was the independent-minded director Terry Gilliam (Brazil, The Fisher King). ''Terry is a warrior, somewhat,'' Bellucci says. ''He has his own way of doing things.''

As for the reported creative clashes between Gilliam and Dimension co-chairman Bob Weinstein? ''He met a guy who was just as enthusiastic as him, let's put it that way,'' says Weinstein, who adds that the ''discussions'' revolved around pushing Gilliam to keep the scope — and special effects — big. And while Weinstein compares the end result to monster summer movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark or Pirates of the Caribbean, he assures that the director's oddball touch is quite evident: ''We are getting a Terry Gilliam film, bar none.'' That's good, since Gilliam and his freaky vision was the main reason the stars signed on. Take it from Damon: ''I probably would have done the phone book with Terry.''