The Brothers Grimm (film)

***The Brothers Grimm*** is a 2005 British-American-French-German-Italian semi-autobiographical fantasy film. It is directed by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam while brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein served as executive producers. It was released on 4th November 2005 in the United Kingdom and on 26th August 2005 in the United States. The film is based on the life of sibling authors William and Jacob Grimm, responsible for the books such as *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* and *Rapunzel*, who (as well as being arguably one of the legendary duo fantasy authors) were also traveling con-artists in French-occupied Germany, during the early 19th century. However, the brothers eventually encounter a genuine fairy tale curse which requires real courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms. The film stars Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, and Lena Headey - with supporting roles from Peter Stormare, Jonathan Pryce, Mackenzie Crook and Monica Bellucci.

## Production

In February 2001, Ehren Kruger sold his screenplay to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). With Terry Gilliam's hiring as director, the script was rewritten by Gilliam and Tony Grisoni, but the Writers Guild of America refused to credit them for their work, thus Kruger received sole credit. MGM eventually dropped out as distributor, but decided to co-finance The Brothers Grimm with Dimension Films and Summit Entertainment, while Dimension took over distribution duties.

The film was shot entirely in Germany. Gilliam often had on-set tensions with brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, which caused the original theatrical release date to be delayed nearly ten months.

## Release

*The Brothers Grimm* was released in the United Kingdom on 4th November 2005. Before that, it was released in the United States on 26th August 2005.

## Trivia

* It was the final co-production between Disney and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after *It Runs in the Family*, released in 2003. After that, they had never co-producing the films each other again. It was released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner through the Buena Vista International label overseas while MGM distribute the film in the US.
	+ As of 2023, MGM currently distribute the films on its own in the US without the co-financial involvement with Disney after 2005 - while Warner Bros distribute MGM films internationally on its behalf.
* This movie is now owned in the US by Paramount Pictures under Miramax (as Paramount owns Miramax's pre-2005 Dimension Films library) as of 2020, where Paramount has a 49% stake in the company for a joint-venture with Miramax's current owner beIN Media Group (which owns a 51% stake in Miramax), who acquired the company from Filmyard Holdings in 2016. Filmyard Holdings was the owner of Miramax after Disney sold it in 2010. However in 2015, despite not being announced to the public, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures secretly acquired non-US rights to the film in the UK from Miramax (prior to Paramount's 2020 acquisition of the 49% stake in the company) in case the film was re-released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner in the near future, while Dimension retained its copyright and as a leading production company with its leading credit on behalf of its original owner Miramax. It is currently unknown whenever it's actually confirmed at the time.