Forgotten Matt Damon Movie Becomes a Surprise Hit 20 Years Later

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A fantasy film from 2005 starring Matt Damon is suddenly popular again. “The Brothers Grimm” appeared in Netflix’s top 10 most-watched movies worldwide on both November 16th and 17th, showing a renewed interest in the movie after almost 20 years.

Terry Gilliam’s film, featuring the late Heath Ledger, presents a playful take on the Brothers Grimm as traveling swindlers in 1800s Europe. Their cons take a turn when they stumble upon a genuine fairy tale curse, pushing them to be true heroes instead of faking it with their usual tricks.

The film also features supporting performances by Lena Headey, Peter Stormare, Jonathan Pryce, and Monica Bellucci. It was filmed in the Czech Republic and was a collaboration between British and Czech filmmakers.

The making of the movie was almost as eventful as the story it tells. The script, written by Ehren Kruger, was first purchased by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in February 2001.

After Gilliam became director, he and Tony Grisoni revised the script, though the Writers Guild didn’t give them official credit. Initially, MGM planned to distribute the film, but they later withdrew, and the project was co-financed by Dimension Films and Summit Entertainment, with Dimension taking over distribution.

The film’s production was plagued by conflict between director Terry Gilliam and producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein. Gilliam famously stated that he was used to being assertive with studio executives, but the Weinsteins were even more forceful with him. This led to a near two-week halt in filming. Actor Matt Damon described the atmosphere as incredibly tense, with Gilliam angrily resisting the Weinsteins’ attempts to control the creative direction. Damon explained that trying to compromise a director with such a strong vision would inevitably lead to a major blow-up.

After six weeks, the film’s original cinematographer, Nicola Pecorini, was let go and replaced by Newton Thomas Sigel, which further disrupted the already chaotic filming process.

Although making the movie was challenging, it came out on August 26, 2005. Critics had mixed reactions, but it still brought in $105.3 million around the world. Later, the director admitted the final product wasn’t exactly what anyone hoped for, explaining that it was a compromise born from disagreements between the studio and the filmmaking team.

Despite some past issues, people are now revisiting the movie The Brothers Grimm. Its recent popularity on Netflix shows that films can often become popular again long after they first came out.

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2025-11-20 01:15