Terry Gilliam, the only American to be accepted into Monty Python's Flying Circus, began as an animator, dabbling in a heady mix of comedic and surrealist visions. His esthetic endeared him to John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Graham Chapman - so much so, they enlisted him to construct the now-iconic animated sequences for the influential Monty Python TV series.

Gilliam then went on to an illustrious directorial career, helming such celebrated works as Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

His latest, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, continues the pet trend that runs throughout Gilliam's work, described by co-writer Charles McKeown as "attacks on imagination through bureaucracy."

Uptown recently caught up with the filmmaker while he was doing press in Toronto.

Uptown: What was the genesis of Doctor Parnassus?

Gilliam: I just started with a blank page. I didn't have any desperate need to tell a story, I just wanted to see if I had any more original thoughts in my head to construct something from nothing. We very quickly latched onto the idea of an ancient traveling theatre arriving in a modern city and nobody paying attention to it, and that seemed a good start. Little by little, characters started evolving.

One of the things I was thinking about were Amarcord by Fellini and Fanny and Alexander from Bergman - films that were done at a certain point in their careers where they just seemed to relax and have a good time again.

I thought it was time for me to have a good time again.  

Did you have any particular design influences for the traveling show?

You know, it all becomes like a magpie work. Anything that catches my eye, I try to incorporate. The trick is to be working with good people who have a flexible approach as well. And you just end up playing and inventing. You never quite stop until you cut the last bit of film or put the last bit of music in. 

Nicola (Pecorini, the film's photographer) builds up a bible which is quite elaborate. And then when we start shooting, we throw everything out the window and just sort of wing it. 

The trick is to plan in great detail, so that if anything goes wrong, we can always revert to the plan, but if we have a better idea we can move off the plan.The good thing about film is that you can retrieve the film in the editing if you've gone too far from the map.

What made you decide to cast Tom Waits? (Waits also had a cameo in The Fisher King.)

He's one of the few living gods out there, I think. I worship him, his music is just spectacular. I just think he's the best in this country. For the devil, he can do the most sublime, sweet and beautiful stuff, and then move into the darkest and most disturbing. And that's exactly what the devil should be - he has all those things to play with. He's totally seductive in the role.

Going back to the beginning of your career, is it true you did the opening animation for a Vincent Price film?

Yeah, it was called Cry of the Banshees. But what's also interesting - at that point in my life, I came back from holiday with my wife and found a letter from Stanley Kubrick. It turned out he wanted me to do the opening credits for A Clockwork Orange - but by the time I got back, it was too late. So, that was my career with Kubrick: over before it even began!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus opens Friday.