Coda: Gilliam’s Art of the Possible

This chapter talks about getting caught in a loop as one of Terry Gilliam's greatest fears, much like the one that characterises the 12 Monkeys series, which has become derivative and repetitive. It explains why Gilliam famously refused to read Orwell's 1984 before making the film Brazil , and why he refused to see La Jetée before making 12 Monkeys . It also discusses anticipated memory, recollections from the future, and pre-emptive foretastes of the as-yet unknown. The chapter examines four-dimensional creativity enabled by two basic steps: rejection of linearity and partiality for the possible over the real. It looks at principal differences between 12 Monkeys the film and 12 Monkeys the show.