Terry Gilliam: The Python Who Renounced His CitizenshipJeff Berwick This is an issue we write about and discuss regularly here at The Dollar Vigilante. It seems Terry saw the writing on the wall. So-much-so, in fact, he made a movie about what I surmise is basically modern America. (read: Amerika) Terrys 1984 film Brazilportrays a bizarre 1984-esque world which meshes the dark reality of a society mired in totalitarianism, slowed to a near halt by bureaucracy, with whats basically slapstick. One of the main events of the film is when the wrong person is killed. Tuttle is who the state wants to murder for being a terrorist, but a fly lands on on the oversized behemoth of a state printer and smudges the T to look like a B. And so the wrong person, Buttle, an old man who leaves behind a family, is executed by shock troops. These shock troops are basically military-police, and theyre quite funny. In one scene, one of them takes off his helmet and demonstrates concern for how his eyebrows looks. Terry says he left that in just because I wanted to give those guys a moment, too, of being human beings, with their own little sets of problems. Government agents even go as far as charging suspects for their interrogation, including for the electricity applied to their bodies as a form of torture. Detainees unable to afford the costs of torture could apply for loans, which are advertised at favorable interest rates. The machinery of government-sanctioned torture and data collection become a self-sustaining apparatus, so there is no need for a big brother figure, as in Orwells dystopia. The film is very interesting, obviously examining themes of totalitarianism. I highly recommend it for any budding or full-blown libertarian. Anybody skeptical of the state, as Terry terms it. Perhaps in his real life, as in his art, Terry hopes his actions inspire people to think for themselves. That is what he tries to do in his films. I hope they [people] come out saying, More things are possible. I think that, if anything, is what Im trying to do not just get my imagination on the screen, but to try to encourage other people to develop their own. And thats one of the problems of having an imagination: trying to communicate it and keep people interestedTheres a political element to that the idea that another world is possible. Brazil had a very hard time making it to the big screen, Unfortunately with Universal, for a variety of reasons some to do with internal politics, some to do with the fact that its a different group of people and that Universal is far closer to the bureaucracy that was portrayed in BRAZIL they were just stunned by it. And they didnt know quite what to make of it. And even though the script was shot as approved and all of those things, they just werent sure, because theyre very nervous people. Theyre paid enormous sums of money to be able to predict exactly what the public wants. So they tried to change the film. As Terry recalls, I refused to play ball with them. I said, Sorry, this is the film that we agreed to make. And then it got into this legalistic argument. And the only thing they really had over us was the time clause [2.5 maximum run-time], and thats what they used to try to make us change the essence of the film I dont think they were expecting me to be as immovable as I was, because theyre used to working with people who live in Hollywood, and whose bread and butter is very much dependent upon the whims and friendship of the people at the studios, and I sit here 6000 miles away in London saying, Why should I change it if its the film we agreed to make? And I dont think they were prepared for that attitude. And on it went It became like a repeat of the film itself. It was so identical to the story, and the depressing thing about it was that I knew how the film ended! Terry went public, because he couldnt take it to court. Universal had the cash. It would have sat in the court system for years. He named names, which was something they were totally unprepared to deal with. Rather than say Universal was involved, I said, its not Universal, its one man his name is Sid Sheinberg. And that really drove them crazy because they didnt know how to deal with that. I think the only thing that kept me sane throughout all that was how funny it was. So terrifying. The film could have just disappeared and all I could do was keep being outrageous publicly and hopefully get a few people on our side to make enough noise to get it out of their clutches. Ultimately, the film was releasedand its delay caused it to be released in 1984. Very fitting. BE LIKE TERRY Terry was ahead of the crowd. There is an a growing tide of successful people voting with their hearts and their wallets and leaving the US tax farm. Unfortunately, there are countless others from the entrepreneurs and doctors who have saved up a nice nest egg over their lifetime all the way up to the musicians, athletes and super-entrepeneurs who have made 8 or 9 figures. Most have no idea that they risk losing everything, or most of it, by not internationalizing their assets at the very least. Weve been writing regularly about US taxes here, namely the international implications thereof. In fact, we wrote about some accidental Americansrecently, and Jim Karger wrote an open letter about them as well, and I suppose in a way Terry is also an accidental American. He knew he would owe the US government on all his international income, and for him this would amount to millions of dollars. There are ways around this, and also a path to renunciation should you so choose, like Terry did, which we help people towards at TDV Passportsand at TDV Wealth Management (TDVWM). And next month face-to-face at the TDVWM Crisis Conference. Of the many topics you will learn at the Crisis Conference are how to shelter your assets from the death/estate tax in the US as Terry Gilliam pointed out as being one of his main reasons for getting out of dodge. In our TDV Newsletter, we cover topics pertaining to help you understand and position yourself to do as Terry and avoid the Brazil-esque reality weve already seen in the US. In Fact, Terry even threatened to sue George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for remaking his film! Be sure to join the discussion on Terry Gilliam, Brazil and the US at The Dollar Vigilante Anarcho-Capitalist. Libertarian. Freedom fighter against mankinds two biggest enemies, the State and the Central Banks. Jeff Berwick is the founder of The Dollar Vigilante, CEO of TDV Media Services and host of the popular video podcast, Anarchast. Jeff is a prominent speaker at many of the worlds freedom, investment and gold conferences as well as regularly in the media including CNBC, CNN and Fox Business. 