When we reported that Terry Gilliam’s new picture, The Zero Theorem, would star Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), we also got this heavy-sounding logline: Waltz will star as Qohen Leth, a computer hacker who searches for the meaning of life while being distracted by Management, a shadowy figure from an Orwellian corporation.  Gilliam himself said that the one-liner came across a bit dark and promises a lighter take that’s actually very funny.  He also commented on the presence of nudity in the film, people flying through space and getting sucked into black holes and the fact that the film has only four major roles.  Hit the jump for much more from Gilliam on The Zero Theorem.

With his long-in-development The Man Who Killed Don Quixote delayed yet again, director Terry Gilliam is lining up a different project to tackle as his follow-up to The Imaginarium of Doctor Panassus.  Deadline reports that Christoph Waltz is set to star in The Zero Theorem, which is slated as Gilliam’s next film.  The pic is characteristically odd, as Waltz will play a character named Qohen Leth who is an eccentric computer genius bent on discovering the purpose of existence, or lack therof, through a mysterious project.

The script by Pat Rushin takes place in “an Orwellian corporate world where ‘mancams’ serve as the eyes of a shadowy figure known only as Mangaement.”  Waltz’s character is distracted by a love interest pestering him with “virtual sex” propositions and the rebellious teenage son of Management.  As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Management is none too happy about Leth’s mysterious project.  Production is scheduled to get underway in Europe on October 22nd.