You’d think there’d be a line of studio executives a mile long, clamoring for the chance to distribute Heath Ledger’s last movie. Instead, Terry Gilliam’s Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has struggled to find domestic distribution. Last week the film’s first trailer finally debuted amidst a lot of excitement, and maybe that had something to do with at last luring someone on board to get this thing distributed in America. Variety says Sony Pictures is in talks to pick up the film.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that even if they distribute it, you still might not be able to see it. Their plan is to push it out theatrically later this year through Sony Pictures Classics, the company’s independent film distributor. SPC has a bad reputation for burying movies in obscure, metropolitan arthouses; botching their advertising campaign, and then never releasing them any wider. From Variety’s story, it doesn’t sound like Sony really cares if it make any money theatrically. They say it’s all about the lucrative home video market they predict for the film. Unfortunately it’s a Terry Gilliam film, which means it’s very visual, which means it’s probably best seen in a movie theater. Coule be bad news for those of us who don’t live in New York or Los Angeles.

An official announcement is expected this week. We’ll update you with release specifics for Doctor Parnassus as soon as they become available.