An enthusiastic crowd greeted director and "Monty Python" alum Terry Gilliam at Dragon-Con in Atlanta earlier today, and he was just as excited to meet them.

Gilliam, best known for the films "12 Monkeys," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and "Brazil," spoke to convention-goers about making his upcoming film "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," which stars the late Heath Ledger in his final performance. His fans were treated to footage of the movie, including one never-before-seen clip featuring Ledger.

Gilliam said "Parnassus," with 650 visual-effect shots, cost only $25 million to make and done without the help of any movie studio.

When it came time for Gilliam's question-and-answer session, he realized he couldn't hear the audience. So he made do by gleefully trotting over to the edge of the stage to shake hands and take questions up close.

Gilliam confirmed that his abandoned project, "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote," was back on track. The unfinished movie, whose trials and tribulations were seen in the documentary, "Lost in La Mancha," was to star Johnny Depp (who also stars in "Parnassus" as an incarnation of Ledger's character). Gilliam said that Depp has other commitments now and they're casting for someone to fill his role.

Gilliam joked that they wouldn't need a documentary crew for the new project because this time it would be finished.

Trekkers of all stripes lined up as early as 5 a.m. in Atlanta, Georgia, for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see two titans of "Star Trek" together. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy's appearance today at the annual Dragon-Con was a raucous treat.

Taking on a roast-like atmosphere from the very beginning, the appearance was like eavesdropping on a conversation between two old friends who enjoyed ripping into each other mercilessly. It was an event that Dragon-Con "Star Trek" programming director Eric L. Watts said he never imagined would take place.

At the start, Nimoy brought up the recent smash hit reboot of "Trek" on the big screen by asking Shatner, "Seen any good movies lately?"

The newest incarnation of "Trek" has been a sore point for Shatner of late, and the remark set him off. No matter how many times Nimoy tried to change the subject, Shatner kept asking, "Why wasn't I in the movie?" Finally Nimoy, who had a major role in it, gave his best guess, which was that Captain Kirk was killed in the movie "Star Trek Generations."

Shatner admitted that he has yet to see the movie, though he said its director, J.J. Abrams, had offered to screen it for him. Adding that he also hadn't watched "Star Trek: The Next Generation," he blamed his busy schedule and the fact that he would inevitably be asked "Why weren't you in the movie?" by others seeing it with him at a theater.

Nimoy said that he didn't think he would be in any future movies, and that the character of Spock was in good hands with Zachary Quinto.

The audience of nearly 2,000 ate up the pair's relentless needling. When one question was addressed to Nimoy, Shatner turned around in his chair. At another point, Nimoy reached for Shatner's hair. At yet another, Shatner jokingly accused Nimoy of calling him something unprintable.

At the end of the session, Shatner shared the speech he would give if he won the Emmy this year for "Boston Legal:" "This will make a great plaque on the body of a dead show."