Some motion pictures are legendary… for all the wrong reasons. Terry Gilliam has directed several of them. The filmmaker behind the cult classics Brazil, Time Bandits and Twelve Monkeys has had a long career that was frequently derailed by ballooning budgets, studio interference and a reputation for being “difficult.”
But his luck appears to be turning around. Maybe. If he’s lucky. Terry Gilliam has finally wrapped production on the fantasy The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a motion picture that’s been 17 years in the making, and has been so besieged by outlandishly unfortunate circumstance that a feature length documentary was made about its failure, fifteen years go, called Lost in La Mancha.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is an ambitious fantasy about the legendary, deluded knight who stumbles across a contemporary advertising executive, who becomes Don Quixote’s squire. Terry Gilliam’s first attempt to produce the motion picturewould have starred Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort – both of whom shot a small amount of footage 17 years ago – and was recast multiple times throughout the years. Don Quixote was nearly played by Robert Duvall, Michael Palin and John Hurt, and the protagonist, named Grisoni, was almost played by Ewan MacGregor and Jack O’Connell. The film now stars Jonathan Pryce (Brazil) and Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).
But Terry Gilliam’s journey isn’t over yet. An awful lot of awful things can happen during post-production, and one potential hurdle has already been erected by the French film Alfama, whose CEO Paulo Branco claims they own the rights to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and that Gilliam’s film has been produced “illegally,” according to Hollywood Reporter.
Terry Gilliam has called these allegations “preposterous.” But preposterous things have happened to his movies before.
We’ll keep you posted on The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Who knows? We may even be able to see it this time!
11 Exciting Movies You Didn’t Know Were Coming Out in June 2017:
Top Photo: IFC Films
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
11 Exciting Movies You Didn't Know Were Coming Out in June 2017
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Band Aid (June 2)
Zoe Lister-Jones wrote, directed and stars in Band Aid, a comedy about an unhappily married couple who decide to turn their arguments into music.
Photo: IFC Films
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Dean (June 2)
Stand-up comedian Demetri Martin wrote, directed, stars in and provides the illustrations for a comedy about an artist coping with the death of his mother.
Photo: CBS Films
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My Cousin Rachel (June 9)
Enduring Love director Roger Michell adapts Daphne du Maurier's gothic novel, about a man who plots revenge against his cousin, played by Rachel Weisz.
Photo: Fox Searchlight
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The Book of Henry (June 16)
Colin Trevorrow took a break between filming Jurassic World and Star Wars: Episode IX to direct this coming of age drama, about a boy with a plan to rescue his neighbor from her abusive stepfather.
Photo: Focus Features
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I, Daniel Blake (June 16)
Ken Loach's latest film stars Dave Johns as a man who is denied financial support, even though he's unable to work. The acclaimed drama won the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
Photo: IFC Films
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The Bad Batch (June 23)
Ana Lily Amirpour's follow-up to the horror hit A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a dystopian nightmare about cannibalism, revenge and drug use.
Photo: Neon
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The Beguiled (June 23)
In the midst of the Civil War, an all-girls school takes in a wounded soldier, played by Colin Farrell, and fall prey to their fears and desires. Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning co-star, and filmmaker Sofia Coppola just won the Best Director award from Cannes, making her the second female recipient in history.
Photo: Focus Features
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The Big Sick (June 23)
A young couple is tested when, shortly after their break-up, she falls extremely ill. The acclaimed romantic comedy was co-written by Kumail Nanjiani (who also stars) and Emily V. Gordon, who based the screenplay the story of their own relationship.
Photo: Lionsgate
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The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography (June 30)
The latest documentary from celebrated filmmaker Errol Morris takes a look at Elsa Dorfman, a portrait photographer who uses a rare, gigantic Polaroid camera.
Photo: Neon
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The Little Hours (June 30)
A young, handsome man has to take refuge in a nunnery in the Middle Ages, but the nuns are not what he expected at all. Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza and John C. Reilly star.
Photo: Gunpowder & Sky
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13 Minutes (June 30)
In 1939, Johann Georg Else attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, but the bomb went off 13 minutes too late, and killed civilians instead. His story is told by Oliver Hirschbiegel, who previously directed the acclaimed Adolf Hitler biopic Downfall.
Photo: Sony Pictures Classics
