It all seemed so promising. This time, Terry Gilliam finally had all the ingredients in place to make his personal cinematic albatross, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” A cast led by Adam Driver and Michael Palin had been corralled, Alberto Iglesias (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Skin I Live In“) was tapped to score the picture, and there was even a splashy Cannes Film Festival press conference with Gilliam and producer Paolo Branco to announce the project. But it seems that once again, ‘Don Quixote’ has hit another speed bump, all while Gilliam continues to be the dictionary definition of persistent.
Stopping by The Radio 2 Arts Show With Jonathan Ross last night, the director revealed that once again, filming on his movie has faced yet another setback.
“I was supposed to start to be shooting it starting next Monday. It’s been slightly delayed. I had this producer, a Portuguese chap, who claimed he’d get all the money together in time. And a few weeks ago, he proved that he didn’t have the money,” Gilliam said.“So we are still marching forward. It is not dead. I will be dead before the film is.”
It’s not yet known if another producer has filled the void, and what the financing shortfall might be, however, according to Belgian industry news site Wallonia, filming on ‘Don Quixote’ will begin a 55-day shoot in the country in November. So perhaps things are happening behind-the-scenes and this is nothing more than a slight hiccup. Fingers crossed. But if anyone could use a helping hand from people like Netflix or Annapurna, it’s Gilliam. I’m sure he’d take the call. Here’s hoping the next time we report about the movie, cameras are rolling.
