It appears that Terry Gilliam’s passion project “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” will actually see its debut as the closing film of the Cannes Film Festival. For real, this time.
After being announced as the closing film, ‘Don Quixote’s’ debut was in jeopardy after ex-producer Paulo Branco had one last-ditch effort to ban the film from being released. However, a judge ruled that the film is free to premiere at the festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
For those that don’t know, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” has been one of the most troubled productions in film history. After 25 years of false-starts, budget issues, failed castings, and just about every other obstruction a major film could face, Terry Gilliam was finally able to complete production of his long-awaited film. However, he would soon find out that actually producing the film would only be one hurdle he’d have to overcome.
After filming had completed and ‘Don Quixote,’ former producer Branco filed a lawsuit claiming he was the rights-holder for the film and not Gilliam. While that case is still ongoing, Branco filed yet another injunction to stop the film from premiering at the film festival. However, with this recent ruling, the film will at least premiere as planned.
But as we mentioned earlier today, premiering is one thing. Getting a US release seems to be quite another. Amazon Studios, who had previously purchased the US distribution rights, has pulled out of the production. That means while the film is set to debut in Europe, there’s no guarantee, as of now, that the film will come stateside anytime soon.
All this being said, after his recent health scare, Gilliam has to be pleased that over two decades later, his film will finally see the light of day. Here’s hoping that the film was worth the hassle.
