Today’s the day. The end of the Cannes Film Festival is especially important this year. Not because it’s the end of the festival that brought us some incredible films (as well as some not-so-incredible…see our “The House That Jack Built” review), but also because today marks the day that Terry Gilliam finally gets to premiere his long-awaited “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.”
For those that don’t know (and honestly, if you’ve ever really read news on this website, then you know), Gilliam’s newest feature has been 25 years in the making. With a feature-length documentary’s worth of material (seriously, go check out “Lost in La Mancha,” it’s fantastic), this troubled production seemed like it was doomed to never see the light of day. However, the filmmaker behind it all is the definition of persistence and kept trudging along, dragging the film kicking and screaming behind him all the way to Cannes.
And in preparation of this seemingly impossible feat actually being completed, Gilliam sat down with Deadline for an interview about all the madness that has plagued the film.
“The book is all about suffering, or at least it’s about the triumph over suffering. So it seems to me it has played out perfectly so far,” joked Gilliam. He’s, of course, talking about all the issues surrounding the film, including the recent, and very public, rights battle with ex-producer Paulo Branco.
“I went through I don’t know how many producers through the years, and the interesting thing is the producers that came forward were as mad as Quixote. They were the fantasists, not me. I’m the Sancho Panza; I’m the realist. But because the struggle had become so famous, they all came with the thought, ‘I’m the one that will show the world I’m the best.’ It finally got to Paulo, who has done a wonderful job of showing the world [laughs],” said the filmmaker.
As mentioned, Branco is currently battling Gilliam in court over the rights to the film. As we approached the Cannes premiere, the producer pushed one last time to get the film pulled from the festival, but was defeated in court.
“He sort of committed auto-suicide here in Cannes. Océan Films here, the French distributors, were like, ‘Fuck it, we’re still distributing the film.’ It’s what happens. Paulo was sending all these letters out saying, ‘I own the film, it’s mine, you can’t show it,’” said Gilliam. “And people—even those that don’t quite believe it—were worried. Once a guy starts suing, everybody just walks away. But I think the way Cannes stood up, and the way Océan has continued to stand up, has put steel into the backs of all the distributors now.”
The distribution issue is now something that plagues the production, even after the premiere. Originally intended to be released by Amazon in the US, ‘Don Quixote’ now finds itself without US distribution, as the tech company pulled out after Branco’s latest attacks.
“I’m not worried. There’s a lot of interest, that’s the good thing. It has played out rather interestingly. And all the people that are interested now haven’t even seen the film yet; all the buzz is having a nice effect of its own,” the director said.
Funny enough, now that ‘Don Quixote’ is finished, Gilliam can now focus on what’s next for his career. And in that regard, he’s at a bit of a loss. But you almost can’t blame the director for not rushing into something else, since it took so much blood, sweat, and tears to bring this film to the big screen.
“It’s all gone. I’m wonderfully free. What that means, I don’t know yet. I haven’t been able to process it yet. It’s been so concentrated on this, and all the shit we’ve been doing in the past few weeks,” explained Gilliam.
“If Paulo can ever prove to the world that he owns this thing, I would have to go and make the film for him. I can’t think of anything worse!” said the filmmaker. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think we’re in good shape now. The triumph of this has been extraordinary. The way everybody stood up for it and said, ‘Fuck off.’ And they’ve even taken away his protocol now. I’m told his booth in the market, Alfama Films, has been removed. I haven’t experienced it firsthand but I was told by two people that it happened.”
Ultimately, Gilliam brings up another producer that has found himself on the opposite side of public opinion, Harvey Weinstein, when describing what’s happening to Branco. “It’s a bit like Harvey in a sense; there’s a certain point where karma catches up, folks,” said Gilliam.
“The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” premieres today at Cannes, and we’ll probably hear about US distribution soon enough.
