I’m rooting for Terry Gilliam. I really am. For nearly twelve years he has been trying to get his dream project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote made. The collapse of his original attempt in 2000 was documented in what became the film Lost In La Mancha and ever since then, he has struggled to secure funding to give it another go only to have it collapse before he can started.
So will this time be the one where he will succeed where he hasn’t in the past? Gilliam’s co-scripter on the project Tony Grisoni thinks that perhaps it is and said so in an interview with Money Into Light.
Us survivors of ‘Don Q’ are a strange kind of dysfunctional family. Every year since we have rewritten the screenplay. And we’ve got quite good at it. You will be pleased to hear the Don is back up and in the saddle and ready to ride under new colours.
I really want to believe this is happening this time, but with this project, I’m not going to get too worked up until the first trailer hits.
When Gilliam first attempted the project French actor Jean Rochefort was in the title role and Johnny Depp had been cast as a time-tossed advertising man who landed back in Quixote’s time. It was a back injury of Rochefort’s that helped to scuttle that 2000 attempt. Since then Robert Duvall has been tapped to replace Rouchefort while Depp’s role was eventually filled by Ewan McGregor. McGregor has since dropped out, so Gilliam will still need to find someone if things are finally moving forward.
