the man who killed don quixote Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus recently premiered in the UK, and director Terry Gilliam was on hand to kick things off. Now that the whole Imaginarium -- Heath Ledger -- bad luck hurricane has wound down, attentions are turning to his next project -- the one plagued with more bad luck than Parnassus -- The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. And Gilliam had more positive news to share.

It started earlier in the week when he told Empire that the film is a "donkey, and now it has three of its legs," and then followed it up at the premiere with more solid news: "We're up and running again, we've rewritten the script and finally got it back, the budget's come in... and I think we've found our Quixote! But who's it going to be? Well, I'm not going to tell you, but it'll start next Spring." Even as recently as May, Gilliam was still focused on Johnny Depp, so does this mean Gilliam has definitely nabbed him? One can only hope...

A script, a budget, a start-date, and a star who could be Depp? It seemed like this day would NEVER come. It's been a long road that hasn't been blessed with quick solutions like three big-name stars filling in for the man who was lost. But seeing how long it has taken, and how much bad luck there has been, it feels wrong to get excited, to let the anticipation build. I will save my jubilation for three moments: When production begins. When production wraps. And when the film is on the screen and unstoppable.

Remember Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote project? It was so vexed by setbacks that they eventually had to kill the film, and it became the subject of the excellent (and tragic) documentary Lost In La Mancha. It's impossible to watch and not feel loads of sympathy for Gilliam. If you're a Gilliam buff, or want to be, you need to watch that and also read Andrew Yule's Losing the Light about The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, another GIlliam debacle, although that one actually made it to the screen (and despite it's crazy history, is one of my favorite movies).

Well, according to Variety, Quixote may actually see the light of day again. Gilliam has restarted the project with a rewritten script, and is in talks with Johnny Depp to play the lead role, this time a filmmaker who becomes a stand-in for Sancho Panza. The role of Don Quixote hasn't been cast yet, but last year Monty Python member Michael Palin was in talks with Gilliam to take the role.

Will it actually happen this time around? Oh, to dream the impossible dream.

By now, we're all used to potential cinema disappointments. The Internet makes it ridiculously easy to learn about projects as they happen, but it also means getting excited for features that drown in development hell. For a while, Terry Gilliam's Don Quixote was one of those doomed projects. (You can follow some of the struggle right here.) Now, it's happening? It's really, really happening?

Empire reports that Gilliam has started prepping a new script for The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, after finally getting the rights back. Partner Tony Grisoni said: "I re-read the greatest script ever written and realize we gotta get rewriting! I really wanna knock that one out in the next month or so." But it won't just be some script polishing -- Gilliam says that he has "some very different ideas" for the film, and that this whole, almost decade-long mess could be a blessing: "[I'm] starting to think I was lucky, because maybe the film will be better seven years later. It will have matured a bit longer."

I'm not sure how "seven" fits in to a production that dates back to 2000, but regardless, this is excellent news topped off with the fact that he wants to get shooting later this year. Finally, after all this time, the famous Spaniard will get his moment to shine, and it looks like patience will be a wonderful virtue.

It's been a ridiculously long and challenging road for Terry Gilliam once he set out to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. After the infamous struggles during the first round, he was potentially getting his second chance back in 2005. Then he was working to get the script back in late 2005, and still fighting for it in 2007, and even remained hopeful at the beginning of this year. It's been a big, long wait that has most certainly ousted the Little Train That Could for the icon with the most determination and perseverance.

If the Independent is right, Don Quixote is headed for production soon. In a discussion with Gilliam, he said: "As far as we're concerned, it's on. When Johnny's ready, we're ready. We're just talking about dates to film. Basically, it all depends on his schedule, but otherwise we're set. It will be next year some time, before next summer anyway." The production will be completely re-shot, using none of the plagued footage from 2000: "The intervening years have taught me that I can actually write a much better film. I'm so excited it's going to get done at last."

Here's to hoping it's smooth sailing from now on.

As much as I hated Terry Gilliam's last film, Tideland, I still consider him my favorite living filmmaker (Tideland was the first to completely disappoint me) and was looking forward to his next feature, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus more than possibly any other film in the works. Unfortunately, Parnassus lost its star when Heath Ledger died suddenly last week, and there was lots of talk that Gilliam's latest would be scrapped. Anyone who has followed Gilliam's career knows that would be more than tragic, because Parnassus would be the second major work of Gilliam's to go unfinished after shooting had begun (see the depressing documentary Lost in La Mancha for the story on his shut-down project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote). Well, after rumors that Ledger would be replaced by Johnny Depp, who would come in and reshoot the late actor's scenes, there is a new claim that Gilliam is going to keep Ledger's footage and continue the shoot using special effects magic.

The claim comes from Parnassus co-star Christopher Plummer, who spoke to People magazine and had this to say: "Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI..." Plummer, who plays the title character in the film, also mentioned that Gilliam wants to finish the film for his friend (Ledger) and dedicate it to him, too. Additionally Plummer spoke on the working conditions of the Parnassus shoot in London and on Ledger's health prior to his leaving the set, further providing for speculation that Ledger's death was of non-narcotic causes. Anyway, about the finishing with CGI Ledger, that is excellent news, and something I've been expecting to happen all along (if it was good enough for The Crow 14 years ago, it's good enough now). I absolutely loved Ledger in The Brothers Grimm (the first of Gilliam's films to somewhat disappoint me), and I can't wait to see him and his computerized clones in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

This has been going on and on and on for what seems like forever. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has continually been just a step away. After news started to heat up in May of 2005, Johnny Depp was back on board, then they were "closer" to solving some legal troubles in the fall of '05, and then after a long pause, Terry Gilliam said that they were in the "final, final, final" stages of fixing this legal brouhaha. Of course, almost a year has gone by since then, and the legal issues are still not settled, but Gilliam remains positive and once again is talking about how close they are, this time to Empire.

"[Producer] Jeremy Thomas is very close to getting all the pieces of paper signed from all the people who you gotta get signed. He's been on it for a year now, and he's come the closest to getting it untangled from the legal swamp it was in. And, um, I don't see why, I don't see anything that's gonna stop it now. He's just gotta get all the paperwork done and then I call Mr. Depp and see which pirate film he's still on."

Last year, I probably would've gotten excited over this news, but after the way things have played out, I would be more surprised if the film got made, then if I had to write another blog post next year about Gilliam talking about how close they are to getting it made. But maybe this year will be the year. They'll just have to find a new Quixote first, since Gilliam says Jean Rochefort won't be returning: "Physically, he can't do it. It's a real tragedy, but he can't. His arse is broken."

Stay tuned -- at some point we'll either have production news, or yet another teaser that the film is this close to being made.

Some bits before the weekend:

• So much for that whole story about Ken Burns buckling to pressure and re-editing his latest documentary, The War, as I alerted you to yesterday. Right after reports were released that the film would be edited, a PBS official said that he will not be re-cutting the WWII doc. Who knows how much we can trust any of this back and forth, but as of now, there will still be extra footage, but it will not be seamlessly integrated. According to PBS -- "To the viewer at home, it will be part of the same contiguous experience" with "the same tone and tenor and production qualities" of the long film.
• Yesterday, Jette Kernion let us know that Shane Meadows' This is England had been picked up by IFC and Red Envelope. Today, Twitch has linked to the movie's trailer, and if Martha Fischer's TIFF review wasn't enough to pique your interest, this trailer should be. The film looks flipping great, and the fact that it is based on Meadow's own life, as well as that of his young star, Thomas Turgoose, makes it irresistible in that car crash sort of way.
  
• A year and a half ago, Cinematical posted that Terry Gilliam was trying to get back his script to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. According to Gilliam: "There was kind of a legal situation where the insurance company and French production company put up a lot of money, but it looks as though things are loosening up." Things weren't as loose as he thought, and all these months later, he still doesn't have it. However, while being interviewed at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, Gilliam says that he's in "final, final, final stages of getting the script back." Once he does, he will talk to Johnny Depp and "find out if and when he's available." Will it happen? I won't hold my breath. "Loosening up" took over a year, so I have no idea how long "final, final, final" is! [via FilmIck]
  

Terry Gilliam's struggles with studios are legendary: from whatever the hell happened with Brazil (a rare case in which Gilliam eventually won) to the demise of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and the crap that The Brothers Grimm turned into (damn those meddling Weinsteins), his unwillingness to compromise consistently has him at odds with authority figures.

So, because of this hard-earned "Down with the man!" mindset, it really doesn't come as much of a surprise that Gilliam has no problem with people pirating his movies. After all, why would a guy whose movies are constantly being damaged or even destroyed by budget problems (for which I realize he's not entirely blameless) give a damn about studios losing money? He does, however, have one request for the pirates out there: do a good job, would you please? "If you're going to pirate...make sure the quality's good. Have some respect for what you're pirating!"

[via Digg]