The roller-coaster ride to finish the often-cursed “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” has some promising developments. Terry Gilliam has been wanting to make the movie for the last 17 years, first trying and failing to mount a production in 2000, but he now says he is nearly finished with the cut and is ready to begin adding music and VFX.
“Well, we’ve almost finished the cut,” he told The New York Times. “We’re just fiddling now, figuring out a few things here and there so it’s pretty much what it is. We’ve got still months of work to do on visual effects, sound, music. But as far as the tale, it’s pretty tight now and it’s surprisingly wonderful.”
Gilliam announced at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival that he would finally see his passion project through with an October 2016 production start. The director announced the cast would include Michael Palin in the title role, plus Adam Driver and Olga Kurylenko. The story concerns a former director (Driver) who decided to film a movie based on “Don Quixote” in a small Spanish village. He returns to the village years later, only to find that his film has had a terrible effect on the place.
The original fall 2016 production date got delayed just days before cameras were set to star rolling when the producers were unable to secure the necessary funds, leading many to believe Gilliam would once again attempt and fail to make “Don Quixote.” Gilliam confirmed in March earlier this year that production had finally started, however, with Jonathan Pryce stepping into the title role. Principal photography finished on June 4.
“I always hesitate to get too optimistic or too excited about the work I’m doing,” he told The Times. “I’d rather try to stay cynical and slightly distant from it. When you fall in love with something, it’s painful when it doesn’t work for everybody else. But all the people who’ve seen it so far — they used the words, ‘We’re in love with this.’ So let’s see if they’re right.”
It looks like the curse has been lifted and “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” is on track to finally be completed. Gilliam has stated he intends to premiere the project at Cannes 2018.
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