Terry Gilliam’s seemingly unyielding persistence looked to have paid off when his long-gestating passion project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, finally started to display some fleeting signs of life. Breathing new life into the character drama, the esteemed filmmaker cast The Force Awakens breakout Adam Driver, Michael Palin and Olga Kurylenko – Willem Dafoe and Stellan Skarsgard appear to be teetering on the verge – while a Cannes presser indicated that production was set to begin sooner rather than later.
You’d be best tempering your excitement, though, for Terry Gilliam has now confirmed that The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has once again been hit with a “slight delay.” But don’t fret, the director has no intention of giving up the goose anytime soon, claiming, “I will be dead before the film is.”
Per The Radio 2 Arts Show:
“I was supposed to start to be shooting it starting next Monday. It’s been slightly delayed. I had this producer, a Portuguese chap, who claimed he’d get all the money together in time. And a few weeks ago, he proved that he didn’t have the money,” Gilliam said.“So we are still marching forward. It is not dead. I will be dead before the film is.”
It’s a little disconcerting that Gilliam and Co. discovered a lack of funding on the eve of a production start, but the director’s candidness leads us to believe that all involved have established a contingency plan. The Playlist also relayed a report from Belgian industry news site Wallonia claiming The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is being prepped to enter development in November. Unconfirmed, of course, but there may well be light at the end of this long, long tunnel after all.