The turbulent 30-year history of Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote continues to be a head-scratcher, with Amazon today pulling out of its deal to distribute the troubled movie, as a court ruled that it will be allowed to close the Cannes Film Festival.
Gilliam’s movie was first mooted way back in 1989. He secured funding to make it in the 1990s, with Johnny Depp in the leading role, but that chaotic production fell apart so spectacularly that its ‘Making Of’ documentary was released independently as Lost in La Mancha in 2002.
The movie has now, against all odds, been completed with Jonathan Pryce and Adam Driver in the two main roles. However, a legal dispute has put a potential roadblock in its path.
SEE ALSO: Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote gets a new trailer
Former producer Paulo Branco claims the rights to the movie are his and that the current version of the form is illegal. However, a French court ruled today, as per Variety, that the Cannes Film Festival is allowed to carry out its planned world premiere on May 19.
A spokesman for the festival previously said it would respect the decision of the court, but affirmed that its organisers “stand squarely on the side of filmmakers” in such disputes.
It’s a positive development in a story that looked set to enter another downward spiral earlier today, when it was revealed that Amazon Studios is pulling out of its agreement to distribute the film in the United States.
Branco told Variety that he believes Amazon has pulled out of its deal because sales agents Kinology did not have the right to sell the movie.
SEE ALSO: Variety shocks Terry Gilliam fans with false obituary
It seems like there are still plenty of roadblocks in the path of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote before it can finally be seen by fans, many of whom have been waiting with bated breath to see the movie for decades.
There’s currently no release date set for the movie in either the USA or the UK and, given the newly bonkers distribution situation, that isn’t likely to change in the immediate future. The wait continues.
UPDATE: Gilliam has now posted the following to Twitter…
After days of rest and prayers to the gods I am restored and well again. So is The Man Who Killed Don Quixote! We are legally victorious! We will go to the ball, dressed as the closing film at Festival de Cannes! May 19. Thanks for all your support. #QuixoteVive
— Terry Gilliam (@TerryGilliam) May 9, 2018
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote follows Toby, a jaded commercials director who travels to Spain for a shoot and comes across a gypsy who gives a copy of his student film — a lyrical re-working of the Don Quixote story set in a quaint old Spanish village. Moved by the discovery, Toby sets off on a bizarre road trip to find the little village where the student student film was shot and gets caught up in a series of catastrophies.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote features a cast that includes Jonathan Pryce (Game of Thrones) as Quixote and Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Toby, while the rest of the cast includes Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Stellan Skarsgård (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Joana Ribeiro (A Uma Hora Incerta), Eva Basteiro-Bertoli (Black Bread) and Rossy de Palma (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown).
