One of the best and most heartbreaking documentaries in recent years is Lost in La Mancha, the devastating tale of Terry Gilliam’s attempt to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a twist from the Python on the classic Cervantes tale The Man of La Mancha. Despite the film’s disastrous failure, Gilliam has not given up hope yet, and tells Empire Online that the project will still happen.
"[Producer] Jeremy Thomas is very close to getting all the pieces of paper signed from all the people who you gotta get signed," Gilliam told us. "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."
If you weren’t familiar with the initial attempt, Johnny Depp played a man who traveled in time and was mistaken for Sancho Panza, Don Quixote’s right hand man. Jean Rochefort played the Quixote figure, but unfortunately probably won’t be back for the second attempt at making the movie. Physically, he can't do it. It’s a real tragedy, but he can't. His arse is broken."
For those who were excited about last week’s rumors that Gilliam would be taking on the Terry Pratchett / Neil Gaiman novel Good Omens, don’t fret. Gilliam says that too is a possibility: "I’m the only one who can make it, 'cos that's what Neil and Terry have said. I’m the only one. And I thought with Neil, with Stardust and with Beowulf and there’s another one [Coraline], I was thinking he’s really hot now, so maybe there’s a chance.”
As excited as I want to get over these projects, there’s something about Gilliam projects that somehow have a way of falling apart. As The Man Who Killed Don Quixote proved, even a production underway isn’t a guarantee of a final film, so I won’t be holding my breath until “It’s a wrap” is called out on either project. Still, it’s nice to imagine the possibilities.
