The funniest thing about Terry Gilliam’s never-ending attempts to get his Don Quixote movie made is how, through eight different starts and stops, the project has turned into a meta story of its own, much in the same way that Don Quixote itself is a meta story. For those who haven’t found the time to read the daunting entirety of Cervantes’s masterpiece, Don Quixote is actually two separate books: the first, released in 1605, being about a crazy old man (Don Quixote) who believes that he is a knight in shining armor, and the second, released ten years later, about Quixote actually being something a knight in shining armor after characters in the story read the first book, and started treating him as such. It’s really far out, really hilarious, and, ultimately, really sad.
Considering this in relation to the various ways in which Gilliam has been prevented from making this film (scheduling conflicts, insurance issues, multiple illnesses, a goddamn flood, etc.) and at a certain point I’ve almost begun to think that it’s a deliberate joke and commentary from the filmmaker himself. Maybe—just maybe—he never planned on making the film in the first place. But that would be…crazy…you say? Think about it, man.
If Gilliam wants to prove my conspiracy theory wrong, however, the stars are aligning once again for him to do it. Today, The Hollywood Reporter, um, reported that the most recent incarnation of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is back on track to be shot and released, thanks to a new production company (Alfama Films) and new producer (Paulo Branco). It’s not clear if Amazon, who were recently attached to the distribute the film (until John Hurt’s cancer diagnosis halted production), are still involved, but shooting is once again scheduled to start, this time in September with an eighteen-million-dollar budget.
Thankfully, Hurt was said to be cleared by his doctors a few months back, and will be able to fulfill the task of the starring role alongside Jack O’Connell, who will play Toby, a modern-day commercial director who travels to Spain, and ends up going down a road of self-discovery. Or something. At this point, who knows what the movie will really look like—if it makes it out at all. Honestly, a small part of me might be disappointed if it ever does.
