Lost in La Mancha

xl70e3

xl70e3

Skywalker
Watched it for the first time today. All I can say is... poor Terry :cry: The Don Quixote of Hollywood. I've never been a huge fan of his, but the man deserves all the praise he gets and true respect as a filmmaker for fighting for what he believes in, for pushing his vision on film no matter how difficult it might be.

A single quote to sum up the movie: "I just like shooting things, even it's completely ****ed up and totally useless..."
 
Watched it for the first time today, too! It was interesting to see the production spiral out of control. Most of the time it was downright painful. Rivers of mud, fighter jets, and language barriers... wow.

The man is not a quitter... check this out:

Jeremy Thomas's Recorded Picture Company has expressed his interest in making Quixote with Gilliam. From Cannes in May 2005, Screen Daily reported that:

Terry Gilliam is making a bid to revive The Man Who Killed Don Quixote with his Tideland producer Jeremy Thomas and the Recorded Picture Company. The former Python is currently back in the saddle with two films – The Brothers Grimm and Tideland – after seven years away. Gilliam made it clear that he is now seriously engaged in trying to revive The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

The disastrous first attempt to shoot the project was documented in the film Lost In La Mancha and restarting the venture means a protracted legal tussle over rights. But Gilliam said: “There are good signs.” Added Recording Pictures chief executive Peter Watson: “Having collaborated on Tideland, it was such a good experience that we want to be in the Terry Gilliam business. We are now attempting mouth to mouth resuscitation on the corpse of Don Quixote.” source
 
Of course he's not a quitter :) It was said in the end credits, that he found a new investor 6 months after the 60 mil production was cancelled. Plus, he had already put ten years of his life into the movie back then, it's no surprise that he didn't stop at that point. I wonder if Rochefort and Depp will be back?
 
xl70e3 said:
Of course he's not a quitter :) It was said in the end credits, that he found a new investor 6 months after the 60 mil production was cancelled. Plus, he had already put ten years of his life into the movie back then, it's no surprise that he didn't stop at that point. I wonder if Rochefort and Depp will be back?
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Yeah, but that was a few years ago -- so it's nice to see a 2005 update that seems to see Gilliam closer to taking another stab at this. I think they said the failed production was on a $31M budget, 16 of which came from the folks visiting the set on "waterfall day."

Regardless, I bet somebody out there is just itching to be the behind the scenes crew if a new production gets going!

It could be pitched to new investors that way...
Successful Shoot = Finished Movie!
Unsucessful Shoot = Finished Documentary on Failed Movie!
 
I read in an interview with Terry recently where he commented that Jean Rochefort won't be Quixote.

He also tried to get Neil Gaiman's "Good Omen's" made with Johhny Depp and Robin Williams expressing definite interest in doing the main two roles. The budget was for approx. $15 million. Terry says the studios were uninterested, and (paraphrasing) "Depp and Williams for only $15 million, and no greenlight?" Terry said he doesn't understand the movie business anymore, if that is the kind of response he gets with those elements attached.

I tend to concur.

BTW -The doc was brilliant. Terry's enthusiasm is seemingly indomitable.
 
Great documentary. I watched Fear and Loathing tonight with his commentary, and he always unnerves me with his maniacal laugh. Gilliam said that they got slaughtered at Cannes with Fear and Loathing, and that set the tone for the rest of the promotion and box office. I liked the film, and thought it was a great adaptation from the book.

Unfortunately, I hear Brothers Grimm is also getting miserable reviews.
 
D_and_G said:
"Depp and Williams for only $15 million, and no greenlight?" Terry said he doesn't understand the movie business anymore, if that is the kind of response he gets with those elements attached.
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I would have thought my dog could get a greenlight with that!

Maybe the Gilliam element put them off!
 
Probably the problem wasn´t Gilliam.

If you were a greenlighter (or whatever the name) would you believe a producer that tells you he can make a film with Depp and Williams with just 15 mill.? Or would you fear after couple of months (and yes, Gilliam can be another factor (Don Quijote, Munchausen... you are right)) he will be calling asking for more funds due to problems.

I was in Zaragoza next to where he was (in the militar air base, first aid service in airport) and i saw the f-18s taking off the days he planned to shot. And the rain. It didn´t surprise me.

Jean Rochefort did surprise me in the documental, and yes, he was probably the best actor to do it, but after all the problems, phisical and ego, i wouldn´t choose him again.

I hope he can finaly do it, because it´s a great story to be told and i love the way Gilliam do films...
 
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