The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

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The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Directed by	Terry Gilliam
Produced by	Rene Cleitman José Luis Escolar StudioCanal KC Median Hachette Premiere Pathé Cíe UK Film Council FilmFour
Written by	Tony Grisoni Terry Gilliam
Starring	Johnny Depp Jean Rochefort Vanessa Paradis Bill Paterson Ian Holm
Cinematography	Nicola Pecorini
Distributed by	Pathé
Release date(s)	In Development Limbo
Language	English
Budget	$32,100,000

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a doomed feature film from director Terry Gilliam, commenced filming in 2000, but shooting stopped within a week when star Jean Rochefort was injured. The only result of the production that was ever released was the documentary Lost in La Mancha (2002), chronicling the attempt at making this "film that didn't want to be made".

It was set to have been one of the biggest European films ever made, with a budget of $32.1 million, (scaled back from $40 million), and it was to have been one of Gilliam's most ambitious films, made without any American money.

As shown in the documentary, the first location shoot was at a scenic, barren area north of Madrid, Spain, near a military base. Military fighter jets flew overhead repeatedly, ruining the audio recording and mandating a later re-dubbing in post-production. A flash flood on the second day of filming washed away equipment and changed the color of the barren cliffs, making the previous filming unusable. Rochefort, an able horseman, attempted to ride and act, but was obviously wincing in pain, and required assistance dismounting and walking; he flew to his doctor in Paris, where he was diagnosed with a double herniated disc. The crew attempted to shoot scenes that did not involve Rochefort for several days, but as the days passed, it became apparent he would not be able to return. Gilliam decided this was a fatal wound; he had spent two years casting the role of Don Quixote, and Rochefort had then spent seven months learning the English language for the part. The production was cancelled.

The film would have featured Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Eccleston, Bill Paterson, Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm, Peter Vaughan and Jean Rochefort. The crew included producers Rene Cleitman and José Luis Escolar, cinematographer Nicola Pecorini, costume designer Gabriella Pescucci, production designer Benjamín Fernández and make-up artist Christine Blundell.

After production was cancelled, an insurance claim was filed on behalf of the film's investors; US$15 million was reportedly paid. The insurance companies now own the script. Since 2003, rumors have occasionally claimed that Gilliam and his producers are lining up support to restart production.

However, at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005, there was some good news. After working with British producer Jeremy Thomas on Tideland, it was announced that Thomas was interested in getting the project up and running again. Then, in July 2006, after nearly 6 years of legalities between the French producers and German insurers, the issue over the rights was settled. Terry Gilliam announced this at the Munich Film Festival saying that the production company were willing to give Gilliam the rights, Jeremy Thomas was still interested in producing, Johnny Depp was still attached to be in it. However, Rochefort is still unable to ride a horse, so the part of Quixote might have to be recast.

In August 2006, Gilliam indicated at a post-screening Q&A for Tideland that the complex legal case concerning the film's collapse was finally being wrapped up, and that the rights to the script are hopefully being given back to Gilliam and co-writer Tony Grisoni in the near future.