Director Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a film that has been a long time in the making. About 20 years, to be exact.
Despite a litany of financial woes, injuries, and other mishaps, the film was finally completed just in time to be chosen for the coveted closing night spot at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in France. But a lawsuit by producer Paul Bronco nearly derailed the May 19th showing, with Bronco suing Cannes to prevent the film’s screening and subsequent release in France. Bronco and Gilliam have been battling it out in Paris courts to determine whether or not a 2016 agreement between the two gives Bronco rights to the film.
But Cannes, aware of the legal troubles before they selected the film, has stuck by its choice, saying, “The Festival de Cannes will respect the legal decision, whatever it may be, but we strongly affirm that we stand squarely on the side of filmmakers and in particular on the side of Terry Gilliam. We know how important this project, which has gone through so many trials and tribulations, is to him. The trouble [was] caused on this last occasion by the actions of a producer who has shown his true colors once and for all during this episode and who has threatened us, via his lawyer, with a ‘humiliating defeat.’”
For a sneak preview of the film causing all this drama, take a look at the trailer here.
