The saga of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has taken another turn now following the news last week that a court has ruled in favour of former producer Paulo Branco granting him the rights to Terry Gilliam’s passion project.
Branco had stated that his company Alfama would be seeking damages against Gilliam, the film’s producers Kinology, and distributors who have already shown the film without his authorisation.
However, the film’s current producer Mariela Busuievsky has informed El Espanol (via The Playlist) that Branco is overstating his legal victory, and that he doesn’t have any claim to the final film as none of it was shot under the contract that he held with Gilliam.
According to Busuievsky, the only issue is that Gilliam did not properly terminate his contract with Branco, and will need to pay Alfama at least $11,600 in damages. However, the film reportedly still remains the property of Gilliam, and will be release in European territories as planned.
A new U.S. distribution deal is being sought after Amazon opted to pull out of its agreement in the wake of the legal dispute.
Expect more twists and turns before we finally get to see Gilliam’s long-gestating film.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote follows Toby, a jaded commercials director who travels to Spain for a shoot and comes across a gypsy who gives a copy of his student film — a lyrical re-working of the Don Quixote story set in a quaint old Spanish village. Moved by the discovery, Toby sets off on a bizarre road trip to find the little village where the student student film was shot and gets caught up in a series of catastrophies.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote features a cast that includes Jonathan Pryce (Game of Thrones) as Quixote and Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Toby, while the rest of the cast includes Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Stellan Skarsgård (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Joana Ribeiro (A Uma Hora Incerta), Eva Basteiro-Bertoli (Black Bread) and Rossy de Palma (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown).
