Former Monty Python member and visionary director Terry Gilliam has confirmed last week’s news that Robert Duvall will be playing the role of Don Quixote in Gilliam’s long-gestating project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. The director also reiterated the news that original star Johnny Depp would not be returning.
However, Gilliam did add that as of yet, there is still no funding for the troubled film.
When asked by Cinema Blend about the film while promoting his current release, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Gilliam said:
“Well, it’s up. We’re getting it going again. As Bobby says, we don’t have the money yet. I just think he’s phenomenal. I sent him the script, and he was so excited by it. I just thought, if I can get Robert Duvall talking as he was on the phone with that kind of excitement and energy and childish enthusiasm, I thought, this is going to be great. He does the tango. I just think he’s extraordinary.”
When the Time Bandits director was asked about Johnny Depp’s involvement in the film he said that Depp was “too busy doing swashing and buckling and Tonto-ing”, a reference to Depp’s starring roles in the forthcoming Disney films The Lone Ranger and Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
So the question is – Will Gilliam ever get the financial assistance he needs to fulfill his dream of bringing the Cervantes tale to the big-screen?
Of course, the irony here is that if Depp was still involved with the film, Gilliam would get the money he needed in a heartbeat!
More on The Man Who Killed Don Quixote when we get it.
