Terry Gilliam Plans to Start Don Quixote Production This September

Director Terry Gilliam (The Zero Theorem) is desperate to make his vision for a film adaptation of the Spanish novel Don Quixote a reality. That task in and of itself can be described as "quixotic," because every single time he has made headway on the project, the universe conspires to shut it down.

There is even a 2002 documentary, Lost in La Mancha, that captures the unbelievably bad luck that plagued Gilliam's first attempt.

Yet, as always, it looks like the director and Monty Python alumnus has dusted himself off and mounted his horse for another go at that old windmill.

In an interview with Empire, Gilliam announces that he plans to start production on his newest attempt at Don Quixote on September 29 on the Canary Islands, barring further complications. He hopes his luck has changed for the better with the involvement of Spanish producer Adrián Guerra, who backed thrillers Buried and Grand Piano -- movies that faced constraints of their own. Guerra will "run interference" for Gilliam and help raise capital for the production.

Gilliam explains, "He’s really smart, loves movies. He’s young enough to still love movies. But we’ve still got to cast it and get the money but other than that, that’s the deal."

Speaking of casting, this will be the eleventh cast for the troubled project. "I’m hoping it’s the lucky 11," Gilliam jokes. "We keep rewriting the script each time, too, so it’s a slightly different film each time. It's the same film but the details change."

Gilliam on the set of his doomed first Don Quixote production.

When Gilliam speaks of his allusive opus, he seems to channel the Spanish nobleman himself, describing his aspiration as “obsessive… desperate… pathetic… foolish. It's this growth, this tumour that's become part of my system that has to get out if I’m to survive.”

Hopefully, 2014 will prove a lucky year for the director.

Talk to Jared on Twitter at @Larson_Jared.

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