Paulo Branco, who exited 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' before the filming was completed, is attempting to prevent Cannes Film Festival from screening the movie.
- May 3, 2018
AceShowbiz - Filmmakers behind Terry Gilliam's long-gestating "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" movie have brushed off legal action from a disgruntled producer, insisting he has "no rights" to the project. Paulo Branco, from Alfama Films Production, is fighting to prevent Cannes Film Festival bosses from screening "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" as part of the event's closing night festivities on 19 May.
He filed for a court injunction last month, claiming his firm owns the rights to the release, which he exited as producer before the shoot was completed, and alleges executives have not given their consent for the film's big screen launch.
The case is due to be heard in court on 7 May, on the eve of the French festival's opening, but event organisers remain undeterred, and now Gilliam's colleagues have fired back at Branco in a strongly-worded missive, titled, "Why Paulo Branco Was Never, Is Not And Never Will Be The Producer Of Terry Gilliam's Don Quixote".
In the statement, released by the movie's current producers and distributors at Ocean Films, they insist Branco lost out on the rights to the screenplay because he was "unable to pay" the negotiated fee to option the project, reports Deadline.
When Gilliam, who first started working on the film in 1999, refused to move forward with "half the agreed upon budget", Branco allegedly responded, "Our collaboration is impossible. Good luck with another producer."
Gilliam ended up taking "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" to officials at Belgium's Entre Chien et Loup and France's Kinology firms, who stepped in and "saved" the movie, allowing the director to complete his passion project last year (17).
"They are the producers of the film," the statement asserts.
"The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" is loosely based on the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, and stars Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce.
