'Don Quixote' film shoot wrapped up after 17 years

Actor, screenwriter and filmmaker Terry Gilliam has wrapped up shooting for "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" after 17 years since its inception.

The film, based on Miguel De Cervantes's novel "Don Quixote", got stuck in near-mythical "development hell" and witnessed so many ups and downs that there was even a documentary "Lost in La Mancha" (2002) made on its journey, reports nytimes.com.

"Sorry for the long silence. I've been busy packing the truck and am now heading home. After 17 years, we have completed the shoot of 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote'. Muchas gracias (Thank you very much) to all the team and believers," Gilliam wrote on Facebook on June 4.

Starring Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgard and Olga Kurylenko, the film was being shot across various locations in Spain and Portugal.

It tells the story of a deluded old man, who is convinced he is the famed horse-riding hero and mistakes an advertising executive for his trusty squire, Sancho Panza.

Previously, names like Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, Robert Duvall, Jack O'Connell and John Hurt were attached to the project.

"Don Quixote is a dreamer, an idealist and a romantic, determined not to accept the limitations of reality, marching on regardless of setbacks, as we have done," Gilliam said.

The film, a passion project for Gilliam since the late 1980s, went on floors in 2000 but endured a number of setbacks -- lead actors roped in and out, flash floods stopped production and financing was a problem.

--IANS

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