LOST IN LA MANCHA may not be in the same league as HEARTS OF DARKNESS ( The documentary that gives the inside story of the making of APOCALYPSE NOW ) but it's certainly entertaining and stands as a very good example of how not to produce a movie . I may make myself unpopular for saying this but didn't the people involved deserve everything they got ?
Terry Gilliam decides he's going to direct a movie called THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE , it's going to feature windmills , giants and some old self deluded bloke from Spain . Perhaps not the greatest plot for a movie but Johnny Depp is cast as the eponymous man so I guess Gilliam got that bit right since Depp has massive box office appeal . With hindsight that's the only thing Gilliam has done right because he soon finds himself having to use what is probably the worst sound stage in Europe since it's the only one available . Things move from bad to worse when Gilliam finds himself with no one to play Don Quixote on the first day of filming and when they finally cast the actor in the part they realise that the only place that location filming can take place is being used by NATO aircraft for training exercises . It's kind of difficult to have a story set in the 16th century when F-16s are flying over head all day . Things move from worse to even worse when a lot of equipment floats away in a flash flood . What else can go wrong you ask ?
This is highly entertaining but no one on the production deserves any sympathy . Didn't the producer research what sound stages would be available during filming ? Didn't he research locations and find one that wasn't being used by NATO or suffered from flash floods ? Couldn't he have cast an elderly actor ( A senor citizen ? ) as Quixoite before shooting was due to begin ? These are the faults of the producer rather than the director but Gilliam isn't entirely blameless himself but perhaps his major fault is that he's too much of a nice guy , he never gets angry and treats every setback with a wry smile which isn't perhaps an attribute for a movie director , compare his manner with Francis Ford Coppola while making APOCALYPSE NOW . As I said this is a perfect example - And a very entertaining one too - on how not to make a movie
Terry Gilliam decides he's going to direct a movie called THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE , it's going to feature windmills , giants and some old self deluded bloke from Spain . Perhaps not the greatest plot for a movie but Johnny Depp is cast as the eponymous man so I guess Gilliam got that bit right since Depp has massive box office appeal . With hindsight that's the only thing Gilliam has done right because he soon finds himself having to use what is probably the worst sound stage in Europe since it's the only one available . Things move from bad to worse when Gilliam finds himself with no one to play Don Quixote on the first day of filming and when they finally cast the actor in the part they realise that the only place that location filming can take place is being used by NATO aircraft for training exercises . It's kind of difficult to have a story set in the 16th century when F-16s are flying over head all day . Things move from worse to even worse when a lot of equipment floats away in a flash flood . What else can go wrong you ask ?
This is highly entertaining but no one on the production deserves any sympathy . Didn't the producer research what sound stages would be available during filming ? Didn't he research locations and find one that wasn't being used by NATO or suffered from flash floods ? Couldn't he have cast an elderly actor ( A senor citizen ? ) as Quixoite before shooting was due to begin ? These are the faults of the producer rather than the director but Gilliam isn't entirely blameless himself but perhaps his major fault is that he's too much of a nice guy , he never gets angry and treats every setback with a wry smile which isn't perhaps an attribute for a movie director , compare his manner with Francis Ford Coppola while making APOCALYPSE NOW . As I said this is a perfect example - And a very entertaining one too - on how not to make a movie