Posted in: Movies | Tagged: Cannes Film Festival, terry gilliam, the man who killed don quixote

Updates on Terry Gilliam, Cannes Decision, and More

Published Wed, 09 May 2018 14:19:33 -0500

Last updated Wed, 09 May 2018 14:46:25 -0500

Late last night we reported, as did pretty much everyone, that filmmaker Terry Gilliam had suffered a stroke while home in England. But now, at least according to Deadline, it appears the 77-year-old did not in fact suffer a stroke, but came down with some kind of illness.

The outlet says that exec producer Jeremy Thomas told them that Gilliam "did not have a stroke, contrary to some reports this morning. He was taken ill over the weekend, in part due to the stress around the movie, but he is now recovering well in London and will be in Cannes for the film's premiere on Saturday."

This is great news, as we were really concerned for Gilliam's health, and this at least is less troubling than a stroke.

The other big news is the French court (which was deciding on the legality of Gilliam's long fought for film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote screening at Cannes Film Festival) decided IN FAVOR of allowing the movie to have its premiere. This comes after former exec Paolo Branco claimed ownership of the production since 2016 and has continued to block the film's release. Previously, the court sided with Branco twice, but not this time.

Before the decision was revealed, the Cannes jury had already announced their support of Gilliam and plans to go ahead and screen the film. Once the verdict/findings were made public, Branco released a strongly worded statement about the situation.

"The Judge of Emergency Interim Proceedings has confirmed that the contracts of the company ALFAMA FILMS PRODUCTION and of Paulo BRANCO have not been terminated and that both do in fact justify "being owners of rights in virtue of these contracts that have by pursuit in neglect of their consent of litigious production and exploitation and of which the violation characterizes an apparent, manifest and illicit discord".

He thus constrains the Cannes Film Festival to show, beforehand of the screening, a warning addressed to the public in written form, projected on the screen, which reminds that this screening "does not bear prejudice to the rights invoked by the company ALFAMA FILMS PRODUCTION and Mister Paulo BRANCO on this film against Mister Terry GILLIAM and the producers mentioned in the credits, which are subject to current proceedings".

The Cannes Film Festival will be sole responsible for the screening fees of this message.

Mister Terry GILLIAM and the companies STAR INVEST FILMS FRANCE and KINOLOGY are sentenced to reimburse ALFAMA FILMS PRODUCTION and Paulo BRANCO for the fees endured in order to make their rights enforced.

This decision confirms ALFAMA FILMS PRODUCTION's analysis which does not allow to this day, considering the state of judiciary decisions already given, the release of the movie in theatres on May 19^th 2018 on the French territory, which would constitute a violation of its rights.

ALFAMA FILMS PRODUCTION owns 100% of the rights of exploitation in France, the United States, Italy and Benelux.

On other territories in the world, no decision of commercialization or exploitation can be taken without its accord."

Gilliam had posted to his Facebook page earlier today his joy at the film finally being shown, despite the news that Amazon had indeed pulled its plans to be the US distributor of the picture. Here's hoping someone else steps in, because 20+ years is a really long time to wait to see a film.

Get well soon, Terry.