10 Movies Probably Made Out Of Spite

3. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

When Terry Gilliam's adventure-comedy The Man Who Killed Don Quixote finally premiered in 2018, it was the culmination of a near-30-year journey to get the film, based loosely on Miguel de Cervantes' 17th-century novel, made.

After 2000's Johnny Depp-starring version was cancelled mid-production due to a number of practical and financial issues, Gilliam mounted several subsequent attempts to get it made between 2003 and 2016, all of which resulted in failure due to monetary and scheduling problems.

But given that Gilliam's original attempt had been immortalised in the brilliant 2002 documentary Lost in La Mancha, his quest became something of a Cause in its own right, with film fans rooting for the director from the sidelines to get back on the saddle every time something fell through.

Even so, fans were shocked to hear in 2017 that the film was finally in production, starring Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce.

Never one to be deterred, a 76-year-old Gilliam seemingly flipped an enthusiastic middle finger at God as he finally completed a relatively incident-free shoot.

Though Gilliam had to sort through a tangle of legal issues in order to get the film released, it finally premiered at Cannes 2018 to broadly positive reviews, most critics simply relieved that the man could get closure on this chapter of his life and career.

Considering Gilliam's age when he shot the movie, it likely would've been his last realistic attempt to get it done, and if nothing else is an incredible testament to the man's perseverance.

Fate herself was telling him the film wouldn't ever get made, and he simply told her, "No."