6. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was Terry Gilliam's dream project, but it was DOA pretty much as soon as it began. It was meant to be a big, sweeping epic based on the famous novel by Miguel de Cervantes, and was granted a 30 million dollar budget. Principal filming began in early 2000 with Jean Rochefort, and that's about as far as the production got. Almost immediately after filming (as in, on the second day), a flash flood washed away an entire set in northern Spain. Shortly thereafter, lead actor Jean Rochefort, who had spent the better part of six months learning enough English for the role, was diagnosed with a double herniated disc. This dealt a crushing blow to the production, which required Rochefort to be in good enough shape to ride a horse and play a physical role. They originally intended to keep filming scenes that didn't involve Rochefort's character, but it eventually became evident that it would be quite some time before he would be able to return to the project. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was abandoned, but not before being featured as the subject of the acclaimed documentary Lost in La Mancha.