9 Movies That Were Scrapped After Being Filmed (And Why)
8. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (Terry Gilliam)
The Film: When Terry Gilliam finished directing Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas he wasted no time in recruiting his co-screenwriter Tony Grisoni for help on The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, another adaptation of a famous novel. The film follows an advertising executive who travels back in time to 17th century Spain and is mistaken for Sancho Panza, Don Quixote's sagely squire. The production reunited Gilliam with Johnny Depp, who starred opposite French actor Jean Rocheforte. Ian Holm and Christopher Eccleston were also on the cast, as was Depps girlfriend at the time Vanessa Paradis. Why It Was Scrapped: So tortured was the production that a documentary (Lost In La Mancha) was actually made about this films unnatural amount of bad luck. With the movie practically in the bag, everything was looking great for Gilliam, but things took a turn for the worse in post. One of the main outdoor locations in Spain was right next to an area used by the air force for practice, which ended up ruining the audio for all the scenes shot there. After that came a flash flood, washing away expensive equipment and changing the colour of the landscape they had been using. As if that wasnt enough, Rochefort was then rushed back to France for an emergency operation after complications from a prostate infection. With the seasoned Frenchman out of action indefinitely, Gilliam had no choice but to throw in the towel and pass the project over to the insurance company. Gilliam went on to spend years trying to reacquire the rights to the movie, though Depp was no longer interested by the time that happened. Ewan McGregor stepped in to star opposite Robert Duvall as Quixote, but financing collapsed a matter of weeks before the shoot was due to recommence. The parts were recast after Amazon Studios backed the picture for a 2016 release with Jack O'Connell and John Hurt lined up to star, though Hurt's pancreatic cancer diagnosis has once again halted proceedings.
