THE DON QUIXOTE SAGA CONTINUED
On our previous episode of "What Else Could Happen to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" we were wondering how a French court would rule and if that would allow or prevent the film's screening as the closing night entertainment in Cannes...well...
Since Monday...Terry Gilliam had a "health episode" that was described as a possible stroke but was apparently not that...
Distributor Amazon Studios dropped plans to distribute the film and
The Court ruled and said, essentially, roll that film on May 19th.
It's been an eventful few days for the Don Quixote crew.
All of the sound and fury led one Twitter account to suggest that attending the screening on the 19th might be risky as it is likely to end in a disaster of biblical proportion. Such has been the beleaguered history of the film.
Here's what I want to know: Why did Amazon pull out? And...what the hell else could happen to this production in the next 10 days?
Here's a sampling of the coverage for this past three days worth of developments:
The Court decision:
Amazon's Decision:
Gilliam's Health Scare:
EVERYBODY KNOWS IS IN FOCUS
Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows opened the 71st Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday to mixed reviews (I'll start passing along links to various critics' compilation sites beginning with next Monday's blog post).
Despite the so-so nature of the critical reception, a reportedly significant battle ensued for U.S. distribution rights for the film among a number of players. Netflix had been reported earlier in the week as a likely bidder and reportedly they were but in the end were bested by Focus Features.
Focus was said to gain an advantage die its traditional theatrical release structure meaning that the film could be aimed at awards season.
Additionally, the win by Focus probably still keeps the film in the convo for Telluride although, as astute friend of MTFB Patrick Pringle noted via Twitter, the recent decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal could create problems for screenings of the film.
Here's coverage of the Focus deal from:
CANNES WILL HONOR RISSIENT
As you might expect, the Cannes Film Fest will honoring the late Pierre Rissient, who died last weekend. The film "warrior" was an incredible part of the fabric of both Cannes and Telluride. I ran across this comment from former TFF co-director Gary Meyer in the comment section of the Eric Kohn/Indiewire story reporting Rissient's passing:
Thank you for this wonderful and personal look at Pierre Rissient who was truly unique. His passion for the films and talent he loved was infectious. He was demanding in a way that a first timer might not embrace until they realized that he was usually right and listening to him would reveal things we didn’t know about cinema of the past and turn us on to filmmaking on the horizon. The two films about him are a great start to understanding Pierre. I am honored to have been among the lucky ones to have spent time learning and being inspired by one of the art’s true believers.
Additionally, I have linked reportage of Cannes decision to honor Rissient here from:
And that;s a wrap for this Thursday. Please come back for more on Monday including the first collective looks of the films that will premiere at Cannes over the weekend.
EMAIL: mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com
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TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)
FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page
COMMENT TO THE BLOG
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