Cannes Film Festival

UPDATED, 10:32 A.M: Following its one-night-onl screenings last week, Terry Gilliam’s long-gestating The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will begin its North American theatrical rollout Friday. Screen Media said the pic will hit screens in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Austin and other top markets day-and-date with its all-platform VOD bow. The pic will continue to expand its treatrical rollout through the spring and beyond, the distributor said.

PREVIOUSLY, December 17: Screen Media has picked up North American rights to Terry Gilliam’s long-in-the-works drama The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, starring Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgard, Olga Kurylenko and Jordi Molla.

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Screen Media, in partnership with event cinema specialist Fathom Events, is planning a theatrical release for March 2019. The deal was negotiated by Seth Needle, SVP of Worldwide Acquisitions at Screen Media with the filmmakers.

The film had its world premiere as the Closing Night Film at Cannes 2018. Directed and written by Gilliam, the film is co-written by Tony Grisoni and produced by Mariela Besuievsky, Amy Gilliam, Gerardo Herrero and Gregoire Melin.

In Gilliam’s tale, Adam Driver plays Toby, a frustrated filmmaker and disillusioned advertising executive who becomes pulled into a world of time jumping fantasy when a Spanish cobbler (Pryce), who believes he is Don Quixote, mistakes Toby for his trusted squire Sancho Panza. Pulled further into the cobbler’s world, Toby gradually becomes unable to tell his dreams from reality.

“Terry Gilliam is a true auteur and his latest film does not disappoint. It is the perfect pairing of a film with a filmmaker, the story of Don Quixote, a man who believes in things that seemingly no one else believes in, until finally, they share his vision,” said David Fannon, President of Screen Media. “Screen Media is thrilled that U.S. audiences will finally get to see Terry Gilliam’s quest.”

It has indeed been quite the ride for the filmmakers. After a tortured journey to production, the film was a hot button topic at Cannes where a producer tried to block the film’s distribution, leading to Amazon’s exit as U.S. partner and additional legal issues.