In the last few months, Warner Bros seems to have a new way of working. They look at what other people are doing, and if the story is in the public domain, they set their own version in motion. From an Oz film and a new Three Musketeers to Treasure Island, Warner has stepped in, sometimes with multiple projects based around the same idea, only after someone else has already announced theirs. The latest in this run may be Don Quixote, which Pajiba says Warner is working on with producer Joel Silver.
The report says the movie is being fast-tracked and thought of in the Sherlock Holmes mould of taking a classic story and turning it into a tentpole action-packed release. That would suggest less of Cervantes’ satire and tilting as windmills, and more Quixote fighting off real fantactical characters.
If it is true, it’s more bad news for Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, the film which had to abandon shooting amid huge problems a decade ago, but is now revving up once again with Robert Duvall and Ewan McGregor in the lead roles. However at the moment there’s no sign of a start to shooting, and if Warner really is planning to swoop in with a bid budget offering, it could put Terry’s movie in jeopardy once more. But surely no director can be that unlucky with a single project, can they?