Lost In La Mancha: The Un-making Of A Film

The making of things can be a tricky business, particularly in the arts. Birthing a vision relies on a myriad of tiny steps which, when executed correctly, add up to a glorious whole. Support must be rallied, resources put in place, collaborators found, experts hired, and schedules arranged. It's a careful dance between chaos and order that can lead to great things, but when fate sticks out it's foot and trips up momentum, it can bring the whole works to a shuddering halt.

In September of 2000, acclaimed director Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas) was ready to begin filming his long-dreamed adaptation of Don Quixote. The actors were hired, the sets prepared, the costumes sewn, the storyboards drawn, and independent financing was fully secured. Along for the ride were documentary film-makers Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, chronicling both the giddy anticipation as pieces fall into place, and the careful dance of negotiating the obstacles that arise. The excitement, however, quickly gives way to a mounting despair as a flash flood wipes out equipment and sets, the lead actor falls seriously ill, and the ensuing delays threaten to derail the film completely. Fulton and Pepe are there for it all, capturing the footage they eventually assembled into Lost In La Mancha - a film they came to call a documentary of the "unmaking of" a film.

From the film's website:

Lost In La Mancha is less a process piece about filmmakers at work and more a powerful drama about the inherent fragility of the creative process - a compelling study of how, even with an abundance of the best will and passion, the artistic endeavor can remain an impossible dream.

In a world where we sometimes only see the towers of success, it can be revelatory to discover the multitude of failed attempts that cover the ground in between.  In Gilliam's case, he went on to successfully direct three other feature films (including The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus in which the lead actor, Heath Ledger, died before completing shooting) before once again approaching Quixote in 2008.  As of late 2010, Gilliam had retrieved his rights to the screenplay and recast the film, but had not yet secured financing.