Hi Gothick, you've already figured out the mystery movie, but to clarify real quickly, it was a film called The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and it started filming in the fall of 2000. All kinds of things started going wrong (the elderly actor who took sick was French actor Jean Rochefort, who would've played Don Quixote, there was also a flood in Spain where they were shooting, and various other problems), so that the plug was pulled after only 6 days of filming. The whole sordid story is told in the documentary, Lost In La Mancha. Vanessa Paradis, Johnny's romantic partner of over 10 years (they have never officially married but consider themselves married and have 2 children together), would have been in the film, and it would have been the only time they've ever worked together on a film.
I'm not surprised the story has surfaced again, because every chance Gilliam gets, he is only too happy to tell the media that he is getting the funding together and the rights back to do the film again, and when he does, that Johnny will be in it. For Johnny's part, Johnny has said for years that if Terry gets the project going again, he's in. (No word on whether Vanessa would also be in it). Johnny is very loyal to his friends, and I think the Man Who Killed Don Quixote issue is one of the reasons he stepped in so quickly to do Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus after Heath Ledger's death. I do think that Johnny would try his best to be in Don Quixote if he can do it. However, I've become pretty skeptical of Gilliam in recent years- all his projects are either flops or seem jinxed. Though it's theoretically possible, I don't think it's likely this will get off the ground again any time soon. Johnny may be old enough to play Don Quixote by the time it happens!
I'm even more excited about the Barbara Steele remarks now that I know she has been connected with DCP. I really hope that the timeframe she has described will pan out!!
Cathy