August 6, 2010 11:44

Terry Gilliam says Arcade Fire saved him from 'weeks of depression'

Director thanks band after current movie stalled

Director Terry Gilliam has credited Arcade Fire with saving him from "weeks of depression" after filming on his long-delayed project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote stalled. The band asked him to direct a webcast of their gig at Madison Square Garden in New York last night (August 5). Gilliam was only able to take the job because his current project had hit a "financial hiccup".

Speaking to MTV, Gilliam said: "Me doing this thing with Arcade Fire is a result of this hiccup with Don Quixote. It was extraordinary to get the call from Arcade Fire. I have to thank them for liberating me from weeks of depression. I'll get back on Quixote after I get back."

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has been in the works since 2000, but has stalled many times due to reasons including a serious injury to Gilliam's original leading man Jean Rochefort. It was revived in 2009 with Robert Duvall in the title role, and Ewan McGregor as a time-travelling advertising executive.

Of the latest financial problems, Gilliam, added: "Robert Duvall is still Quixote and Ewan McGregor is still involved — all that stuff is still happening. There's just been a financial hiccup. I'll get back to it, but at the moment out there, if you're not spending a couple hundred million dollars in Hollywood, it's pretty rough. Everyone's having these problems. I'm not different from anybody else."