Terry Gilliam 'restored and well' after reportedly suffering minor stroke

Terry Gilliam says he is "restored and well again" after reportedly suffering a minor stroke, as he prepares to finally showcase his disaster-plagued film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

The Monty Python star thanked fans for their support after a French court rejected an effort by producer Paulo Branco to block the premiere of the movie at the Cannes festival.

The film has been dubbed one of the unluckiest productions in Hollywood history after a string of catastrophes since Gilliam began working on the project in 1989.

"After days of rest and prayers to the gods I am restored and well again," the director wrote on Twitter.

"So is The Man Who Killed Don Quixote! We are legally victorious!

"We will go to the ball, dressed as the closing film at Festival de Cannes! May 19. Thanks for all your support. #QuixoteVive."

Producer Branco had tried to obtain a court order stopping the film from being shown at Cannes in a long-running dispute over who owns the rights.

Gilliam's lawyer Benjamin Sarfaty said the ruling was a "great relief" for the director.

"For more than 20 years this film was almost buried by various obstacles and many have said on various occasions that there was a curse on this movie," he said.

"Well today this curse is broken thanks to the justice."

Gilliam, 77, began shooting on the original movie, which starred Johnny Depp, back in 2000.

But the ill-fated production was hit by a series of problems including flooding and insurance issues, making the film the longest developed in Hollywood history.

It was the subject of a 2002 documentary Lost In La Mancha, which details the film's mishaps, including leading man Jean Rochefort developing back problems from riding a horse.

Gilliam tried to make the movie eight times, with the cast changing to include the likes of Ewan McGregor, John Hurt, Robert DuVall and Jack O'Connell.

The story follows a deluded old man who is convinced he is Don Quixote, and who mistakes an advertising executive called Toby for his trusty squire, Sancho Panza.

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