Static Media When you're making a movie, you can only control so much. You can meticulously plan your shots; you can account for every dollar of your budget in advance; you can hire all the best people to make sure each department completes its mission at the highest caliber. The world is random and full of tragedy, however, and sometimes, film productions have to deal with shocking, unexpected loss. When an actor dies while still in production on a movie, that can send a production reeling. It's happened many times in the past. For example, James Dean had just finished shooting "Giant" when he died in a car crash, only 24 years old. Because his part still required a significant amount of ADR, his "Rebel Without a Cause" co-star Nick Adams dubbed over many of his lines. Sometimes, movies don't recover. However, these days — especially thanks to the advent of CGI and other technology that allows a filmmaker to manipulate an actor's performance — many projects that lose a star find a way to work around their absence. In fact, if fans know that they're about to watch an actor's final role, the loss of a star can even increase excitement for a film. Vanity Fair editor Katey Rich told The Guardian, "There's a morbid fascination that exists in so many elements of culture ... which makes it all the more of a spectacle." Here are 10 actors who died in the middle of filming, and how their films handled the tragedy.
Carrie Fisher's part in The Rise Of Skywalker was pieced together with archive footage and CGI
Lucasfilm When Star Wars returned in 2015 with "The Force Awakens," Carrie Fisher was excited. "People asked me why I decided [to come back]," she told Rolling Stone. "I've always been in Star Wars. I've never not been in Star Wars, but hopefully now they'll pay me again. But I am eternally in Star Wars." She was impressed by the new trilogy's approach. "They're not just doing some goofy sequel to service the hunger of it," she said. "It actually has been thought out and it has integrity and they took it seriously." Tragically, Fisher wasn't able to finish filming the new movies. The woman behind Princess Leia died in 2016, having had a heart attack while on a flight. She'd completed filming on "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi," but she passed away long before "The Rise of Skywalker" began production. This makes this case a bit of an exception compared to the other entries on this list, but Fisher's death forced Lucasfilm to revamp their plans for the movie; originally, Leia was going to have a substantial role in the film. "The Rise of Skywalker" director J.J. Abrams combed through archive footage to piece together a part for Leia. Fisher's final performance as the legendary character was completed with the help of CGI, stitched together with unused lines from previous movies. "It was a bit like having a dozen pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and then having to make other pieces around it and paint a cohesive image from these separate pieces," he told Vanity Fair. "We were all part of this illusion of keeping Leia alive."
Heath Ledger's role in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus was filled by other actors
Infinity Features When Heath Ledger died in January 2008, his iconic Joker performance in "The Dark Knight" had not yet been seen by the masses. The film was done, however, and Ledger had moved on to working on "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." The Terry Gilliam film is about a man in a traveling carnival who has a magical mirror he can pass through, leading to wild and wonderful fantasy worlds. Ledger plays Tony, a man who goes along for the journey. In an effort to finish the film, Gilliam recast Ledger's part in triplicate. Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law took over as Tony in the dream-world sequences, each playing different facets of the character's personality in tribute to Ledger's characterization. "Three of us had been asked to complete a task that had been set in motion by a man we greatly liked and respected as both a person and an artist," Farrell told Access Hollywood (via NBC Connecticut). Being part of this film was never about filling Heath's shoes as much as seeing them across the finish line. How I wish he had brought the film to its completion himself." In a touching move, the three actors who completed Ledger's role donated their salaries to his family.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 readjusted Philip Seymour Hoffman's role when he passed away mid-filming
Lionsgate The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman played Plutarch Heavensbee in multiple Hunger Games movies. He's the "Gamesmaster," the person who designs the torturous situation that Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and crew find themselves in. The final installment, "Mockingjay," was split into two films. Unfortunately, Hoffman died before he was able to complete filming on "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2." He was close, though; at the time of his death, Hoffman had one major Hunger Games scene left to shoot. Instead, the scene was rewritten so that it wouldn't require Hoffman's presence. His final message to Katniss took the form of a letter, his words read aloud by Haymitch (Woody Harrelson). Director Francis Lawrence told The Guardian that only a small amount of CGI was used in other moments, and they decided to film the climax this way instead to avoid a CGI duplicate of the actor. "I regret to have that ... label of it being his last film," the director said. "Because obviously, there's not quite enough of him in it. I would have liked his role to be larger." Vanity Fair editor Katey Rich told the newspaper that this approach represented a possible way forward for an industry increasingly concerned with multi-installment spectacles. "The Philip Seymour Hoffman model — dealing with his absence without making a huge deal of it — seems like the best way to address it," she said.
Scenes in Brainstorm were rewritten when Natalie Wood died
MGM/UA Over Thanksgiving weekend in 1981, Natalie Wood and her husband Robert Wagner boarded their yacht in order to spend the holiday off the coast of Catalina Island. They brought Christopher Walken with them, because he and Wood were working together at the time on a film called "Brainstorm." What happened next is a matter of much dispute. As the documentary "Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind" details, Wood went missing one night after an argument with Wagner. She was found the next day, having drowned. "Brainstorm" was almost finished when Wood died, but she still had some scenes left to shoot. MGM wanted to abandon the movie altogether, but director Douglas Trumbull fought to finish it without Wood. After all, the movie is about a new technology that allows a character to leave her final thoughts behind when she dies; it's fitting subject matter for a production that had to preserve Wood's final performance. "I just went back to an earlier version of the script which didn't include Natalie in those scenes," Trumbull told The New York Times. "Natalie's role had been significantly expanded when she was cast." Wood's role was reduced further when the film was edited to remove sequences of her in a boat. "It was one of the most beautiful scenes in the film, but some people who saw the scene said it made them think of Natalie Wood drowning," Trumbull revealed. "So we cut that."
Paul Walker's brothers helped finish the seventh Fast and Furious movie
Universal Pictures At the end of "Furious 7," the seventh installment in the Fast and the Furious franchise, Brian (Paul Walker) gets into a car by himself. Vin Diesel's Dominic gets into a separate car, and the two have one final race, a quarter mile at a time. While Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" plays, Dom and Brian smile at one another one last time. Then Brian takes a different path. It's the last time the character appears in the franchise, and it wasn't actually filmed by Walker himself. He died during production, having crashed his car in real life. To finish the movie — and to turn its climax into not just a send-off for Brian but for Walker — director James Wan brought in Walker's brothers to help complete the role. Through a combination of CGI and filming the brothers as body doubles, the movie was completed, and Brian was written out of the saga. "A lot of people are going to remember Paul by this movie, and I want it to be worthy," Cody Walker told E! News before the film's premiere. After it opened, he added, "Of course [he'd be proud]. It's the best one yet, there's no doubt. It was a bit of a roller coaster being part of that, but I got to do it with [their other brother] Caleb ... that made it an easier process."
Aaliyah's partially-filmed role in the Matrix sequels had to be recast
Warner Bros. Pictures When Aaliyah died in a tragic plane crash at the age of 22, the world lost not just a music superstar but a budding actor, too. The "Try Again" singer had only just begun to tap into her inner thespian, having starred in the 2000 film "Romeo Must Die." She died shortly after completing filming on "Queen of the Damned," a horror movie adapted from Anne Rice's vampire novels; it was ultimately released posthumously. At the time of her death, Aaliyah had filmed scenes intended for the "Matrix" sequels, "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions." She was meant to play Zee, the wife of Link (Harold Perrineau). Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to finish the part before she died. Fans started a petition online to protect the role, writing (via The New York Times), "We would like to urge WB to honor the memory of Aaliyah's life and keep her scenes." The petition wasn't enough, and the part was ultimately recast; Nona Gaye played Zee instead. Footage of Aaliyah was later included on DVD bonus features, allowing her fans to finally see what could have been.
Marilyn Monroe's final film remained unfinished
Bettmann/Getty Images Marilyn Monroe is one of the biggest stars of all time. Thanks to her roles in classic films like "Some Like It Hot," "The Seven Year Itch," and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," the blonde bombshell left an indelible mark on cinema during a career that only spanned about 15 years. Her very first film role was a bit part in 1947's "Dangerous Years," and she died of a drug overdose in 1962. "Something's Got To Give," Monroe's final film, was a troubled production before her death. The film was supposed to be a remake of the Cary Grant vehicle "My Favorite Wife"; Monroe's version would have paired her with legendary Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin. Her tumultuous personal life overtook her career in those final few months, though, and she was fired from "Something's Got To Give" ... before being re-hired, shortly before she died. The film was never finished, but that doesn't mean it wasn't impactful in its own way. The movie was set to feature a sequence where Monroe's character goes skinny-dipping, and photographers were invited to set to capture the moment — perhaps an effort to recreate the shock of the subway grate dress incident on set of "The Seven Year Itch." Monroe explained (via The Independent), "I had been wearing the suit, but it concealed too much." The photos of Monroe's sensual swim were indeed a sensation, even referenced decades later in "Under The Silver Lake."
River Phoenix's family was unhappy when Dark Blood was released in 2012
Sluizer Films River Phoenix, then one of Hollywood's most promising up-and-coming young talents, died of an overdose on the streets of West Hollywood in 1993. He was only 23 years old. The star of "Stand By Me" had numerous impressive credits to his name, including "My Own Private Idaho" and "The Mosquito Coast. Phoenix even played a young Indiana Jones in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," thanks to support from Harrison Ford himself. His tragic overdose, however, brought all of that to a halt. It also stopped the production of "Dark Blood," the movie he'd been shooting at the time of his death. The film was meant to be a Western that would have featured Phoenix as the enigmatically-named "Boy," but filming stopped. "When River died, the movie was totally cancelled and everyone went away. It was declared impossible to finish," director George Sluizer told The Hollywood Reporter. It took decades, but Sluizer eventually finished the film. It premiered out of competition at Cannes in 2012, much to the chagrin of the Phoenix family, who wanted nothing to do with it; after all, if its star hadn't been able to finish the performance the way he wanted, he might not have wanted it out in the world. Still, Sluizer told the outlet, "We contacted River's mother, who wished us good luck."
Oliver Reed's performance in Gladiator was finished by CGI
Universal Pictures In Ridley Scott's 2000 epic "Gladiator," Oliver Reed played Antonius Proximo, the trainer who makes Russell Crowe's Maximus into the gladiator he is. Reed's longtime struggle with alcoholism is well-documented, and his career was in serious decline in the last few decades of his life. An interviewer asked whether he looks at life like one big party (via El Pais), and he answered, "It should be. Everyone would like their life to be that way. But only a few of us have the opportunity." When Scott cast him in "Gladiator," Reed reportedly pledged to give up drinking. However, during a break from filming toward the end of the shoot, Reed went on a bender. As Scott later recalled to Variety, "One Sunday morning, he dropped down dead in the floor of a pub. He probably had a couple of pints and said, 'I don't feel good,' laid on the carpet and died." Reed was mostly done shooting, but there were still some shots left to be completed. In order to finish up the part, Scott turned to the still-emerging field of CGI to get it done. "We managed to finish off what was required from Oliver," the filmmaker said, "stealing digital images of his face and attaching them to an appropriate body." If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Bruce Lee's actual funeral was used in Game of Death
Arrow Films "Game of Death" is a massively influential martial arts film, but it's a film that almost didn't exist ... and, at the same time, has existed in many different incarnations. Director and star Bruce Lee shot footage for "Game of Death" but put the project on hold to go film "Way of the Dragon," and he died before his initial passion project could be completed. As a result, the version of "Game of Death" that was released several years later is a sort of Frankenstein's monster of a film. Producers cobbled together a movie with Lee's original footage, clips from various other Bruce Lee movies, and scenes shot with body doubles meant to look like Lee ... including one actor simply wearing a cutout of Lee's face over his own. They even included footage of Lee's real-life funeral in the final cut of the film. Thankfully, attempts have been made to restore Lee's original vision. "Game of Death Redux" is included in the Criterion Collection's boxed set of Lee films, and it's a version of the film made with Lee's footage. Filmmaker Alan Canvan told City On Fire that his version of "Game of Death" stands as a testament to Lee as an artist. "What truly differentiates it from the rest of Lee's cinematic oeuvre is the level of artistry that he brought to the picture: his shot compositions, costume [and] set designs, and fight choreography were truly avant-garde," he said.
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