>From Times Online
January 30, 2008

Heath Ledger's last movie role could be completed by computer

Philippe Naughton and agencies 
Heath Ledger could appear in his last film courtesy of computer wizardry - 
unless its director persuades Johnny Depp to step into his role instead. 
The young Australian actor died in New York last week during a break from the 
filming in London of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, a $30 million fantasy 
movie directed by Terry Gilliam. 
His co-star Christopher Plummer told People Magazine that Gilliam was "terribly 
saddened" by Ledger's death and "trying to work out at this moment how to 
continue on". 
"Fortunately, because the film deals with magic there is a way, perhaps, of 
turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it 
CGI (computer-generated imagery)," he said. 
"Terry was a very good friend [of Ledger]. He very wants to go on with the 
movie, and I can very much understand why. Because he wants to dedicate it to 
Heath, of course." 
In The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Ledger played a mysterious new member 
of a magician's troupe. Plummer plays the eponymous magician who has developed 
extraordinary powers by trading them for his teenage daughter's life in a deal 
with the Devil. 
The recent location shooting in East London meant that filming was about 
one-third complete when Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan apartment. Cast 
and crew were due to get together again in Toronto next week, although that was 
called off as soon as news emerged of the actor's death. 
It would not be the first time that CGI had been used to complete a role. It 
was used most notably after the death of Oliver Reed to finish off the actor's 
performance in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, although in that case shooting was 
much closer to completion. 
An alternative for Gilliam, notorious as a director whose projects hit 
unexpected snags, is to appoint another actor to take over in Ledger's role, 
specifically after a scene when his character steps through a magic mirror. The 
American Johnny Depp, who has worked with Gilliam in the past, is seen as the 
most likely contender. 
In his People interview, Plummer said that Ledger had been in "very high 
spirits" during filming in London. "He was just enjoying himself tremendously. 
It's a rather fanciful script, and he was wonderful in this role," he said. 
But he confirmed that the actor had not been feeling well on set. He said: "We 
all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But 
Heath's went on and I don't think he dealt with it immediately with the 
antibiotics. 
"I think what he did have was the walking pneumonia... He was saying all the 
time, 'dammit, I can't sleep'?and he was taking all these pills." 



       
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