>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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