From recasting to special effects, what filmmakers do when stars die
When Paul Walker died in a car crash on Nov. 30, 2013, family, friends and fans were stunned. But after the initial shock of his passing, the next question was how the "Fast and Furious" franchise would handle the loss of one of its main stars. The 40-year-old actor had been in the middle of filming the series' seventh installment.
After production was halted for several months, filmmakers decided to complete it with the use of several key tactics, including body doubles - Walker's brothers Cody and Caleb - special effects and recycled footage from his earlier movies. How did it work out? Pretty well, apparently.
It's a challenge that other filmmakers have navigated differently, with strategies ranging from computer-generated imagery to script rewrites. Here are a few of the more famous examples.
• Richard Harris, the "Harry Potter" series
Harris had voiced concern about signing up for the film versions of a seven-book series. "The thing that worried me was that I hate commitment - that's why I have two ex-wives," he told BBC News. Consequently, the death of Harris, 72, of Hodgkin's disease in October 2002, just weeks before the second film was released, meant that Professor Albus Dumbledore had to be recast - the only main character to switch actors in the entire series. Michael Gambon, another Irish actor with a similarly grand resume and similarly leonine features, would go on to play Dumbledore for the next six films.
• Heath Ledger, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
Though most remember Ledger's Oscar-winning turn as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" as his final performance, his last movie was actually Terry Gilliam's lesser-seen fanciful adventure. Ledger, 28, died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose in January 2008, a few weeks into filming. After halting production for about a month, the script was reworked, and Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell were cast as alternate-dimension versions of Ledger's character, Tony. Nearly two years after his death, the movie was released on Christmas 2009. All three replacement stars donated the money they made from the film to Ledger's only daughter, Matilda.
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, the "Hunger Games" series
The esteemed actor was just a couple of scenes shy of completing his work as Plutarch Heavensbee on the two "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" movies when he unexpectedly died of a drug overdose on Feb. 2, 2014, at the age of 46. After a break in filming, director Francis Lawrence decided not to use digital effects to finish Hoffman's part in the movie. The Academy Award-winner "had two scenes with dialogue that were left ... so we rewrote his scenes and gave the dialogue to other actors," Lawrence said in an interview with HuffPost Live. A computer-generated performance, he added, "would have been catastrophic." Part 1 of the "Mockingjay" film was dedicated to Hoffman before the credits rolled. The last "Hunger Games" film is set to be released Nov. 20 of this year.
• Oliver Reed, "Gladiator"
Reed died suddenly of a heart attack at 61 during a break from filming "Gladiator" in 1999. Reed, who played gladiator trainer Proximo opposite Russell Crowe's Maximus, had not finished filming his part. The filmmakers used outtakes and rehearsal footage "to create a digital mask that was added to shots of a body double," according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nearly $3.2 million was reportedly spent on two minutes' worth of CGI to wrap up his role. Visual effects artist Rob Harvey told Creative Planet Network that "digitally finishing performances for deceased actors poses a huge responsibility." "Gladiator" won several Oscars, including best picture and best visual effects.
• Brandon Lee, "The Crow"
In one of the most infamous on-set accidents, 28-year-old Lee was fatally hit by a projectile from a gun while filming a scene on March 31, 1993. There were only eight days left of filming, according to the Los Angeles Times. After a temporary pause in the production, a combination of CGI and the use of stunt double Chad Stahelski were used to finish the movie. "The Crow," a film ironically about a man who comes back to life after being killed, was released to audiences nearly a year later. It was dedicated to "Brandon and Eliza" - the latter being his fiancee at the time of his death.