Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Picking Up Parnassus

Production has resumed on Terry Gilliam's (pictured) fantasy adventure "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"-after shutting down, following the sudden and tragic death of actor Heath Ledger in late January, according to Variety.

The production had completed most of its filming in the United Kingdom in December and January with Ledger in the lead role. A few more weeks of green screen work was on the schedule in Vancouver starting at the end of January, everything was put on hold as a result of Ledger's passing.

Rumors that began to swirl that Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell would lend a hand to help in the completion of the film have now been confirmed

In a statement from the producers of the picture: "at no point will Heath's work be modified or altered through the use of digital technology".

Going on to explain further:

"The format of the story allows for the preservation of his entire performance... each of the parts played by Johnny, Colin and Jude is representative of the many aspects of the character that Heath was playing."

The story allows for characters to pass through contemporary London through a magic mirror into parallel worlds of the imagination.

Ledger completed all the real world parts in the movie, with the trio of actors playing transformed versions of his character when he passes into the alternate planes.

The solution as presented is the best way the filmmakers could both honor Ledger and salvage the uncompleted project.

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