Philip Seymour Hoffman was an actor whose star had risen pretty far in recent years; after winning an Oscar for his stunning turn in “Capote”, especially, it seemed that he was on a track to nothing but continued success. After landing a part in “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and signing on for the next two installments in the franchise–“Mockingjay: Part 1” and “Mockingjay: Part 2:–Hoffman had a full schedule right up until his death over the weekend of a heroin overdose. Now, fans of the films are wondering what the loss of the actor will mean for the films, and for the other projects he had in the works.
“Hunger Games” shouldn’t be affected, as there were only about seven more days of shooting left on the second installment of “Mockingjay” and Hoffman had completed almost all of his scenes; the release dates–Nov. 21, 2014 and Nov. 20, 2015–won’t be affected for either film, according to Lionsgate. The cast and crew released a joint statement after his passing was announced, saying, “Philip Seymour Hoffman was a singular talent and one of the most gifted actors of our generation. We’re very fortunate that he graced our ‘Hunger Games’ family. Losing him in his prime is a tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Philip’s family.”
One project for Showtime, “Happish”, was basically built around Hoffman, and now producers will have to make the decision on whether or not to cast another lead actor or scrap it altogether.
“It took us a while to get to Philip Seymour Hoffman,” Showtime president David Nevins said, adding that it was “totally worth it.”
The actor was also working on the films “A Most Wanted Man” and “God’s Pocket”, and had been tapped to direct a Prohibition-era project called “Ezekiel Moss” which Exclusive Media says they will not be presenting the film to buyers until producers figure out their next move. As for the other films, “A Most Wanted Man” is scheduled for an August release but “God’s Pocket” hasn’t been finalized yet.
Hoffman’s tragic death isn’t the first to come in the middle of a project; Paul Walker’s death in a car accident over Thanksgiving weekend caused the producers of “Fast and Furious 7” to make a swift decision about whether or not to continue with the film and how to approach his character. In the end, they decided to write him off rather than have his character killed.
When Brandon Lee died in the middle of filming “The Crow”, some of his scenes had to be edited to make it appear he was really there; the use of shadows on a rain-drenched set aided in the final cut.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
