Brokeback Mountain Star’s Death Was Accidental!

The long awaited results of an autopsy done on Heath Ledger’s body has revealed that the actor’s sudden death was caused by an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

Earlier today, New York’s chief medical officer, Charles Hirsch, confirmed Ledger’s death was the result of an accidental abuse of prescription medications. He explained that “Mr Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine”. Ledger’s body failed due to the concoction of medication he had taken; no one drug was taken in excess. In response, Ledger’s father, Kim, released a statement earlier today through his son’s publicist saying: “Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage.”

The 28-year-old Australian was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on 22nd January with prescription sleeping pills, painkillers and anti-anxiety medicine nearby. Since then, there has been conflicting speculation over what caused his death, further fuelled by the inconclusive results of the initial autopsy. There have been claims of illegal drug abuse, that he was suffering from pneumonia and suicide. However, Ledger’s family have always insisted that he would not have taken his own life and this toxicology report will hopefully put an end to such rumours.

After attending memorial services in the USA which attracted an array of Hollywood superstars including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Sienna Miller, Ledger’s family have returned to his home town of Perth, Australia. It is expected that there will be a private funeral service later this week where the young actor will be laid to rest in a family plot. The details of the funeral have not been made public.

Heath Ledger’s last starring role as the Joker in the Batman Film, The Dark Night, is set for release later this year. However, production of Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnarssus, which Ledger was half way through filming when he died, has been postponed.

Sarah Butt ©

Sources

www.keyetv.com 

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk 

Photograph courtesy of www.eonline.com 

Heath Ledger to live on as a cyber star!

 It has been reported that Heath Ledger will continue to star in Terry Gillham’s up and coming film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus through the use of computer generated imagery (CGI).

 After the sudden and unexpected death of the Brokeback Mountain star, Heath Ledger, on Tuesday 22^ndJanuary, rumours have been flying over Terry Gillham’s plans for the completion of his film, which Ledger was in the middle of filming. Reports suggesting that the 30 million dollar production was to be abandoned have been heavily denied and speculation that Johnny Depp was going to take over Ledger’s role in the film appear to have been quashed. The newest information to be given is that Gilliam plans to use CGI in order to keep Ledger in his intended role.

According to Ledger’s co-star in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, veteran star, Christopher Plummer, Gilliam is determined to keep Ledger alive in the film. He told the People.com that this should be achievable due to the magical nature of the film whereby “there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and CGI”. If done, this will not be the first time that an actor has been re-created through computer trickery; CGI was used to great affect in the film Gladiator after the death of Oliver Reed during filming.

So, after Gilliam’s film is complete the inevitable will be upon us. It will be the last Hollywood film to read the name, ‘Heath Ledger’, in the credits; or will it? Traditionally, CGI has more commonly been used in the generation of special effects and in the production of animated movies. However, as it becomes increasingly detailed and voice software continues to become smoother, the creation of computer generated human actors is growing in feasibility. Who knows, perhaps The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus won’t be the last film to depict Ledger. As technology continues to advance, it is perfectly reasonable  (although perhaps a touch unethical and disturbing) to suggest that in the future, CGI may enable Heath Ledger to continue to grace our screens as an immortal cyber star.

Sources

www.metro.co.uk  

URL:http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1634/is_200203/ai_n6782849

www.people.com  

www.marieclaire.co.uk  

 photograph courtesy of www.hollywoodteenmovies.com