Heath Ledger Hung By Noose on Film For ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’

Semi-alarming photos surfaced on Monday from London of Heath Ledger not as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” but as a character being hung by a noose in the upcoming fantasy film “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”. These photos are from JustJared.com.

Heath Ledger, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Heath Ledger, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Heath Ledger, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus


JustJared.com notes:

In this scene, Heath [Ledger] was seen hanging from London’s Lambeth Bridge and was rescued by co-star Andrew Garfield.

According to film ick, an early version of the script reveals several characters: a dwarf named Percy, a … sleight-of-hand expert named Anton, a beautiful young woman named Valentina and her father Dr. Parnassus.

[They] are all entertainers in a traveling theatre. Check out more about the movie’s plot at Wikipedia.

4:19 p.m. update on Jan. 22, 2008: Heath Ledger has passed away. Read our news story on this development here.

3:31 p.m. update on Jan. 23, 2008: The production for “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” has been shut down, according to Us:

“I just got the call [on Tuesday] saying everyone was being let go,” [an] on-set source tells UsMagazine.com. “We were supposed to start this weekend, but obviously they fired everyone today. They don’t know yet what they are doing with the footage that was already shot.”

HollywoodChicago.com editor-in-chief Adam Fendelman

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

 joker fan's picture

yea show some respect the

yea show some respect the movie wasnt worth his life. he left an amazing imprint on the world. yes the dark night was a good movie, the best movie, ever! but, it will never be worth his life. plz take those horrible pictures down NOW he desevse better. he was a person who deserved respect. r u happy now jack nicholson! i think he had something to do with the unfortanit event. plz leave heath legder alone. he clamed an ocare from his grave. only he can do that. plz R.I.P HEATH LEGDER THE WOLD WILL MISS U ALOT ,we will watch the wold devore in its pain : ( we will miss heath and we will miss the best joker ever some one who looked like he was fine on the screen who was having trouble off screen. if i could change any thing in the world i would go back and save him. smile for heath be strong :) we will watch the world devoure in its pain!

Anonymous's picture

Out of respect

His work was something he was proud of, so I say, out of RESPECT for him, keep them up! he wouldnt be ashamed of it.

a fan of no actor and every actor's picture

Respect

I dont mean to be an ass here.

But its just that heath sorta died of overdose

and from one point of view it looked like suicide

BUT ITS NOT, we all know

and this picture depicts, of some point, a suicide

so i think we should really not post it.

I hope you see my point of view.

and its not because Im a fan or anything

because Im not

Anonymous's picture

Hypocrites

I wonder how many of you who want these pictures taken down have already downloaded them for yourselves?

At least a few of you, that much is certain.

HollywoodChicago.com's picture

Production shut down for 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'

The production for “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” has been shut down, according to Us:

“I just got the call [on Tuesday] saying everyone was being let go,” [an] on-set source tells UsMagazine.com. “We were supposed to start this weekend, but obviously they fired everyone today. They don’t know yet what they are doing with the footage that was already shot.”

HollywoodChicago.com's picture

Terry Gilliam to finish 'Imaginarium' with computer-generated He

Just in from /Film:

Last week The Sun reported that director Terry Gilliam had his sights on Johnny Depp to finish what remains of the late Heath Ledger’s role in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. However, now comes word that Depp’s reps tell People that “There have been no official talks, and he is currently working on Public Enemies for Michael Mann for Universal.” But that doesn’t mean that the project will be shelved. Co-star Christopher Plummer says that Gilliam is working hard to find a way to finish the film, possibly even using a CGI:

Quote:“Terry’s throwing himself into the job of trying to salvage the picture,” said Plummer. “[Gilliam is] 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… Terry was a very good friend [of Heath’s]. 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.”

I’m not quite sure what Plummer is trying to say, but it sure sounds to me like Gilliam is considering using computer generated character effects to finish some of Ledger’s remaining sequences.

HollywoodChicago.com's picture

Official report: Heath Ledger died of accidental overdose

This just in from the Associated Press on Heath Ledger’s official cause of death:

Feb 6, 10:43 AM (ET)

NEW YORK (AP) - Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner said Wednesday.

The cause of death was “acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine,” spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.

The drugs are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is a widely used prescription painkiller.

Borakove wouldn’t say what concentrations of each drug were found in Ledger’s blood, or whether one drug played a greater part than another in causing his death.

“What you’re looking at here is the cumulative effects of these medications together,” she said.

The ruling comes two weeks after the 28-year-old Australian-born actor was found dead in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. Police found bottles of six types of prescription drugs, including sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, in his bedroom and bathroom.

Ledger was discovered by his masseuse on Jan. 22 after she arrived for an appointment that afternoon. She entered his bedroom to set up for the massage and found him unresponsive, and proceeded to call Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before dialing 911. Ledger had been dead for some time, and police say no foul play occurred.

Ledger, nominated for an Oscar for his role in “Brokeback Mountain,” had returned to New York from London days before his death, where he had been filming a $30 million Terry Gilliam film. He said in a November interview that his most recent completed roles in the Batman movie “The Dark Night” and Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There” had taken a toll, saying he couldn’t sleep.

“Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,” Ledger told The New York Times. “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” He said he had taken two Ambien pills, which only gave him an hour of sleep.

Ledger’s family returned to the actor’s hometown of Perth, Australia on Tuesday to prepare for his funeral. Arrangements were private.

In a statement released through Ledger’s publicist, Ledger’s father, Kim, said Wednesday: “While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage.”

(This version CORRECTS that hydrocodone is widely used prescription painkiller sted another name for ibuprofen.)

HollywoodChicago.com's picture

New Heath Ledger photo in 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'

A new photo of the late Heath Ledger has surfaced in the upcoming Terry Gilliam film “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”. See the new photo here.

Ivoncita's picture

Hola soy de chile nadien va

Hola soy de chile nadien va a entender lo q escrivo asi q :
Te amo Heath ledger eres unico no puedo creer q ya no este sin ti mi vida ya no es dada porfavor diganme q es una broma por favor vuelve a mi……….!!!!!!

i love you ……….

Anonymous's picture

everyone cries when i

everyone cries when i spoiled little actor that has done nothing good for the world dies but nobody cries when kids or moms die. this world is pathetic you cares if heath ledger died unless you were his family, who cares if owen wilson kills himself do you people honestly think that this guy touched your life. I bet if he saw you on the street he wouldnt even bother to look at you. I am not glad he is dead but im not sad either who cares.

How can you even say that? Heath Ledger was a passionate young actor and it is a tragedy that he died. I think the pictures are a little distressing, but why take them down? It’s like saying remove every google image result that comes up for his name! It’s not disrespecting anyone.

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