Actor’s death means job losses for Vancouver film industry
The death of actor Heath Ledger is causing more cuts for Vancouver’s troubled film industry.
The 28-year-old, who was found dead in his New York apartment on Tuesday, was scheduled to be in Vancouver next week to work on his role as the lead in director Terry Gilliam’s British-Canadian co-production The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
Shooting had already begun in Britain, and Ledger was due in Vancouver on Monday to start filming scenes in front of a green screen, with special effects to be added later.
But with the production now suspended, crews at Bridge Studios in Burnaby, B.C., are facing an uncertain future.
Whoa. I mean, I really don’t give a flying fart for Ledger myself, but I’m sure as heck not going to blame him for a failing economy. A young man died – probably from an overdose, possibly at his own hand, we don’t know – and the CBC is doing Requiem for the Vancouver film industry? That is a seriously screwy set of priorities. For shame.
