Screenhead

Heath Ledger was famously cast as the Joker in the next installment in the Batman series, “The Dark Knight.”  Following his death, many were questioning what would happen to the film.  Fortunately, “The Dark Knight” is in post-production stage, which makes it unlikely that Ledger’s death would have any major affect on its completion.  On the otherhand, there’s another film – Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – which may be significantly impacted by Heath Ledger’s death.

According to Variety, the first leg of filming on Terry Gilliam’s “Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” finished up last week in London.  Production was en route to Vancouver to get started on blue screen work, and this is where production was scheduled to remain until March.  But without Ledger, production may be up in the air.

The $30 million in financing for the film is also rumored to have been contingent on Ledger’s invovement, and according to early reporters, the film’s producers were banking on Ledger more than Gilliam.  If “Parnassus” indeed falls apart, it woud mark Gilliam’s second film to have suffered such a fate following the tragedy with a cast member.  The first was “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”, which crumbled after leading actor Jean Rochefort fell ill.

It is also unknown at this point whether there is even enough footage of Heath Ledger to piece together a film, or if the movie would require reshoots with another actor.  If they are unable to scrape together enough footage of Heath to make it work, it’s quite likely that this may be the last time anyone ever hears about it, unless they’re able to secure another big name star and retain financing.