By now you’ve heard the tragic story of Terry Gilliam’s next movie, and Heath Ledger’s last movie, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Ledger was only halfway through shooting when he died, and Gilliam has decided to keep him in the film, and then halfway through replace him with not one, but three other actors. Jude Law, Colin Farrell, and Johnny Depp are slated to play the character in the second half of the film.
Those three are of course, some of the highest paid actors working in Hollywood. Parnassus meanwhile, is a modestly budgeted Gilliam flick. They’ve been able to afford those three mega-stars because all three have agreed to drastically reduce their paycheck. Even better, whatever payment they do receive, all three actors are giving directly to Heath Ledger’s daughter.
Terry Gilliam told British newspaper The Sun: “They didn't take money — it goes to Heath's daughter.” This is of course Heath Ledger’s kid so it’s not like she’ll be hard up for cash. There is the matter of her father’s will though, which hadn’t been updated to include her before his demise. Still, she’ll no doubt be set for life no matter what happens. It is however nice to know that not everyone in Hollywood is a greedy asshole.
