The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus came to a sad and jolting halt following the death of its leading actor, Heath Ledger. While the circumstances are hardly lucky, the film, described as a modern-day fantasy adventure, involves a magical mirror capable of transporting people into different dimensions. Due to the real life tragedy, the mirror’s abilities have been tweaked to include altering the appearance of those who use it.

As a result, three Hollywood favorites – Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law, respectively – will be stepping up to fill in the blanks. Producers insist that no aspect of Ledger’s performance will be modified through digital technology.

“Each of the parts played by Johnny, Colin and Jude is representative of the many aspects of the character that Heath was playing”, says director Terry Gilliam, who continued filming with the support of Ledger’s family.

While unique, this is not the first time an actor has been called upon to fill the shoes of another; in the 1994 goth favorite The Crow, doubles and a variety of special effects were required to complete the film after the death of Brandon Lee.

Some years back, I began hearing rumblings of a curious movie phenomena known as “The Wilhelm Scream.” Having been an avid movie buff my entire life, I instantly thought I knew precisely what this was. Over the years I had repeatedly heard a very distinct scream in various films and, excited at the prospect of finally finding out exactly where this scream originated, I clicked on a YouTube link directing me to a compilation of so-called “Wilhelm” screams. Much to my dismay, I instantly realized that a lingering movie mystery had not been solved, but in fact grown more complex than ever before. The scream I had been hearing all these movies and falsely assumed to be the “Wilhelm Scream” was in fact something else entirely - but what? …and where did this scream originate?

I wish I had the answer to this question, though the research I have conducted simply hasn’t yielded any solid results. That said, I’m putting this out there in hopes that our readers may be able to shed some light on a movie mystery that has perplexed me for some time now. Included below is a link to the scream I had assumed to be the “Wilhelm Scream.” The most recent places I recall hearing the scream are in the movie Face/Off as Sean Archer (in Castor Troy-face) shoots a guard in the foot while making a dangerous prison break, and in the final frames of the trailer for the hallucinogenic comedy horror Shrooms.

Check out the mystery scream by clicking here, and by all means let us know if you can shed some much needed light on the matter!

Reuters reports that Tom Hanks sounded off about the Writers Guild of America strike and the possibility of it preventing an Oscar telecast.

“The show must go on, that is one of the tenets of everything…I just hope that the big guys who make big decisions up high in their corporate boardrooms and what not get down to honest bargaining and everyone can get back to work.

As a big cheese within the academy, and one of the most visible members of the Screen Actors Guild, don’t discount that Hanks’ words might have some influence, even if it is only on fellow actors who might begin speaking out more vocally on behalf of their WGA colleagues.

On Monday, Time film critic Richard Corliss complained about the fact that critics groups give out year-end awards to films that aren’t popular. As part of his argument he points out that the best TV ratings for the Oscar telecasts are when one popular film is expected to sweep. Does the film industry really care what the ratings are for the Oscar telecast? Is a glitzy TV special the main reason people work their butts off making movies? The Oscars were, are, and always will be little more than an industry award. If the National Plumbers Association had a plumber of the year award, and a big banquet where they let the winner give a speech, this would not be telecast because nobody outside that proud and honorable craft would care. The Oscars existed before television, and they would continue to happen if the networks made the insane decision to stop broadcasting it.

Read the rest of this entry »