Last year, award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman suddenly passed away, leaving fans and actors alike devastated. On February 2, 2014, 46-year-old Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment with a syringe in his left arm. An autopsy later ruled his death was caused by an accidental overdose of a toxic mixture of heroin, cocaine and other drugs. According to The New York Times , at the time, the actor had finished filming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (which opened in theaters on November 21, 2014 ), but still had Mockingjay Part 1 2 parts of the scene needed to be filmed. Daily news . The dilemma raised questions about how to account for missing scenes from Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Mockingjay," and one disturbing solution that emerged was to digitally re-create Hoffman using CGI. for his character Plutarch Paradise Bee.
Personally, the thought of replacing Hoffman with a computer-generated replica feels insensitive and insulting to the Oscar-winning actor's career. This suggests that such talent can be replaced with a wave of a computer wand. Thankfully, director Francis Lawrence seems to agree with me; a May 2014 interview with filmmaker Nina Jacobson and screenwriter Peter Craig was posted on The Hunger Games website During the roundtable, Lawrence said of Hoffman's remaining scenes:
"We had most of his work done. I think he probably had eight to 10 days left on his schedule. In most of the scenes, Phil didn't have any dialogue. We were going to have him in those scenes, but we only used Real footage, rather than creating any digital or robotic version of him."
"We might give a line from Plutarch to Haymitch or Effie, but only if we can do it without destroying the intent of the scene," Jacobson added.
In November 2014, Lawrence explained her position in an interview with HuffPost Live. "[Hoffman] was left with two scenes with dialogue, and we decided we didn't want to try any kind of digital trickery with him, so we rewrote his scenes and gave his dialogue to other actors," he explain. "I think, he's one of the greatest actors of all time and I just think trying to fake Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance would be disastrous and I never want to do that... I just think It’s the best way to get around something so terrible.”
Hoffman's character Plutarch Paradise Bee first appeared in Catching Fire. In "Mockingjay ," he not only becomes a mentor to Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), but an important figure in the revolution.
Lionsgate insiders told The Hollywood Reporter that Hoffman was unable to complete the final, important emotional scene, but they're confident the film will end in a way that fans will be satisfied with, which is reassuring. As technology advances, especially in the realm of movie magic, I think the old saying goes "just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should." Boundaries and ethics are necessary, otherwise we'll just be left with very uncomfortable and controversial memories of the dead (like the Michael Jackson hologram at the Billboard Music Awards. Just none).
In Hoffman's case, the filmmakers decided not to delve too deeply into computer-generated imagery and instead use pre-existing material, which was for the best. Mockingjay Part 2 is one of the last films audiences will see of Hoffman, and I'm happy to know that his integrity as an actor will remain intact, making this film a fitting tribute to both The Hunger Games and Hawksman. Fans are all the same when Furman comes to an end.
Want more Hunger Games ? Watch Bustle's drunken review of Mockingjay, Part 1, below:
Image: Lionsgate (2)
