TribLIVE: When Paul Walker died in a car crash on Nov. 30, 2013, family, friends and fans were stunned. But after the initial shock of his passing, the next question was how the “Fast and Furious” franchise would handle the loss of one of its main stars. The 40-year-old actor had been in the middle of filming the series' seventh installment, which opened April 3.
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It is so sad to think about losing a coworker in the middle of the project. That being said, I really admire those who are able to pull themselves and their crew together enough to finish their project despite the loss. The only one of the films mentioned in this article that I have seen was The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. At the time, I had no idea that Heath Ledger had died during the making of it. The movie was absolutely trippy and weird, so the changing of the actors made no less sense than anything else that was happening. I think going through a process like this needs to respect the qualities of the piece. Fast and Furious could get away with CGI and computer generation, while Hunger Games needed a little more subtlety. I am impressed at people who are able to grieve by finishing the work of those who have passed. It is a good way to pay tribute to how they lived their lives.
I agree with Olivia that it must be unimaginably difficult to lose a team member during a project, especially ones like these that span years and birth personal relationships. Recently, I finished watching The West Wing on Netflix and one of the things I was extremely sad about, but interested to see was how they would handle the death of John Spencer in real life on the show. He had been a main character on the show for the entirety of its eight-year run and while I have to imagine the episodic nature of television shows made it easier to continue filming, that format would still have its own challenges.
It must also be hard to come to a consensus on what is the most respectful and effective way to continue a project. From the article, you can tell that there is no standard way and in the wake of many of these deaths, journalist have analyzed and debated the implications (both moral and otherwise) of many of the choices.
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