Philip Seymour Hoffman, life of the actor.

Philip Seymour Hoffman talking into a microphone
Philip Seymour Hoffman at a press conference holding a microphone

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Update: Post-mortem results released on February 28th have stated that the actor died of an accidental overdose caused by a “mixed drug intoxication” including heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and benzodiazepine. The original story is as follows.


Actor, director, father. Phillip Seymour Hoffman passed away on February 4th 2014 in New York from a suspected drug overdose.

The celebrity was found dead in his New York apartment by friend and playwright David Bar Katz. While there has been no confirmed cause of death, investigators searching the apartment found bags of heroin and prescription medication.

Born in New York in 1967 Hoffman grew up in the New York suburb of Rochester with his mother, father and two sisters, Emily and Jill.

His love of acting came after he was forced to give up wrestling following a neck injury. When he was 17 he was selected to attend the 1984 Theatre School at the New York State Summer School of Arts.

There he met future collaborators, Dan Futterman and Bennet Miller, the screenwriter and director who Hoffman worked with on the 2005 film, Capote. A film for which he is most famous for after going on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 78th Academy Awards.

Since then, Hoffman has enjoyed critical and commercial success following his Oscar nomination for his role in Doubt opposite Meryl Streep, Moneyball and The Master, for the latter he gained another Academy Award nomination.

in 2010, Hoffman had his directorial debut with the film Jack Goes Boating, where a limo driver’s blind date sparks a tale of love, betrayal, friendship, and grace centered around two working-class New York City couples. He also appeared in the film as the main character opposite Amy Ryan.

Most recently Hoffman appeared opposite Jennifer Lawrence in the worldwide blockbuster The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as head gamesmaker Pultarch Heavensbee. A role which he is scheduled to reprise in November 2014 in the sequel The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.

Hoffman had already completed the filming for Part 1 of the film, but had seven more days of filming left at the time of his death for the second instalment.

Filmmakers, Lionsgate, have announced that there will be no change or delay to the release of the movies and that they will employ the use of CGI technology to replace Hoffman’s final moments in the film.

In recent years it has become public knowledge the Hoffman had suffered from substance abuse.

In 2006 he admitted in an interview that he had suffered from drug and alcohol abuse after graduating from college at the age of 22, for which he went into rehab at the time.

He relapsed more than 20 years later with heroin and addiction to prescription medications. In May 2013 he checked himself into drug rehab for 10 days.

Hoffman is survived by his partner of 15 years Mimi O’Donnell, with whom he had a son and two daughters.

This week in history: 8th February – 15th February

The 9th of February 1960 marked the beginning of a film tradition that still abides today. Academy Award winning actress Joanne Woodward, star of 1957 film The Three Faces of Eve, became the first person to receive a star on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame. Since the original ground-breaking ceremony, a further 2,500 terazzo or brass stars have been embedded on the walk, lines both sides of Hollywood Boulevard from Gower to La Brea, and both sides of Vine Street, from Yucca to Sunset.

image via hollywoodphotographs.com

image via hollywoodphotographs.com

Heirs of J.R.R Tolkien, writer of the beloved Lord of the Rings series, joined a group of publishers in filing a $150 million lawsuit against New Line Cinema on the 11th February 2008.
With a total of 30 Academy Awards, including 11 for Return of The King, which equalled Ben-Hur and Titanic for most Academy Awards at a single event, the three films grossed $6 billion internationally. However, legal rights dating as far back as 1969 suggested that the Tolkien Trust was entitled to 7.5% of the gross revenue which they had not received.

February 15th marks the anniversary of premier of animated feature Cinderella. Produced by Walt Disney, the film opened in theatres on the 15th February 1950, Cinderella became of the highest grossest films of 1950 and is accredited as being Disney’s favourite work. Cinderella was re-released 5 more times, sustaining its popularity amongst younger generations.

The 34th Annual Razzie Award Nominations

A Golden Raspberry Award
Kristen Bell and Justin Long sat at a table

Image via: blackfilm.com

The Golden Raspberry Awards, or the Razzies, is an award ceremony that recognises the hilariously bad in film. The ceremony is typically held the day before the Academy Awards, and basically tries to be a tacky version. Funnily enough, the “winners” don’t attend most of the time.

The nominations for the 34th Annual Razzie Awards were released on January 15th this year, and are as follows:

Worst Picture Nominations 2013

After Earth

Grown-Ups 2

The Lone Ranger

A Madea Christmas

Movie 43

Worst Actress Nominations 2013

Halle Berry (The Call and Movie 43)

Selena Gomez (The Getaway)

Lindsey Lohan (The Canyons)

Tyler Perry (A Madea Christmas)

Naomi Watts (Diana and Movie 43)

Worst Actor Nominations 2013

Johnny Depp (The Lone Ranger)

Ashton Kutcher (Jobs)

Adam Sandler (Grown-Ups 2)

Jaden Smith (After Earth)

Sylvester Stallone (Bullet to the Head, Grudge Match and Escape Plan)

Worst Supporting Actress Nominations 2013

Lady Gaga (Machette Kills)

Salma Hayek (Grown-Ups 2)

Katherine Heigl (The Big Wedding)

Kim Kardashian (Temptation)

Lindsey Lohan (InAPPropriate Comedy and Scary Movie 5)

Worst Supporting Actor Nominations 2013

Chris Brown (Battle of the Year)

Larry the Cable Guy (A Madea Christmas)

Taylor Lautner (Grown-Ups 2)

Will Smith (After Earth)

Nick Swardson (A Haunted House and Grown-Ups 2)

Worst Screen Combo Nominations 2013

The entire cast of Grown-Ups 2

The entire cast of Movie 43

Lindsey Lohan and Charlie Sheen (Scary Movie 5)

Tyler Perry and either Larry the Cable Guy or That Worn-Out Wig and Dress

Will and Jaden Smith on Planet Nepotism (After Earth)

Worst Director Nominations 2013

The 13 people who directed Movie 43

Dennis Dugan (Grown-Ups 2)

Tyler Perry (A Madea Christmas and Temptation)

M. Night Shyamalan (After Earth)

Gore Verbinski (The Lone Ranger)

Worst Screenplay Nominations 2013

After Earth (Screenplay by Gary Whitta and M. Night Shyamalan,
Story by Will Smith)

Grown-Ups 2 (Written by Fred Wolfe & Adam Sandler & Tim Herlihy)

The Lone Ranger (Screen Story & Screenplay by Ted Elliott,
Justin Haythe & Terry Rosso)

A Madea Christmas (Written by Tyler Perry)

Movie 43 (written by 19 “screenwriters”)

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel 2013

Grown-Ups 2

The Hangover III

The Lone Ranger

Scary Movie 5

The Smurfs 2

Stay here on Inside Film to see who wins! Or loses, however you say it.

How far will an actor go to achieve perfection?

Image shows actor Christian Bale in a scene for the film The Machinist.
Image shows actor Christian Bale in a scene for the film The Machinist.

Image via: IGN.com

For many actors, the role is more than just learning the lines. Actors are often required to push their bodies to the limits as well as prepare themselves mentally. The transformations that ensue are often quite staggering.

Christian Bale is a notable actor for transforming his body for a role. For several roles he has lost weight, built muscle and even gained weight. This constant fluctuation is certainly no easy feat. For his role in insomniac thriller, The Machinist, Christian Bale reportedly lost 28.5kg. To lose this weight, Christian relied on a strict diet of a single serving of fish and 1 piece of fruit a day. Currently, Christian holds the record for the most amount of weight lost for any role, and it certainly shows. His biggest achievement however, was for his next role.

After production was finished for The Machinist, Christian Bale was cast as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s reboot. Bale was tasked with reaching a typical Batman like physique something that wasn’t evident in The Machinist. A high carb diet and intensive muscle workouts results in Christian Bale gaining 44.9 KG over the course of production.

Recently, Christian had to get fatter for his role in American Hustle, eating an abundant amount of fast food. He certainly has quite the belly in the film.

In terms of mental preparation, the late Heath Ledger certainly wins the award for his commitment to the role of the Joker in The Dark Knight. Heath threw himself at the role of the main antagonist, locking himself in a room for weeks on end, with only himself for company. During this time, Heath Ledger wrote a diary and practiced his speech, really getting into character. One of his diary entries read that, “I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath – someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts.”

As his performance shows, Heath Ledger certainly grasped the character of the Joker including subtleties such as mannerisms and facial expression. I’m you’ll agree, the voice he used, is chilling and memorable to say the least. Speaking of which Heath Ledger is believed to have taken inspiration from an interview conducted with singer Tom Waits in 1979. You can certainly see the similarities in the interview below.

Acting isn’t just about saying the right lines for many actors. The lengths actors go to in order to achieve the perfect role is clearly extraordinary.

 

Events, offers and releases 3/2/14

Robocop in armour
Mr Peabody, Sherman and Penny in Egyptian dress

Image via http://www.awn.com/

This week will show a number of big film releases in the UK, ranging from an all out action remake to a charmingly hilarious animated family flick.

On the 7th, Robocop, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, The Invisible Woman and Dallas Buyers Club all hit cinemas around the country. Joel Kinnaman, playing the titular robot policeman, will reinvigorate the ageing classic and give pre-valentine’s cinema-goers something to kickstart the month.

For something a little more dramatic, check out The Invisible Woman starring Ralph Fiennes. Taking on the tale of Charles Dickens’ secret lover, this film could give something a little more couple friendly.

Heading to a Showcase cinema this week? Insider members can enjoy a mouth-watering 10″ pizza for just £5, and grab a large Tango Ice Blast to go along with it for the price of a medium drink!