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River Phoenix

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Finn:
A great talent, he could've had such a great career. I think "My Own Private Idaho" was probably his best role. He was really good in "Explorers" too. May he rest in peace.

Sleuth:
I call for a moment of silence, nobody post in this thread until it's over out of respect

wilderesque:
Trailer for River Phoenix's Final, Unfinished Film 'Dark Blood,' Plus Interview With Director George Sluizer
via The Playlist

It's a well-documented slice of Hollywood history where River Phoenix went the night of his untimely death, but what's lesser known about is the halted production that the young actor was shooting at the time. Dutch director George Sluizer was ten days from wrapping on his film with Phoenix, “Dark Blood,” when he received news of his lead actor's death, and from then on the film was never released or spoken of again. However, since we last received news that Sluizer was forging on ahead, re-assembling the film as a tribute for completion and release, now there's an update and trailer to further hint at what remains of Phoenix's final role.

After apparently finding a logical way to patch narrative gaps in the film, Sluizer now faces the long journey of post-production, and is taking to the Dutch crowd-funding site CineCrowd to raise money for those costs. He's also added two videos -- a trailer for the film showing off hints of story, and a slightly melancholy confessional from Sluizer himself, telling of a personal event that pushed him to attempt finishing the film. “[The] fact is, I suddenly became ill about 4 years ago -- an aneurysm -- and was told my years could be limited,” Sluizer said. “So I wanted to finish the movie now. It came as an urgency to me, but I also knew there was still good film material.”

Given Sluizer's previous films, including the suspense classic “The Vanishing,” there's little doubt that “Dark Blood” contains some fantastic footage, but for now the focus still remains on its editing stages. From the CineCrowd website, Sluizer hopes the film “will have its world premiere at the Dutch Film Festival later this year, provided the post-production budget gets fully funded.” As is also the requirement these days for crowd-funded projects, Sluizer has a tier-based reward system set up, with the lowest getting a personal thank you card, and the highest receiving a producer credit on the finished film.

Since the Phoenix family is apparently none too happy about Sluizer's attempts, it's unfortunately down to the director and his team to see that the finished film gets released. Hopefully though, with a little help from the public, “Dark Blood” can be finished to as close a perfect version as possible, and will see its first showing in September as planned. Until then, check out the trailer and interview below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9UIlO3NRng

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ynGybfSGRQ


Donate to complete this project at CineCrowd

wilderesque:
Final River Phoenix Film 'Dark Blood' To Make U.S. Premiere At Miami International Film Festival
via The Playlist

Okay, so here's the background: A little over a year ago, director George Sluizer announced that he was going to finish River Phoenix's final film "Dark Blood," by re-cutting the footage and using voiceover to patch up narrative gaps. The Phoenix family washed their hands of the effort, releasing a statement that they would not be participating in the venture, but Sluzier pushed on. Overcoming some legal hurdles, and finding a way to finish the movie that only had 11 days left to shoot when Phoenix died, he crossed the finish line and at the Dutch Film Festival last fall, premiered the completed work. And now, it's coming to the United States.

The Miami International Film Festival announced they will be hosting the North American premiere of the movie. The film tells the story of a young, widowed man who lives on a remote nuclear testing site, who takes in a jet-set couple (Judy Davis and Jonathan Pryce) when their car breaks down, and begins a troubled relationship with the former. Here's the full synopsis:


Jet-set Hollywood couple Harry (Jonathan Pryce) and Buffy (Judy Davis) travel through the desert on a second honeymoon, trying to save their marriage.  Their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere leaving them to find shelter in Boy’s (River Phoenix) beaten down shack, unaware they will become his prisoners.  Boy’s wife died of leukemia after nuclear tests occurred in the desert leaving him alone and far away from society.  Buffy is seduced by Boy’s honesty and vulnerabilities, while Harry represents everything Boy hates about the civilized world and its culture.  Buffy decides to sleep with Boy to buy the couple’s freedom, but these circumstances will push Harry to the edge, leading to a terrible tragedy.


No matter what you might think about Sluzier finishing the movie, it certainly wasn't something that was decided on a whim. Sluzier saved the footage from being burned in 1999, and it was only a decade later when he decided to try and complete it, spurred by his health issues. “[The] fact is, I suddenly became ill about 4 years ago -- an aneurysm -- and was told my years could be limited,” Sluizer said in video posted to a crowfunding campaign for the project. “So I wanted to finish the movie now. It came as an urgency to me, but I also knew there was still good film material.”

So, we'll soon see the results. No word yet on if there will be theatrical release of some kind, but perhaps keep your eyes peeled on festival circuit for now. The Miami International Film Festival runs from March 1-10.

tpfkabi:
I saw some Biography or that type of thing on River recently. It was weird to hear his brother's young voice on the 911.
Sad last day. He was working with an actress he admired who seemed to be very cold to him on set (filming a love scene no less), and then he hoped to play guitar at The Viper Room, but Flea wouldn't let him play that night. I had always heard about the Depp/Viper Room connection, but not the Flea one.

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