OT- RIP Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Submitted by ijohnb on

No link needed, go to the front page of any search engine and it will be right there.  A truly gifted actor, and a huge loss to film fanatics like myself.  This happens too much to talented actors, musicians, etc.  Tragic.

GRBluefan

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:27 PM ^

Really tragic when someone kills themselves by overdosing on drugs. It is tragic when an 8 year old dies trying to save his paralyzed grandfather from a fire, or when a crazy mom kills her two young daughters because her fiancé left her. A middle aged actor shoots too much heroin (or whatever it was), not so much.

JHendo

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:45 PM ^

I don't think you know what tragic actually means then. In the way it is often misused these days, then sure, this being tragic is purely subjective.. But based on the true definition of tragedy, his death is most certainly tragic regardless of your personal feelings.

ijohnb

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:42 PM ^

Get over the Indiana game.  You don't know his history or his story.  None of us do.  All I do know about him is that he was one hell of an actor and I am going to miss watching him.  Does it make you feel cool or tough to dismiss somebody's death.  What a jackass response.

GRBluefan

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:55 PM ^

Is this any more tragic than the 100s or 1,000s of other people who are going to die of drug overdoses today? What frustrates me is that we act like somehow it is more important or more tragic because it happens to someone famous. To me, it isn't.

LordGrantham

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:32 PM ^

It may be less tragic than those deaths in the sense that Hoffman was not a victim of circumstances completely beyond his control, but death by drug addiction is still a pretty sad thing.

mfan_in_ohio

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:56 PM ^

The central element of many literary tragedies is a great character with a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to disaster. Isn't that sort of what happened here? Just because he caused his own death does not remove the tragic aspect. Perhaps what made him so able to portray characters as disparate as Capote, Art Howe, Gust Avrokados in "Charlie Wilson's War," or even Dusty in "Twister" is part of the same sense of experimentation and exploration that led him to try heroin. Just as Chris Farley's over-the-top stage persona, which made him a massive success, led to over-the-top eating, partying, and drugs that killed him, this is the very definition of a tragedy.

yossarians tree

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:27 PM ^

Tragic, yes, but that often happens to people who shoot heroin.

It's a big loss to cinema, though. Anybody who can play Truman Capote and Art Howe equally convincingly has got some serious range. I have enjoyed him in everything I've seen of him as an actor.

I met him in Detroit a few years ago when he was in town shooting a film. He was at a table at Slows and people left him alone with his guest. On his way out though we had to say hello and he shook our hands and stayed to chat. Very nice guy.

Harperbole

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:31 PM ^

Instances of drug related death from prominent members of the entertainment industry remind me that regardless of circumstance, life presents us all with challenges. It's how we react to and deal with our challenges that ultimately decide our level of happiness. Prayers to his friends and family. The world has lost a great creative mind today.

ijohnb

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:45 PM ^

that Mockingjay 1 is done with shooting.  I may be wrong but I think it wrapped.  Heavensby's character is disposable by the very end I think.  My guess is that they either write him out or go with an "Aunt Viv" situation, but I am guessing the former.

MGoBender

February 2nd, 2014 at 4:19 PM ^

I, eerily, was thinking about the whole concept of franchise movie titles and the inherent risk you run of an actor passing in the middle of the series of movies.  Very creepy this occured just a few days after I was thinking about it.

It angers me.  It angers me because PSH was such a great, great actor and I'm selfishly upset I won't see the mastery of his craft again (for the first time, obvs).

It angers me because it was of his own doing, addiction or not.  I don't know if there's a higher percentage of addicts in hollywood than in real life - there may not be.  But it seems like these pre-mature deaths (Cory Monteith, Paul Walker- not an overdose, so different, others) are so, so preventable that it is just a kick in the balls and it pisses me off.  I don't think their deaths should be mourned anymore than those that occur everyday, but at what point do people in Hollywood decide to use their resources (money) for good instead of shooting it into their arms?

ijohnb

February 2nd, 2014 at 4:36 PM ^

it happens at a higher rate with people with very artistic minds.  Actors can play so many different roles because they can truly relate with so many different kinds of people.  They are able to "put themselves in other people's" place, in the literal sense of the word, to a fault.  I don't think that gets turned off in their own lives.  Honestly, some people just think too much and they can't turn it off. 

French West Indian

February 3rd, 2014 at 11:25 AM ^

....Hollywood (and most of corporate American entertainment for that matter) is ruled by a satanic occult elite. Given the symbolism involved (Super Bowl Sunday, 2nd day of the 2nd month), it's quite possible that his death was not an accident at all but actually another one of there ritual sacrifices.

Of course, whatever the circumstances, it's still sad news.

Bando Calrissian

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:54 PM ^

I just think about Jerry Garcia, holed up in his house for what could have been his most productive and creatively satisfying years, smoking Persian heroin for days on end and shutting out everything and everyone in his life. For years.

It's not a matter of intelligence, wealth, ability, talent, etc. It can happen to anyone. And that's what makes the kind of callous shit you see from people when someone finally ODs so infuriating.

the_benjy_vortex

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:36 PM ^

Brandt can't watch, or he can pay $100.

Sickening this can happen, especially when one has three relatively young kids.

BOX House

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:43 PM ^

Neil Young was spot on. Sad news for those of us who see the world in more than black and white.

This was the spot where I failed to embed the Neil song, Needle and the Damage Done. But when I heard the news, that song was the first thing to come to mind.

Robbie Moore

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^

...are sad. As for tragic I'll leave to others. But what an actor! I'll remember him for some of his smaller roles in movies like Punch Drunk Love, State and Main, Charlie Wilsons War and Almost Famous. He could command the screen. Small role or large.

UMxWolverines

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:54 PM ^

Alright I know he died and he has family and prayers go to them, but no name people die every day from much more tragic causes. Just because he's famous does not mean it should be such a big deal. He overdosed like so many actors do. 

LSAClassOf2000

February 2nd, 2014 at 3:59 PM ^

(LINK)

Fellow actors shared their thoughts via Twitter. Hoffman really was a great actor - "Capote", "State And Main", "Charlie Wilson's War", "Magnolia", "Patch Adams" and many other films, but also a very thoughtful and brilliant performance as Willy Loman on Broadway (which I was fortunate enough to get a chance to fly to NYC and see on a whim in 2012). Very sad news. He will be missed indeed. 

StellaBlue

February 2nd, 2014 at 4:09 PM ^

A man died.  Yes, tragically.  Yes by his own (alleged) actions.  Still tragic.  Try empathy.

Why this topic is 1) worthy of a post on a sports board and 2) worthy of mockery from supposed UM grads/fans is beyond me.

RIP RSH