Over the years other productions have employed a variety of techniques to work around the death of the actors portraying major characters. For better or worse, advancements in CGI and digital effects made it easier for producers to finish
"Gladiator" and an episode of "The Sopranos" after the deaths of
Oliver Reed and
Nancy Marchand, respectively.
In other instances they have used stunt doubles to finish projects or reworked scenes after the star's death.
James Dean's final scene in
"Giant," for example, had to be looped after his death in a car crash because he mumbled so much in the shot. When
Brandon Lee died during an accident on set during production of
"The Crow," director
Alex Proyas used a stunt double to complete scenes; Lee's face was added using special effects. That film was days away from completion, however. Similarly, a look-alike for
Natalie Wood was used after her drowning death during production of
"Brainstorm."
The producers used several techniques to finish "Wagons East" after
John Candy died of heart failure, rewriting scenes or using a body double.
Further back, Louis B. Mayer threatened to scrap "Saratoga," when Jean Harlow died suddenly, but relented after fans demanded he release it; a body double finished the remaining scenes with her back to the camera.
River Phoenix was supposed to co-star in
"Interview With the Vampire," but when he died, they recast
Christian Slater in the role. He was working on another film called "Dark Blood" which was scuttled entirely.
And
Chris Farley was working on
"Shrek" for DreamWorks when he died; Mike Myers took over the lead voice role after his
"Saturday Night Live" cohort overdosed in 1997.