Screenwriter and director Stephen Gaghan has revealed new details about the film he was planning to make with Heath Ledger following the death of the “Brokeback Mountain” actor.
Appearing on author Malcolm Gladwell's podcast “Historical Revisionist'' this week, Gaghan said he was inspired by Gladwell's 2005 book “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking,'' with Leonardo DiCaprio in mind for the lead role. He reflected on his experience developing the film adaptation.
While working on the script for “Blink”, Gaghan was introduced to Ledger and ultimately decided he was better suited for the role.
“I had a real connection with him, which was kind of unusual and really special to me,” he explained. “I felt like I loved this guy and was going to make a lot of movies with him.”
Sadly, those plans were scrapped when Gaghan received a call from Ledger's father, one of the actor's closest friends, informing him that Ledger had been found dead in New York.
“I got a call and I was on speakerphone and it was Heath Ledger's father, who I had never met,” Gladwell said. “His father and the man he was closest to in his professional life were there with the body. Our script was in bed with him and your book was on the bedside table.”
He continued: “I think my number was on the script. As you can imagine, they were shocked and dialed the number.”
Ledger died on January 22, 2008, from an accidental overdose of several prescription drugs. At the time of his death, the 28-year-old had just finished filming The Dark Knight, and would posthumously win an Academy Award for his performance as the Joker.
Mr Gaghan, whose Hollywood credits include 2000's “Traffic'' and 2005's “Syriana,'' said he had never spoken publicly about Mr Ledger's death until speaking with Mr Gladwell.
Mr Gaghan and his wife Minnie Mortimer were traveling through the airport when the call came.
“I literally just fall down. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before or since,” he said. “My foot went out from under me. I was like, 'What?' So I literally just sat there. what? ' …My wife was looking at me. She remembers her face, but I was just speechless. I just listened and listened and listened. It was really, really sad. And it's still sad. ”
The film version of Blink fell through after Ledger's death, but Gaghan said in advance of his podcast interview that he had reread the film's script, hinting that it might be worth revisiting at some point.
“I may be crazy, but I think this script is really good. I think there was something really special about it,” he said. “We may have been a little ahead of our time.”
Listen to Gaghan discuss Ledger about “historical revisionists” starting at around 34:13 below.
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