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Discuss: Why was Brad Renfro Excluded from the In Memorium at the Oscars?

Last night, as per every year at the Oscars, they take a brief break from all the self-congratulatory back-patting to acknowledge the deaths in the movie industry over the preceding year. As several of our readers (and Scott Weinberg, who was going ballastic on IM about it) noted, Brad Renfro, who died of a drug overdose on January 15 of this year, was mysteriously excluded. The troubled actor, best known for his work in The Client, Apt Pupil, and Bully, had been known to have a drug problem for years, and had a drunk driving and heroin-possession arrest in May 2006, but was supposedly "working hard on his sobriety" at the time of his death.

The In Memorium was supposed to be for everyone who died between February 1, 2007 and January 31, 2008. Heath Ledger, who died a week after Renfro, was included in the montage. No word from the Academy that I've seen yet on why Renfro wasn't included -- an honest oversight? A deliberate sweeping-under-the-red-carpet because heroin was involved? What do you think about Renfro being shut out of Oscar's "In Memorium"?

Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: In Memory of Heath and Brad

Every once in a while, we will be inevitably thrown by news of a young actor's death. It happens, but thankfully, not all the time. This month, however, just one shocking week apart, we lost two -- Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro. I don't want to weigh this down with discussions of their death, any pain they might have been dealing with, or the loved ones who mourn them. Instead, let's focus on the footprints they made in the world of film. I could cite the serious achievements of both -- Ledger's Brokeback Mountain or Renfro's Apt Pupil -- but we've had enough pain over the last 10 days. Instead, I want to focus on something happier. Tonight, in memory of two talented actors taken too soon, I give you: 10 Things I Hate About You and Ghost World.


10 Things I Hate About You



Sure, I have a soft spot for The Taming of the Shrew, but with or without Shakespeare's classic play, 10 Things I Hate About You hit the right spots and helped catapult Heath Ledger into stardom. He starred as Patrick Verona, a supposed bad boy who turns out to be the coolest guy in school...well, after he comes to his senses and realizes that a bribe isn't the way to a girl's heart. Nevertheless, he breaks through Kat Stratford's (Julia Stiles) tough exterior and steals her heart while her fluffy sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) tries to figure out if she wants Joey (Andrew Keegan) or Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

While all play their parts well, it was Heath who made the most impact. He made the hokey stuff seem less goofy, and he knew how to portray the cocky, irresistible sparks of the original Petruchio. He made paintball sexy, and over-the-top musical numbers seem devilish instead of desperate. Even Roger Ebert was charmed by Heath's performance.

Patrick Verona serenades Kat Stratford.

Poetry for Patrick.

Bloopers!

I wanted to stick with Heath bits, but I can't resist the flick's beginning, with Allison Janney's sexy writing.

Continue reading Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature: In Memory of Heath and Brad

BREAKING: Actor Brad Renfro Found Dead at Age 25

Brad Renfro, 25 year-old star of such films as The Client, Apt Pupil, and Bully, was found dead in his Los Angeles home early this morning, reports the Associated Press. Renfro's lawyer, Richard Kaplan, broke the tragic news. The cause of death is currently unknown, but Renfro had been drinking with friends the night before. Foul play is not suspected. Renfro led a troubled life, and there had been several run-ins with the law over the years, for drugs, DUI, and more. In May 2006, he served ten days in jail after he plead no contest to drunk driving and guilty to attempted possession of heroin. His most notable recent film appearance was opposite Adrien Brody in The Jacket, and he recently completed work on the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Informers.

Renfro began acting when he was only twelve years old. At twelve, he played the title role in Joel Schumacher's adaptation of John Grisham's The Client, which starred Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. He was a terrific young actor, and since he was roughly my age, I followed his career from his younger roles in The Cure and Tom and Huck, through more mature fare like Telling Lies in America and Sleepers. My favorite roles of his were later ones: Todd in Bryan Singer's Apt Pupil, Marty in Larry Clark's highly disturbing Bully, and Josh in Terry Zwigoff's modern classic Ghost World. Kaplan tells the AP, "He was working hard on his sobriety. He was doing well. He was a nice person." We at Cinematical mourn the loss of a real talent, and our sympathies are with his family and friends.

Renfro back in court, and in the slammer

Actor Brad Renfro (AKA the kid from The Client) has had sort of a tough week. On Monday he was before a judge for sentencing after pleading guilty to attempted possession of heroin, a charge stemming from his arrest in a December sting operation. Because California has a law that allows non-violent drug offenders to enter treatment rather than the state pen, the judge, in addition to handing down three years of probation and the warning of up to 18 months in jail for a subsequent drug arrest, ordered Refro into a "drug diversion" program.

It turns out, however, that any "Woo hoo! No prison!" celebration following that court appearance was a mite hasty, because when Renfro pleaded no contest yesterday to a November drunk driving charge, he was sentenced to 10 days in prison, another five years probation, and 18 months in (yet another) counseling program. Doh! To his credit, the actor turned himself in on the spot, and began serving the sentence immediately.

Ah, child stars. They're like little, human car wrecks.

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