RIVER PHOENIX DIED at the age of just 23 in 1993 – and now the film he was working on at the time will finally be released.
Phoenix, who died of drug-induced heart failure after collapsing outside a Hollywood nightclub, was somewhat of a teen idol at the time – but a talented one at that.
He is best known for his work on films like Stand by Me (1986) and My Own Private Idaho (1991) and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Running on Empty (1988).
The Hollywood Reporter says that Dark Blood, which he was working on at the time of his death, will debut at the Netherlands Film Festival in Utrecht this September.
The film was directed by The Vanishing (1988) director George Sluizer, who abandoned the film after Phoenix’s death, but in recent years decided to continue with the project.
This was helped by sourcing finance through the crowdfunding site Cinecrowd.
In the film, Phoenix plays a hermit who makes dolls that he thinks have magical powers. The drama begins when he helps a couple (Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis) after their car breaks down.
(thecinecrowd/Youtube)
