If it weren't so tragic, it would seem like a perfectly timed slice of movie promotion.
Model, bounty hunter and all-around lightning rod of controversy Domino Harvey has been found dead in the bathtub of her West Hollywood, California, home, with the cause not immediately known. Harvey, 35, was the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey ("The Manchurian Candidate") and the subject of "Domino," an action biography due in theaters later this summer.
A former Ford model who quit her successful career to instead capture fugitives and bail-jumping criminals, Harvey had sold the rights to her life story several years ago. Her sudden death has spawned rumors of a film delay, but the studio behind the Tony Scott-directed, Keira Knightley-starring film says it has no intention of changing the ending to reflect her real-life demise.
"The movie 'Domino' is locked," a New Line Cinema spokesperson said. "We're not changing the ending. We're actually moving the release date to August 19."
"We were enormously saddened to hear of Domino's untimely passing," producer Samuel Hadida said in a statement. "She and I had been conferring about her music to be used in the film only weeks ago. I know I speak for all of us on the movie's cast and crew when I say how much we enjoyed her presence on set when she visited. And although our film is not intended as a biographical piece, hers was the dynamic personality and indomitable spirit that spawned an exciting adventure, not just onscreen, but in real life."
Harvey, who wasn't a singer but considered herself to be a DJ, recently wrote and recorded an original song to be played over the film's opening credits. The studio insists that the music is completed, as is the movie, which stars Knightley as the doomed beauty.
"Domino never failed to surprise or inspire me over the last 12 years," Scott's press release read. "She was a free spirit like no other I have ever known."
New Line said the film is in the final stages of post-production and that there won't even be an epilogue added to acknowledge the final days of Harvey's life. Seeking to remind audiences that the film is not a "Ray"-like straightforward biopic, the studio also insisted that the film is "loosely based" on her life.
