Fresh off what would become an [article id="1605578"]Oscar-winning turn in "The Dark Knight,"[/article] Heath Ledger began shooting [article id="1580479"]Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"[/article] in London in early December 2007. By mid-January, after Ledger had filmed an eerie scene in which his character hangs by his neck off Blackfriars Bridge, production broke for a week, as planned, with the intention to resume the shoot in Vancouver.

Days later, though, [article id="1580051"]Ledger died in New York[/article], a victim of an accidental overdose of prescription medication. As he mourned the death of his friend and co-star, Gilliam had to decide what to do about the film. Or, rather, he'd already made his decision and it was left to others to force him to reconsider.

"Immediately, when Heath died, it was over, finished," the director told MTV News. "Luckily, I was surrounded by people who are nasty to me and insisted, 'This is not going to happen. You're going to finish the film. It's Heath's last performance, and it's going to be done somehow.' "

Gilliam rejected the idea of recasting the role. It wouldn't just be in poor taste, he decided. Ledger had already filmed more than 45 percent of the role of Tony, who joins a fantastical theater troupe led by the immortal Parnassus and his mirror, which allows audience members to travel into a psychedelic realm of their own thoughts.

"He finished almost everything on this side of the mirror," Gilliam said. "What he didn't do was what was on the other side of the mirror."

The solution filmmakers hit upon was to find other actors to portray the Tony character once he travels through the mirror and Gilliam called some of Ledger's friends to see if they'd join the cast. That's how Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law found their way into "Doctor Parnassus."

"It was actually just a leap in the dark," Gilliam said. "For an actor to step into a gap like that without any rehearsal was terrifying, and they all did it. ... I still feel quite moved by the whole thing, because this just doesn't happen."

And it seems to have worked out magically. From the shores of the Cannes Film Festival to the halls of Comic-Con, the movie has been met with a hugely enthusiastic response.

"It's almost a bit worrying that too many people like it," Gilliam laughed. "I expected a few more to dislike it."

Check out everything we've got on "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus."

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