…at least for me.  Plenty of stuff to do and things to see and read.

Perhaps the one thing that stunned me the most was the death of actor Paul Walker.  I was never a huge fan of his though I have to admit I’ve seen a large number of his films.  Early reports of his death via a terrible automobile accident state he was a passenger and not the driver of the car but that “speed was involved”.  I feel for those he left behind, particularly his young daughter and family.

At the time of his death, he was scheduled to film more scenes for the upcoming Fast & Furious 7, obviously the seventh film in this popular movie franchise.  Hopefully without sounding too crass, I couldn’t help but wonder what the status of that film is.

Given the fact that he was scheduled to film some more scenes, Mr. Walker obviously didn’t finish all his work for the movie.  Was there enough to finish the film without making major changes to the script?  Or will extensive reworking become necessary?  Unlike the death of Heath Ledger before the release of The Dark Knight and given the way Mr. Walker died, the idea of seeing him in a film about people who recklessly drive fast cars might seem a tad…uncomfortable.  In light of this, is it better to remove his character entirely from the film?

I suppose all that is irrelevant for the time being.  A life was lost in a most tragic way.  It reminds me of the death of James Dean so many years before, also in a car accident.  Both were young men who were peaking in their fields and likely had bright futures ahead of them.

James Dean made only three feature films before his career was prematurely ended.  He also made an eerie public service announcement that I’ll embed below.  Getting behind the wheel of a car and driving fast can be an exhilarating, adrenaline rush.  But our bodies are fragile and we must be sure that whatever we do, we do it with safety in mind.  Otherwise, the consequences can be tragic.