Brittany Murphy, you will be missed..

TMZ reports that Brittany Murphy passed away this morning. The quirky actress reportedly went into full cardiac arrest and could not be revived. She was 32.

I'm absolutely devastated by the news! I grew up watching Brittany! I've been following her career for the biggest part of my life. I saw Clueless at the age of 11 when it was released in theaters here in The Netherlands in 1996. Since then, Brittany has been wonderful and somewhat quirky in movies such as David & Lisa with Lukas Haas, both The Devil's Arithmetic and Drop Dead Gorgeous with Kirsten Dunst, Cherry Falls with Jay Mohr, Riding in Cars with Boys with Drew Barrymore, 8 Mile with Eminem, Uptown Girls with Dakota Fanning, and Robert Rodriguez's Sin City. She turned in scene stealing performances in Girl, Interrupted and Don't Say a Word.

The charismatic actress was a Young Hollywood favorite, often featured in and on the cover of magazines, as well as appearing on the red carpet, in the early 00's. After her star vehicles Uptown Girls and Little Black Book disappointed at the box office, Brittany had trouble getting her once promising career back on track. With the exception of her role in the star studded Sin City in 2005, the pretty actress found little success in the last couple of years. Things were looking up with 4 projects in various stages of production, with a role in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables as a promising highlight.

Brittany Murphy had the talent and charm to be a big star. It's a shame her untimely death has prevented her from living up to her promise. Rest in peace, Brittany (1977-2009).

Rest in peace, Natasha Richardson

I'm sad to post that the wonderful Natasha Richardson has passed away at the age of 45. My heart goes out to her family and friends. To quote my favorite movie Elizabethtown: "This loss will be met by a hurricane of love." Rest in peace, Natasha!

Remembering Heath Ledger

April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008

Rest in peace, Heath Ledger!

Remembering Brad Renfro

Brad Renfro is dead. I still have trouble believing it. I know there are stages in grief and this must be denial. I feel like I've known Brad for years. I mean, I've been following his career for over a decade! It must be like 13 years by now. I had a huge crush on him growing up. I had a poster on my wall. I still have a scrapbook somewhere with clippings and interviews of him and other teen heartthrobs like Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Devon Sawa (what happened to those guys, anyways?). Yes, I thought he was hot, but I also knew he was a very talented young actor and I've seen The Client, The Cure, Tom & Huck, Sleepers, and Apt Pupil a bunch of times in my younger years. This was all back in the 90s.

Since 2000, I've still followed young Brad Renfro's career. I didn't have the poster up anymore, and I stopped scrapbooking, but I did watch his movies when possible. Brad is such an indie kid, it's sometimes difficult to get his films.. especially living elsewhere than the US. I enjoyed his performances in Ghost World and Happy Campers. While I disliked Bully, Brad was great in it. I still have the July 2001 issue of Movieline that features an interview with him in which he stated: "I don't go out and get arrested anymore. The most extravagant thing I do these days is play golf. I'm like an old man."

It never occurred to me that things would end badly for Brad. I knew his bad reputation. I knew he attempted to steal a yacht ("It was a joke, a joke that went very sour."), and that he had substance abuse problems. I always thought he would overcome his problems and make a comeback. Make people see why there was so much buzz when he made his debut in 1994 with The Client.

I've been sad about it all day. It reminds me of when Jonathan Brandis died back in 2003. Both deaths were so unexpected. It makes me wonder if Brad would have been happier back in Knoxville. How his life would've been if he never did The Client and would never have been in Hollywood. Would he be alive and happy today? The world would have been deprived of his talent, but that would have been worth it, right?

Brad Renfro's death is a great loss for Young Hollywood. A loss that's hopefully been met by a hurricane of love...