Fifteen years later Brittany Murphythe tragic death Across the hall director Alex Merkin reminisced about their days on the set of the star’s latest film.
Merkin recently discovered never-before-seen footage from Murphy’s shoot Across the hallher final big-screen project before she died aged 32, and shared the behind-the-scenes footage exclusively with Us Weekly.
In the clip, Murphy can be seen laughing and singing between takes. At one point, she played Big Bill Broonzy’s “Sun Gonna Shine In My Back Door Someday” before the cameras started rolling again. According to Merkin, she often charmed the film crew with her “extraordinary singing voice”.
“She would try to lighten up the crew, lighting up the space around her,” Merkin exclusively recalls in us‘the latest cover story. “She had a completely infectious laugh. She had a timeless, classic quality; she was a real movie star. And that talent was lost.
On the cool morning of December 20, 2009. actress Brittany Murphy passed out in the master bathroom of her Hollywood Hills home where she lived with her mother, Sharon Murphy, and her husband of two years, Simon Monjack. “My daughter passed out,” her mother sobbed in the distressing 911 call. “She was dizzy, she couldn’t walk (…)
He continued: “She was one of those stars with a bright future that never materialized. She was a bright, talented, one-of-a-kind actress who we lost far too soon.”
Merkin fondly recalls that “her energy was bright, interesting and undeniable.”
Brittany Murphy.
Randall Mickelson/WireImage“Sometimes in the industry you meet big, successful stars and you immediately know what makes people gravitate towards them,” Merkin said. “Brittany had that quality.”
Murphy died in december 2009 after complications from pneumonia, anemia and multiple drug intoxication. Her death was ruled “accidental.” Murphy was married to a screenwriter Simon Monjack at the time of its passage. He died under similar circumstances five months later at the age of 40.
Although she is no longer with us, Brittany Murphy continues to leave behind a legacy of memorable performances through more than a few iconic films that have undoubtedly shaped Hollywood and the entertainment industry into what it is today. On December 20, 2009 news of Murphy’s untimely and sudden death rocked the entertainment world. (…)
Merkin’s favorite memory will always be her voice filling the set.
“She had a beautiful voice and always sang right before the takes. I’m just serenading. I can still hear her voice,” said the director us.
“(She) even tried to pitch me a whole scene in a karaoke bar at one point just to get her to sing in the movie,” Merkin said. “She loved (to sing). When she was in a good mood, she tried to cheer up the crew. We were in a creepy old hotel located on a Universal soundstage that was actually called the Phantom Stage because it had the old Phantom of the Opera opera house outside. It was a cool but creepy space. And she would go about her business of brightening up the space around her.
Merkin recalled her singing classics like “Making Whoopee” and “Put On a Happy Face.”
And he said her legacy was similar to other screen legends of her time: “I think she was a real movie star. When you think of James Dean or Marilyn Monroe, you just imagine an incredibly bright future that never came to pass.
Murphy was best known for her roles in the likes of Just Married, Uptown Girls and Clueless. Many of her former co-stars have since been open about their grief and how impressive she was as a performer. In March 2023 Breckin Meyer — who played Murphy Clueless love interest – remember she’s so “talented”.
“Brittany could sing like nobody’s business and I look at things like (how) they make the movie Wicked now,” said Meyer, now 50 ’90s Con in March 2023. “I hear about it (and I know) Brittany would kill that stuff right now. You know, (projects like) West Side storyall these things. (The hard part) is that we all don’t get to see the amazing job she was going to do, which sucks.”
For more on Murphy, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — already on newsstands.
