Bad Timing Alert! Chilling Brittany Murphy Movie Art Pulled
Today 1:32 PM PST by Josh Grossberg


It's an eerie and tragic example of life imitating art.

In a dreadful case of bad timing, Brittany Murphy's sudden death on Sunday has forced the DVD rental company Redbox to yank box art images from its kiosks nationwide for the actress's latest film, Deadline.

The cover shows the 32-year-old's character lying lifeless in a bathtub.

Murphy, of course, collapsed in the bathroom of her Hollywood Hills home Sunday morning and, after unsuccessful attempts by family and paramedics to revive her, was pronounced dead at the hospital.

And that sent Redbox scrambling when it realized what was on the cover of the straight-to-DVD horror thriller.

"We are removing the box art images from our displays," Redbox spokeswoman Laura Dihel tells E! News. "We will continue to carry her film, but we will not be featuring the box art. We have 19,000 locations, and to be honest, I can't tell you if this particular art is up at all the locations."

Staffers began removing the Deadline artwork yesterday and hope to complete the task by Jan. 1. The box art was also pulled from the company's website.

In the film, Murphy plays a screenwriter who travels to a haunted Victorian mansion to finish a script on deadline, only to stumble upon videos recorded by past residents that lead her to have a psychological breakdown.

Doctors: Combination of Drugs Found in Brittany Murphy's Home Could Be Deadly

Wednesday, December 23, 2009
By Karlie Pouliot

From Anna Nicole Smith to Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein to Heath Ledger to Michael Jackson, Hollywood has seen its fair share of accidental overdoses from prescription drugs. The question is: Does the death of actress Brittany Murphy also fall into that category? Ever since the 32-year-old was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after collapsing at her Hollywood Hills home Sunday morning, rumors have been swirling about what exactly led to her death. As reported by TMZ.com and confirmed by FoxNews.com, notes obtained from an L.A. Coroner's Office official indicate that large amounts of prescription drugs were found in Murphy's bedroom when paramedics arrived at her home.

Dr. Julie Holland, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine in New York City, who also specializes in psychopharmacology, and Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, ran down exactly what these medications are used for — and their potential dangers.

Topamax & Carbamazepine (anti-seizure medications used to treat depression and bipolar disorder; Topamax is also commonly used to treat migraines)

"There are two medicines here that are basically used as mood stabilizers in psychiatry — and that’s the Topamax and the carbamazepine, which is also known as Tegretol," said Holland. "Carbamazepine and Topamax were initially used to treat seizure disorders, specifically epilepsy. But more commonly these days, they’re used to treat depression or bipolar depression. "One of the nice things for some people about Topamax is that it cuts appetite," she added. "So, Topamax is very popular. I have people call me all the time and ask me if I can put them on Topamax because they heard it’s good for depression but they also heard that they could lose weight taking it. You could sort of think of Topamax as a fancy diet pill for some people." Scott Chambers, executive producer of one of Murphy's last films, "Something Wicked," told the Los Angeles Times that the actress had appeared frail. "She looked ill, as much as 10 pounds underweight, and she's a small person to begin with," Chambers told the newspaper. "She easily could have made an excuse not to come to work, but she didn't. She said, 'I've got to get better, but I want to do this part.'"

In January, Murphy was to begin shooting the romantic comedy "Shrinking Charlotte." Writer-director Rene Eram told E! News that Murphy was "impressive" and professional, but looked very thin. "I noticed that she had dropped a lot of weight in the last six months," he said.

Klonopin & Ativan (anti-anxiety)

Klonopin and Ativan belong to a class of medications called benzodiazepines. Klonopin can be used alone or in combination with other medications to control certain types of seizures. Like Ativan, it is also used to treat anxiety. Siegel said these drugs should never be taken together. "I want to highlight that you would never prescribe Klonopin and Ativan together," Siegel said. "You would use one or the other. They are too similar." Holland also talked about the dangers of these two medications. "If you took these two sedating anti-anxiety medicines, and another ‘downer’ like alcohol, you can absolutely die."

Vicoprofen & Hydrocodone (narcotic painkillers)

"And then you have the vicoprofen and hydrocodone, which are two opiates, and if you take too much of those, you could stop breathing," Holland said. TMZ reported that the actress "had been complaining of shortness of breath and severe abdominal pain" for the previous seven to 10 days. "There is also the issue of how sick she was," Holland added. "We know that she was sick with flu-like symptoms. The question is ... did she have pneumonia on top of it?" Holland pointed to the death of Heath Ledger. "The thing with Heath Ledger is that he had pneumonia, and then he took downers," she said. "He took pain meds, sleeping meds, anti-anxiety meds, and then he had pneumonia, and that is the combination that killed him because he was already working on a diminished lung capacity."

Propranolol (treats hypertension, used to prevent heart attacks; can also be used to treat migraines)

"Propanolol has a few different uses," Siegel said. "It’s a beta blocker, so it was used for high blood pressure and heart disease, but these days it’s also used as a performance anxiety drug and for migraines. But you wouldn’t prescribe it with Topamax." Holland said the problem with propranolol is that it lowers the heart rate. "So, combining the propranolol with the pain medicines or the anti-anxiety medicines is also very dangerous," she said. "The pain medicines decrease your respiratory drive and the anti-anxiety medicines can also do the same thing."

Remaining Drugs

Other drugs found in Murphy’s home include fluoxetine, which is the generic for the antidepressant/anti-anxiety drug Prozac; the antibiotic Biaxin; and methylprednisolone, which is an anti-inflammatory. Siegel said methylprednisolone is used to treat asthma and allergies for a short period of time, and it’s unlikely Murphy was taking it chronically. "It’s quite possible they found it in her house and she used it in the past," Siegel said.

The L.A. County Coroner’s Office said an autopsy had been conducted and officials were awaiting the results of toxicology and tissue testing before determining an official cause of death. It could take up to six weeks before a determination is made public.

Recipe for Disaster?

Citing the same L.A. Coroner's Office official's notes, TMZ said there were numerous empty prescription medication bottles "in the decedent's husband's name, the decedent's mother's name, and unidentified third party names."

"What that means is that it’s very unlikely that there’s one doctor who is overseeing all these medications," said Holland, who’s also the author of the new book, "Weekends at Bellevue." "There were most likely multiple doctors ... some that are prescribing for the mom, some that are prescribing for the husband. It’s unlikely there was one doctor giving her all these medications." This is called polypharmacy, which is the administration of excessive medications, and Holland said it’s one of the leading causes of drug overdoses in the country. "This happens when there are multiple doctors and there is no one overseeing what the patient is doing," she said. "I pretty much guarantee that there were multiple pharmacies and multiple doctors, and that’s really a recipe for disaster." In the meantime, Holland said there are several lessons to be learned from the recent deaths of celebrities who’ve overdosed on prescription medications. "Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem in America right now. It’s the new drug epidemic to some extent," she said. "And if you take away anything — it’s the fact that we are living in a culture of dangerous polypharmacy. Too many people are taking too many medications without enough supervision."

Jessica Doyle and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Coroner: Pneumonia, drugs killed Brittany Murphy

Brittany Murphy died from pneumonia, but anemia and prescription drugs also played a role, coroner's officials said Thursday.

The primary cause of death was community-acquired pneumonia, with contributing factors of iron deficiency anemia and "multiple drug intoxication," according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

The death was ruled accidental.

Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey declined to specify what types of drugs were involved but said they were all prescription medications. Details about the drugs the "Clueless" and "8 Mile" star had in her system will be released in several weeks when a complete report is done.

Murphy died Dec. 20 at age 32 after collapsing at her Hollywood Hills home. Her mother and husband have said the actress didn't abuse prescription medications or have an eating disorder.

Attempts to reach them for further comment were not immediately successful Thursday.

Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, and mother, Sharon Murphy, told investigators the actress had been experiencing flu-like symptoms in the days before she died.

Monjack told The Associated Press last month that his wife did take several prescriptions, including an anti-seizure drug, but did not abuse the medications.

He said she had been taking over-the-counter Robitussin for her recent sickness.

A memorial for a foundation in Brittany Murphy's name that had been planned for Thursday was abruptly canceled with no explanation.

Dr. Michael Baden, the former chief medical examiner in New York City, said the coroner's determination indicated drugs probably played a key role in Murphy's death.

"If she died of pneumonia, that cause of death is a natural cause," Baden said. He said the use of some prescription medications can lead to pneumonia, and that the coroner's office may have listed that as the primary cause to lessen the blow to Murphy's family.

"It sounds more like it's a drug-related than a natural pulmonary pneumonia," said Baden, who did not work on the Murphy case but has served as an expert witness in numerous high-profile deaths.

He said the quantities and types of drugs Murphy was taking is key to understanding how she died, as well as how recently she saw a doctor.

"One doesn't die of pneumonia, usually, that quickly," Baden said. He also downplayed the role anemia may have played in Murphy's death.

The British scriptwriter Simon Monjack has died of a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles, where five months ago his wife, the actor Brittany Murphy, also passed away. Murphy's mother, Sharon, apparently called the emergency services last night after finding Monjack unconscious in the bedroom. But, according to ETOnline.com, resuscitation efforts failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Monjack's biggest success was with the film Factory Girl, the story of socialite Edie Sedgwick, and her friendship with Andy Warhol, which starred Sienna Miller. He also wrote and directed Two Days, Nine Lives, a 2001 drama starring Luke Goss.

Monjack, who was 39, had previously told of his cardiac trouble, telling one interviewer after his wife's death: "I suffer from seizures. I had a heart attack coming back from Puerto Rico last year."