Trop Jeune Pour Mourir

They called him “Killer Belushi” when he was young. John was the star of the football team, drummer of the high school band and a brilliant actor. Many followed with fascination the meteoric rise of this young man who was mercurial with an extreme personality.

"If he ever lived to be 30, I’d be surprised", his mother once said in an interview. Sadly, she was right. On April 5, 1994, the 27-year-old rock star killed himself in his house in Seattle. This film traces the short dramatic life of the rock rebel who initiated grunge music and reveals the shocking psychological background that shaped Cobain’s life and influenced his art.

He only lived to be 28 years old. The news of Heath Ledger’s death spread like wildfire. The first major Hollywood star to pass away so young in the age of the Internet, his death deeply touched all of Hollywood as well as fans around the world. But Heath Ledger was a reluctant celebrity, a star that didn’t really want to be one.

Far away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, in the middle of the Beverly Hills canyons, lies the estate of the actress Sharon Tate. She is 8 months pregnant and misses Roman Polanski, her husband, who is still in Europe finishing up a film. She will never see him again.

She steps in front of Hollywood’s cameras for the first time at the tender of age of 4. In the 50’s, even though a teenager, she is already considered a female idol. In “Rebel Without a Cause”, she plays opposite James Dean in a film that bears a far-reaching impact on pop culture. She becomes a world star as Maria in the famous adaptation of the musical “West Side Story”.

With his unique voice and highly poetic lyrics, this singer, songwriter and poet became for many the “voice of Russia” and his marriage to French actress Marina Vlady gained him international fame. But Vysotsky was a sharp critic of the system. He lived a restless life, racing through Moscow in his Mercedes, wearing hippie clothes, smoking all the time, often drunk and taking drugs.

At only 14, River Phoenix celebrates his breakthrough in the Stephen King's adaption "Stand by Me". The film is a box-office hit and River becomes the idol of an entire generation. What exactly happened on the night of October 30, 1993, remains unclear to this day. He is set to play with his band in Johnny Depp’s Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard.

Falco was the most successful Austrian pop-rock musician and rapper of all time, the only artist whose language was German but yet scored a number one hit in the US. Before he could celebrate his 41st birthday, in 1998, and achieve his plan for a comeback on the musical scene, he was hit by a bus while driving in the Dominican Republic.

Described by the New York Times as “the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation”, Philip Seymour Hoffman was also an accomplished film and theatre director and producer. He appeared in more than 55 films and is remembered for bringing depth and humanity to the reprehensible characters he played.

Despite having acted in only a smattering of movies, Bruce Lee has become the universal personification of martial arts in cinema. More than 40 years after his death, his movies are still absolute bestsellers. His face can be found on posters and t-shirts. Actors as well as martial artists worship his work and name him a role model.

She started her career at age 17 with a worldwide success, "The Wizard of Oz", and since then deeply impacted the cinema and music fields. But despite her numerous professional triumphs, Judy Garland struggled a lot in her personal life, despondent with instable finances and 4 successive divorces. She also suffered from a severe weakness for alcohol and drugs which caused her premature death.

In 1969, Karen, barely 19, and Richard Carpenter sign a contract with A&M Records, then one of the major record labels in the USA. Their first single reaches #54 on the US Billboard charts. Shortly after, in the summer of 1970, their ballad “Close to You” is #1. They become the definitive pop superstars of the 70s. After a concert in 1973, Karen sees photos of herself in an unfavorable dress.