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J.J. Abrams Reacts To Death of Star Trek Actor Anton 'Chekov' Yelchin (hollywoodreporter.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the lived-long-and-prospered dept.

On Sunday morning 27-year-old actor Anton Yelchin, who plays Chekov in the new Star Trek movies, was killed in a freak accident with his own car in the driveway of his home in Studio City. "It appears he momentarily exited his car and it rolled backward, causing trauma that led to his death," a police spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter. This afternoon J. J. Abrams tweeted a picture of a handwritten eulogy addressed to Anton. "You were brilliant. You were kind. You were funny as hell, and supremely talented. And you weren't here nearly long enough. Missing you..." Zachary Quinto, who plays Mr. Spock, also tweeted a link to a picture posted in memorial on Instagram, where he called Yelchin "one of the most open and intellectually curious people I have ever had the pleasure to know... wise beyond his years, and gone before his time..."

Stephen King called him a "crazily talented actor gone too soon," remembering Yelchin from one of his last roles in a 10-episode adaptation of King's "Mr. Mercedes". Yelchin will play a mentally deranged ice cream truck driver who's also an IT worker for a Geek Squad-like company named "Cyber Patrol".

6 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. Neutral by Dan+East · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He exited his car while it was in neutral on his steep driveway, and he got pinned between his car and the brick mailbox. This goes to show how incredibly easy it is to make one tiny mistake and pay for it with your life. If I had to guess, I would say he was trying to hop back into the car to stop it. It could have happened to any of us - in one instant, before you realize, it's too late. RIP and if anything can come of this, hopefully the rest of us can learn to take one extra moment to make sure that what we think of as a mundane, simple thing is not overlooked.

    --
    Better known as 318230.
    1. Re:Neutral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, it just takes being human, with an imperfect brain, that sometimes is convinced it has already done something it hasn't. Throw in a tiny bit of bad luck, and any of us can make a life ending mistake any day of the week. If you think "it can't happen to me" you're delusional.

    2. Re:Neutral by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      For what it's worth, the reports say that the car was a recent model Jeep Cherokee. Recent Chryslers vehicles have an incredibly stupid automatic shifter.

      What's astoundingly pathetic is that they had push button automatics which left absolutely no doubt about which gear you'd selected in the 1960s, my first car was a 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix (2dr) which had this feature. So there is actually a superior interface which Chrysler has used in the past which they could have used here. It would have been both retro, and superior to the garbage they finally did implement which has been injuring and perhaps even killing people.

      Marchionne will be remembered as an incompetent douchebag who killed both Fiat and Chrysler.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. Re:About time EditorDavid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This post harassing a slashdot editor gets voted up, but posts about this idiot not figuring out a parking brake get voted down.
    Stay classy slashdot.

  3. Re:Blame it on ... by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Too soon.

  4. Why? by xbytor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why is he dead and all of the Kardashians still alive?