Months before her sudden death Dec. 20, Brittany Murphy's appearance worried coworkers.
While shooting the horror flick Something Wicked this summer, "she looked ill, as much as 10 pounds underweight, and she's a small person to begin with," executive producer Scott Chambers told the Los Angeles Times. "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.'"
Reports also surfaced that she'd go in and out of consciousness between takes. But producer Scott Chambers has said those reports are "absolutely untrue."
Murphy encountered more work drama recently: Rumors swirled that she was fired from the thriller The Caller after she and husband Simon Monjack were accused of causing problems on set. Her rep has said Murphy and the filmmakers parted ways amicably due to "creative differences."
In January, she was set to begin the romantic comedy Shrinking Charlotte. Writer-director Rene Eram told E! that while Murphy was professional, "I noticed that she had dropped a lot of weight in the last six months."
Jeff Bowler, a producer on her new drama Across the Hall, saw her Dec. 1 and tells UsMagazine.com that while he "only got to talk to her for a few minutes, she seemed OK. She was a little pale, but she seemed fine. She was bubbly and excited and went around and said hi to everybody and shook hands and gave autographs — typical Brittany."
Bowler adds, "You would never have guessed anything was wrong with her. If she was sick, you wouldn’t know it."
Gary Gimelfarb, the film's executive producer, also tells Us that "some days were better than others" while filming, but overall she "really seemed to perform to the best of her ability."
Designer Tiffany Saidnia, who styled Murphy for her last public appearance Dec. 3 at the L.A. opening of Tt Collection's Pop-Up shop, tells Us: "She was great, in high spirits, talking to everyone. I think that's a great part of the disbelief: She was in such a great mood."