Monday, August 14, 2006

Tragedic loss of a friend

I have no words to explain how losing a person that you know at a young age feels. Nick Papac is the third person to touch my life and to be lost before he had the chance to age gracefully. Not a true friend, but more of a set buddy. Nick worked as the assistant armoror on Next with me. The last time I saw him was just over a month ago, a few days before he left to go to Arizonia. His dad worked on the film with him and the two were a father-son team. It was always funny to see Mr.Papac put Nick in his place, in a serious but loving manner.

Nick was a fun guy who loved life. He had so much energy and passion. Though working on a big budget movie can be stressful, I never once saw him breakdown or complain. Like all of us, he had his moment but over all he was an amazing person to be around and to work with. I am deeply saddened by this loss.

At the end of every movie, you always expect to see everybody on the next one. You know that they will be busy working in the "circus" that is the film industry but some day you will see them again and it will be like you had never been apart. Friendships grow so quickly with people that you spend 70 hours a week with. Your work becomes your life, a life that you can lose so quick.

Cinematial wrote a very respectful article about the accident:

Production on The Kingdom has been delayed until Wednesday due to a tragic accident over the weekend which resulted in the death of assistant propmaster,Nick Papac. According to reports, Papac was driving a motorized cart along a closed section of the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway in Mesa, Arizona this past Saturday when he accidentally collided with an SUV carrying the film's director, Peter Berg .

Upon impact, Papac was thrown from the vehicle and suffered serious head injuries; he was pronounced dead after arriving at the local hospital. Filming was suspended yesterday and there appears to be no other injuries. The Kingdom stars Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper, among others. Papac has worked on films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Miami Vice. He was 25.


Nick Papac, you are in our hearts and you will be missed.

1 Comments:

At 3:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nick was my friend back in the pre high school days. He was truly a one of a kind stand out personality. I hadnt seen or heard from Nick in years until another friend told me about his passing a couple weeks after the accident. It has been through online messages from friends and coworkers like this one that ive been able to get a feel for the grown up nick and get a sense of closer to this tragic loss. Nick will be missed.

Nick Tribute Video (google video)

 

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