Philip Seymour Hoffman Dead In Manhattan Apartment; Police Suspect Drug Overdose As Needle Still In Oscar Winning Actor’s Arm! Tragedy Will Not Affect ‘Mockingjay’ Release Dates

Academy Award Winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment of apparent drug overdose. The actor was 46 years old.

From the Reuters report: "A police spokesman said investigators found Hoffman with a syringe in his arm and recovered two small plastic bags in the apartment containing a substance suspected of being heroin. A police department source earlier told Reuters that Hoffman had died of an apparent drug overdose."

Hoffman left behind three children with Mimi O'Donell, his partner for a long time. The family has released this statement through their publicist (reprinted from Reuters):

"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone. This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving. Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers."

Hoffman was still filming scenes for "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2." He is a regular character in "The Hunger Games" series playing Plutarch Heavensbee.  Lionsgate, the studio behind "The Hunger Games" assured fans that despite the tragedy, the movies will be released as scheduled. He has only seven days of filming left to complete. From The Playlist, the full statement from Lionsgate reads:

"Philip Seymour Hoffman was a singular talent and one of the most gifted actors of our generation. We're very fortunate that he graced our Hunger Games family. Losing him in his prime is a tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Philip's family." 

Hoffman was also working on "Happyish," a TV series from the Showtime cable network. He has finished work on the pilot  episode before the tragedy. Showtime also released their statement(also from The Playlist}: "Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of our generation's finest and most brilliant actors. He was also a gifted comedic talent. It was a great privilege and pleasure to work with him and we are all absolutely devastated by this sudden loss. Our thoughts go out to his family at this very difficult time."