Now That's Vanity

Donald Cammell committed suicide when one of his films got cut by a producer, and this is the interesting part:

...he took his own life in 1996 at age sixty-two with a gunshot to the head. But he fired into the top of his head instead of the roof of his mouth with the result that he was alive and conscious for up to 45 minutes afterwards and, reportedly, was in a happy, almost euphoric state. The fact that he didn’t die instantly was not accidental; in fact he allegedly requested that his wife and writing collaborator China Cammell hold up a mirror so he could watch himself die.

Must say, cap doffed. Dude knows how to go out with some self-expression, which I of course admire. Also, it's fascinating to me to know what goes through a person's mind when they know they're about to die (no, I don't mean "a bullet!") Woulda been nice if wifey interviewed him in those moments and wrote it down, but I guess not. Thanks, asshole.