"He died halfway through the film I'm currently making, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. We had finished shooting in London on Saturday night. On Sunday, I went to Vancouver to prepare for the next stage and Heath went to New York. He was supposed to be turning up in Vancouver on the Friday. On Tuesday he was dead.
None of us could deal with it. It was impossible - that was the problem. It was absolutely impossible that this could be a fact. But there it was. I was working in the art department when I heard the news, and we stayed there all afternoon. At sunset, thousands of ravens flew over the window and I thought: those are the ravens from The Brothers Grimm, and they are all going to salute Heath.
In terms of his acting, it still rankles with me that he's dead because he would have been streets ahead of anyone else in his generation. He just kept getting better and better. He was fearless. On Parnassus, he was improvising all the time and it was better than what we had written. I don't normally encourage that kind of improvisation, but in a sense I felt Heath was writing this film. He was an incredibly funny performer when he wanted to be - his comic timing was just extraordinary - and then he could break your heart the next minute. When he died, there were all these nonsensical stories coming out about Heath Ledger, James Dean and River Phoenix, all destroyed by the system - but that's bullshit. What happened was an absurd accident. I still don't understand it. I know he was exhausted - the last thing he said was that he was so tired and just wanted to sleep. You actually think at certain times angels come down to earth and Heath might have been one of them. And then he's gone and you think: this is all wrong, all the other people should be dead. He should be leading us all into a wonderful world of adventure".Source: www.guardian.co.uk
"Now that Heath Ledger has been posthumously nominated for a Golden Globe, there's maneuvering behind the scenes as to who will accept the award should he win.
"Kim desperately wants to do it," one cognoscento tells us of Heath's father. "But the studio and the producers would rather have Michelle receive it on behalf of Matilda" - the couple'sdaughter.
Some Hollywood insiders have speculated that the foreign journalists who decide upon the Golden Globes choose some nominees based on their attractiveness and star power, to goose up their televised awards show's ratings. Michelle Williams, who broke up with Ledger four months before he died in January, is a lot purtier than the senior Ledger, who accepted an "Aussie" award for his son last weekend.
But a friend of the family tells us, "Why would Michelle be involved? She had nothing to do with the movie. They weren't even together when he passed away. Would you have your ex-wife accept your award? And they weren't even married. [Director] Chris Nolan or [star] Christian Bale would make more sense. Michelle makes no sense. It's like those rumors that she would go to the premiere of 'Dark Knight.' That was never in the realm of possibility."Source: www.nydailynews.com
"Onscreen he wears angst and desperation like a badge of honor. Raging in the existential cult drama "Donnie Darko" (2001), crossing the fine line between passion and obsession in "The Good Girl" (in which his character, one Holden Worther, lugged a beat-up copy of The Catcher in the Rye across Texas in writer-director Miguel Arteta's shout-out to Salinger's protagonist), mourning the loss of life and youth in "Moonlight Mile", Jake Gyllenhaal has become the movies' poster child for outsider, misfit characters".Chelsea Clinton: "I would encourage people to read it in the hope that maybe it would have a similar inspirational effect. Did you feel Holden Caulfield-esque while you were making "The Good Girl"? Do you even agree with your character's interpretation [of the book]?
Jake Gyllenhaal: "There's something about him that makes me think he's only read that one book. He's so lost that he just sort of takes on this "Holden" persona because he understands it's universal". Source: www.highbeam.com
Q: Why do you like to play outsider types?
Hirsch: I don't know. There's something about the good-hearted guy fighting the system. I just love that. That's how Speed is. He's a really focused guy with a heart of gold and the corporations are trying to crush him and use him for his skills to make them more money. And when he doesn't want to play ball, they want to destroy him.Source: chud.com/articles
"Wendy and Lucy", director Kelly Reichardt’s follow-up to her 2007 indie marvel, "Old Joy", returns to a Pacific Northwest of equal parts natural beauty and desolation. Dressed in androgynous clothes, her hair chopped and boyish, Michelle Williams stars in Wendy and Lucy as a slacker waif adrift in a subculture of neo-hippie train jumpers building bonfires in the woods, bruised blue collars and a collection of vets and disabled hard-luck cases waiting at the corner store to exchange cans for change. As Wendy is hauled away to jail, Lucy remains tied to a bicycle rack, one more tragic loss in a string of escalating disasters.These losses come with a devastation comparable to that in Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 neo-realist masterpiece, "The Bicycle Thief". Unlike Emile Hirsch’s adventuring, Alaska-bound dropout in "Into the Wild", Wendy’s is not a purposeful estrangement from the world. There are foils and fairy godfathers along the way, but the overall impression Reichardt creates is of a cold, hostile world as immune to individual suffering as the Depressionera America of "They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?" or "The Grapes of Wrath".The only comfort Wendy finds is from the drugstore security guard (Wally Dalton) who first rousts Wendy from sleeping in his parking lot and then watches her contend with the ruined car and lost dog. His gestures of kindness are pitiably small, compromised by his own limited means. Reichardt allows us so little access to her interior life that she seems opaque, her comatose demeanor hard to identify: Is it deep depression or soft-headedness? "Old Joy" went deep inside the loneliness and need for connection of its heroes, and Wendy and Lucy’s impact often resides in external events. Wendy can feel more like a symbol of economic despair than the soft and pulpy realer-than-real men of "Old Joy". But thank goodness for Reichardt’s committed focus even on symbols in the escalating miseries of our own hard times. Source: www.nypress.com
Happy belated 23rd Birthday to the talented and lovely actress/singer Amanda Seyfried!This is a musical video dedicated to her. Songs "Honey, Honey" sang by Amanda Seyfried in "Mamma Mia!" and "Pale Blue eyes" by The Velvet Underground.
Amanda's most famous roles have been the Plastic Karen Smith in "Mean Girls" (2004), Samantha in "Nine Lives" (2005), Mouse in "American Gun" (2005), Lilly Kane in "Veronica Mars" series (2004-2006),Julie Beckley in "Alpha Dog" (2006), Rebecca in "Wildfire" series (2006), Sarah Henrickson in the series "Big Love" (2006-2009), and her first lead role as Sophie Sheridan in the film version of the musical "Mamma Mia!".
Amanda joined the cast of the dark horror film "Jennifer's Body" (2009) written by Diablo Cody, playing the title character's best friend Needy Lesnicky. Her upcoming roles are Savannah Lynn Curtis in "Dear John" (2009) and Paige Prideaux in "Boogie Woogie" (2009).
Mark Ruffalo and Jake at "Zodiac" Cannes Film Festival Premiere. Jake with Mark Ruffalo at NYC "Zodiac" Screening.
I hate to communicate these tragic news, because I can't imagine how much Mark Ruffalo must be affected by his brother's loss. I've always been a follower of Mark's career and loved his performance (as usual) in "Zodiac", so here I give my condolences to Mark Ruffalo, my heart goes out to him and his family.
"Scott Ruffalo, a married hairdresser, died late Monday after he was taken off life support, one week after he was found with a gunshot wound to the head in his Beverly Hills condo. He is the kid brother of "You Can Count on Me" star Mark Ruffalo".
"JAKE GYLLENHAAL, all pumped-up and studly, is still shooting Disney's "Prince of Persia" in London. But his 28th birthday is on Dec. 19, and Jake's beloved, Reese Witherspoon, had planned a lavish party for him in LA. Both stars, who are super-professional, know the importance of keeping to schedule, so they didn't hold much hope of being "together" on Jake's natal day - at least not as Reese had planned.
Good work is rewarded, however. The studio said, "Go, have a blast!" The 19th is a Friday, and Jake will probably be back in his prince costume by Monday morning, the 22nd.
SPEAKING OF Jake, his leading lady in "Prince of Persia" is British knockout Gemma Arterton, seen most re cently dallying with Daniel Craig in "Quantum of Solace." (She was the delightfully named Strawberry Fields.) Gemma is only 22, but her romantic life is already colorful.
Gemma was keeping company with handsome Spaniard, Eduardo Munoz, who was hired to train her horseback skills for "Prince of Persia." They discovered other skills in the course of events. Gemma and Eduardo quickly became a couple during the shoot in Morocco. However, when the company moved to London, his job was over. They missed each so much that Eduardo flew to Britain to be with her. It was terribly impulsive and romantic.
Sadly, "Quantum of Solace" had to open. Gemma is suddenly hot, in demand. Between scenes on "Prince . . . ", Gemma now looks glum. Eduardo is back in Spain. Success - it has its price". Source: www.nypost.com
A BIG THANK YOU TO THE AFI FOR HONOURING HEATH LEDGER WITH THIS TREMENDOUS TRIBUTE, which gives him much deserved and overdue recognition. Watch the crowd pay their respect with a standing ovation and Heath's mother, father and sister accept the AFI award on his behalf. Note: The award is being presented by Michael Caton (lead actor in 'The Castle').
"Milk" includes the fight against the Briggs Initiative, a 1978 California ballot initiative that would have stripped gay and lesbian teachers of their jobs, and even taken away the jobs of those teachers who supported them. Black, Van Sant and Penn show us how Milk worked to stop the initiative with persistence, perspective and humor; refuting the idea that gay teachers 'recruit' kids, Milk notes that "If it were true that children mimicked their teachers, you'd sure have a hell of a lot more nuns running around," making a joke and the point. There's been some question if releasing Milk before the November 4th elections might have 'moved the needle' against the vote for the recent passage of Proposition 8 in California; it's hard to say, but what Milk makes clear for any follower of modern activist politics was that Harvey Milk succeeded because he failed, because he knew how to turn every loss into a chance to take what he'd learned and apply it to the next race.
Milk shows us the joy of victory, and the pain of what victory can cost; it shows us the agony of loss, and the opportunities to re-think, re-organize and retrench that loss can give us. Milk repeats one of Harvey Milk's best-known lines: 'You gotta give 'em hope." Milk understands not just what hope can do but also the hate, fear and ignorance that make hope required. It shows the struggle for gay rights in the '70s, but it also makes it clear that there are too many groups -- and too many people -- who are still treated as if there are asterisks and escape clauses hidden in the Bill of Rights denying them the chance to try and attain life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Milk isn't a hollow Hollywood exercise in hero-making, and that makes it all the better: Van Sant's film succeeds so well because of its complexity, its ambiguity, its devastating combination of sorrow and joy; walking out of Milk, you'll be energized and excited, moved to feel and moved to act, amazed at one man doing so much and painfully aware of how much there is left to do". Source: www.cinematical.com
A video featuring scenes from "Milk" and interviews with James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Gus Van Sant, Victor Garber, Diego Luna, etc.
A musical video featuring images and stills of Emile Hirsch, in very good company. Songs "Falling in love again" by Kevin Ayers, "Discretion Grove" by Stephen Malkmus and "I must be high" by Wilco.
"Italian gay rights' group Arcigay on Tuesday criticised the censorship of the award-winning cowboy movie, 'Brokeback Mountain', by the country's state television channel. The movie was shown on Rai2 on Monday without controversial gay sex scenes. "We want to know who decided to show 'Brokeback Mountain' yesterday evening with such blatant, 1950s-style cuts," said Arcigay's president, Aurelio Mancuso.
"The film won the Golden Lion Award at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, as well as three Oscars and four Golden Globes," said Mancuso.
"Who had the presumption to think an adult public could not handle the sight of kissing and intimacy between two men?"
Reviewers evoked Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter — the same mock-ingratiating tone, same sadistic ingenuity — but this Joker is the bigger, gaudier showman, with a sick kid's need to watch the damage he's caused. His ornate facial scars (possibly self-inflicted) suggest a traumatic past, but unlike Lecter the Joker has no backstory; he can't be read as the sum of what his parents, or a girl, or the Iraq War, did to him. He comes out of nowhere, creates chaos, disappears. Ledger thus had the freedom to invent his own nightmare.
5. Ben Burtt as WALL-E in WALL-E The lonely robo-boy of Andrew Stanton's fabulous fantasy doesn't say much ("WALL-E," "Eva," "Ta-DA!"), but there's a future-world of humor and emotion in each syllable. Those intonations, and nearly every other sound in the movie — the machines, the weapons, the whole aural environment — are the amazing achievement of Ben Burtt [...] Source: www.time.com
Top 10 Movies:9. Speed Racer
Not every avant-garde FX masterpiece receives instant audience validation. This tale of a family of racers — Racer is the family name — exists simultaneously in the 1950s and today, in a live-action world and its own complementary alternate cyber-universe. Operating a pitch of delirious precision, the movie is a rich, cartoonish dream: non-stop Op art, and a triumph of virtual virtuosity.
8. Iron Man A tin man who realizes that, if he is to become human, he must build himself a heart — and then a big red metallic airborne suit for buzzing unsuspecting planes and vanquishing his enemies. What a kick it is to see the thing fly. Same with the movie, for, like Tony, Iron Man is the perfect expression of Hollywood's engineering ingenuity.5. Milk
This exceptional docudrama — written by Darren Lance Black, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn — covers the last eight years of Milk's life, which ended when he was shot by fellow supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin). Penn, who’s in nearly every scene, manages the neat trick of merging his star personality with the public figure well known from the 1984 documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. Source: www.time.com
A musical video featuring images and stills of Emile Hirsch in "Lords of Dogtown", "Into the wild", "Speed Racer", "The girl next door", "Alpha Dog", etc. Songs "Psychocandy" and "Cut Dead" by The Jesus & Mary Chain.
Reese left Ryan Phillippe far behind and she doesn't look back, who would do it if she became Jake's beloved arm candy?Michael Angarano and Kristen Stewart (they've been dating a long time).Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Evan Rachel Wood, Abbie Cornish and Ryan Phillippe at "Behind the Camera Awards".Evan Rachel Wood and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Evan and Joseph would make a striking new couple in the boho Hollywood, although they just seem good friends (maybe with some benefits?).
"Today, the Sundance Institute has announced their non-competition films; this includes the Premieres section, which is usually full of studio flicks -- stuff that's set to debut in theaters the following month or so, and films that feature big stars; the big guns".
500 Days of Summer/U.S.A. (Director: Marc Webb; Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber)--When an unlucky greeting card copywriter is dumped by his girlfriend, the hopeless romantic shifts back and forth through various periods of their 500 days 'together' in hopes of figuring out where things went wrong. Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Adventureland/U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Greg Mottola)--In 1987, a recent college graduate takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park and discovers the job is perfect preparation for the real world. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader. Source: www.cinematical.com
"He died halfway through the film I'm currently making, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. We had finished shooting in London on Saturday night. On Sunday, I went to Vancouver to prepare for the next stage and Heath went to New York. He was supposed to be turning up in Vancouver on the Friday. On Tuesday he was dead.
When he died, there were all these nonsensical stories coming out about Heath Ledger, James Dean and River Phoenix, all destroyed by the system - but that's bullshit. What happened was an absurd accident. I still don't understand it. I know he was exhausted - the last thing he said was that he was so tired and just wanted to sleep. You actually think at certain times angels come down to earth and Heath might have been one of them. And then he's gone and you think: this is all wrong, all the other people should be dead. He should be leading us all into a wonderful world of adventure". Source: www.guardian.co.uk
"Now that Heath Ledger has been posthumously nominated for a Golden Globe, there's maneuvering behind the scenes as to who will accept the award should he win.
daughter.
Michelle Williams, who broke up with Ledger four months before he died in January, is a lot purtier than the senior Ledger, who accepted an "Aussie" award for his son last weekend.
