Gawker: Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger Bar Moves Forward

Ryan Tate — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:15:37 EDT

Heath Ledger's father proceeded with funding a nautically-themed bar in Greenpoint, in which Ledger had been a silent partner. The guy who designed Beatrice is involved. [Down By The Hipster, P6]
Oh, hey, the Post has some John ; gossip! He wants to make a movie about poverty! Oh. Really? That's your John Edwards gossip? At least go for the obvious joke about how there will almost certainly be scenes in the film focused on the problem of unwed mothers, and Edwards sure knows a LOT ABOUT THAT, har har. [P6]
Eliot Spitzer goes to Barton Gym on Upper East Side, people snicker, sad Spitzer leaves. [P6]
After losing an initial court ruling, the crazy YouTube divorcée, Tricia Walsh-Smith, implied that her ex-husband Philip Smith and others at the Shubert Organization are behind a bunch of death threats. She's really inhabiting this role! [Post]
The new backstory behind the Christian Bale assault allegations: His mother and sister wanted him to loan $200,000 to his sister, supposedly for her kids. He didn't want to give the money, and there was a fight, and the mom may have said some unkind things about Bale's wife. Then, the women say, Bale pushed and shoved them. The headline? Batman and sobbin'.
Brad Pitt said the paparazzi BETTER stop taking pictures of his kids using their fancy "telephoto lenses." Situations involving the baby twins are private time, and will stay private time until he auctions them off to the highest bidder for celebrity magazine purposes. [LA Rag Mag]

Times' Dark Knight Review

Ryan Tate — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:06:58 EDT

"Mr. Ledger's death might have cast a paralyzing pall over the film if the performance were not so alive... He’s just a clown painted on black velvet, but he’s also some kind of masterpiece." [Times]

Is Ledger's Joker Really That Great?

Nick Denton — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:18:56 EDT

Heath Ledger's performance as the creepy Joker in this week's latest outing for the Batman franchise is being treated with such manufactured reverence—the dead actor's even being touted as an Oscar nominee—that some sort of backlash is inevitable. So who'll start it? A blogger with an admirable absence of decency, John Carney.

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight: 'Rave and Rage and Purge Acting'

Richard — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:38:00 EDT

So finally the next Batman film, The Dark Knight, lurches into theaters this Friday. Anticipation is intense, as Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan's reboot of the franchise, was such a dark success. Of course, though, the real reason to see the film is Heath Ledger as uber villain The Joker. The buddingly talented actor died all too young in a SoHo apartment this past winter, leaving this as his last complete performance. So yeah, that's all we really care about when surveying the early reviews (we already know that Christian Bale will be gruff and brooding, Morgan Freeman sage and weary, Maggie Gyllenhaal unsurprisingly better than Katie Holmes, the film as a whole loud and jangly). So what do the critics say? Mostly, that he's fantastic. The increasingly-irrelevant Peter Travers, of Rolling Stone, calls the performance "mad-crazy-brilliant." The Davids Edelstein and Denby worry that Ledger stepped perhaps too far into the abyss to access the character. Basically, we're excited. Read a digest of the reviews after the jump.

"Nolan was wise enough, however, to give Ledger plenty of room to shine — albeit in the actor's indelibly perverse, twisted way. There's nothing cartoony about his Joker. Ledger wrested the role from previous performers Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson and reinvented it completely." [AP]

"Ledger's performance is a beauty. His Joker has a slow cadence of speech, as if weighing words for maximum mischief and contempt. He moves languidly as if to savor his dark deeds, his head and body jerking at times from an overload of brain impulses." [THR]

"It's a stupendously creepy performance, wild but never over the top. He cuts a figure so dangerous that you wonder if Batman is up to the task—or if our hero himself will have to become as ruthless as his foe. When you're fighting an enemy who plays by no rules, do you have to abandon your own moral code to vanquish him?" [Newsweek]

"I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker. Miles from Jack Nicholson's broadly funny take on the role in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, Ledger takes the role to the shadows, where even what's comic is hardly a relief. No plastic mask for Ledger; his face is caked with moldy makeup that highlights the red scar of a grin, the grungy hair and the yellowing teeth of a hound fresh out of hell. To the clown prince of crime, a knife is preferable to a gun, the better to 'savor the moment.'" [Rolling Stone]

"How is Heath Ledger? My heart went out to him. He’s working so very hard to fill the void, to be doing something every second. It’s rave and rage and purge acting. This Joker is a straight-out psychopath—a Stephen King clown-demon with smudged greasepaint and yellow teeth and hair that appears to have never been washed. As written, the Joker is like a souped-up Andy Robinson in Dirty Harry (only this Harry won’t blow him away with a .44 Magnum), and Ledger revs it higher and higher. He bugs his eyes and licks compulsively at the gashes that extend his mouth. He tries on different voices. First he sounds like Cagney in White Heat, then slides into a prissy singsong like Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley, then throws in some fruity Brando flourishes and a dash of Hannibal Lecter. He’s lethal—fast with sharp objects—but apart from a gruesome bit with a pencil not terribly prankish. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, but in truth, I found the performance painful to watch. Scarier than what the Joker does to anyone onscreen is what Ledger must have been doing to himself—trying to find the center of a character without a dream of one." [NYMag]

"[Bale's is] a dogged but uninteresting performance, upstaged by the great Ledger, who shambles and slides into a room, bending his knees and twisting his neck and suddenly surging into someone’s face like a deep-sea creature coming up for air. Ledger has a fright wig of ragged hair; thick, running gobs of white makeup; scarlet lips; and dark-shadowed eyes. He’s part freaky clown, part Alice Cooper the morning after, and all actor. He’s mesmerizing in every scene. His voice is not sludgy and slow, as it was in 'Brokeback Mountain.' It’s a little higher and faster, but with odd, devastating pauses and saturnine shades of mockery. At times, I was reminded of Marlon Brando at his most feline and insinuating. When Ledger wields a knife, he is thoroughly terrifying (do not, despite the PG-13 rating, bring the children), and, as you’re watching him, you can’t help wondering—in a response that admittedly lies outside film criticism—how badly he messed himself up in order to play the role this way. His performance is a heroic, unsettling final act: this young actor looked into the abyss." [New Yorker]

The Cinema: Posthumous Oscar Watch

mr.guyball — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:13:03 EDT

Ropeofsilicon.com has an early review of Batman:The Dark Knight which does its best to add to the swelling consensus that Australian James Dean is pretty effing great in his last movie. Clips and freakishly early Oscar buzz after the jump.

Brad Brevet's review is enthusiastic about all aspects of the film, but saves his strongest praise for the man behind the Joker make-up.

Ledger's descent into what is and has become The Joker makes Jack Nicholson's interpretation look like nothing more than a simple clown. "Wait until they get a load of me," says Jack... Wait until you get a load of Heath

The language occasionally borders on the hagiographic, but his well measured appraisal of the rest of the film makes it believeable.

In terms of comic book film adaptations this is the pinnacle. The argument saying this is The Godfather Part II of comic book movies would insinuate that Batman Begins is on equal terms with the original Godfather, which is far from true. However, if we could call this The Godfather of comic book movies I wait anxiously for what may/will become the film that caps off the trilogy.

I really, really hope this is true. Some critics have suggested Heath might snag an Oscar nod, but I'm just praying for a good Batman movie.

Let's keep fingers crossed, the trailer looks promising enough.

And if not, we've always got Jack.

And, while we're tossing clips around: Batdance. Yes, Batdance.

[via OhNoYouDidn't]

Ex-Hooker Thanks You For Touching Her

Ryan Tate — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:15:20 EDT

Ashley Dupre, call girl to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, thanked her MySpace fans "for taking the time to send me a bit of strength and inspiration... your words have touched me." She thanked her detractors for making "me push myself and want it even more." [MySpace]
Corey Feldman fought with old buddy and fellow child star Corey Haim on a reality show, and it emerged both had been molested at kids. Feldman felt the need to clarify that pop singer Michael Jackson was not the molester.
A handwriting expert is suing Bryant Gumbel for allegedly smearing him on HBO's Real Sports. [Post]
British singer Boy George really wanted to put on a special show for the New York sanitation workers with whom he performed community service, but he was denied a visa to enter the country, on account of an upcoming trial for allegedly imprisoning a male escort. [Post]
British author Ian McEwan said he despises "Islamism" because it oppresses gays and women. [Times]
Michelle Williams, mother of deceased actor Heath Ledger's child, is worried Ledger's mother and father will blow through the money in his estate before the child is 18 and able to claim any. [P6]
Clearly trying to seed a sequel to his 1986 laugh riot The Money Pit, actor Tom Hanks keeps insisting his mansion in Sun Valley was poorly constructed. His latest appeal for legal intervention was rejected by a California court Friday. [P6]
The 13-year-old daughter of billionaire Revlon chief Ron Perelman asked for a protection order against her mom and Perelman's ex-wife Patricia Duff. [Post]
Singer Stevie Nicks said everyone should buy records and in turn save the music business and in turn "bring peace to our earth." [R&M]

Bill O'Reilly Will Not Kiss A Man Just For Mayonnaise

Hamilton Nolan — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:47:15 EDT

Heinz has a new commercial out in the UK starring a guy who works at a deli. He's so popular for his delicious mayonnaise, you see, that the man of the house gives him a kiss on the way out the door. But Bill O'Reilly sees this for what it really is: "It was obviously a gay thing!" O'Reilly's insight into the gay issue is almost as piercing as his colleague John Gibson's was when he cracked all those gay jokes about Heath Ledger right after the actor's death. "This whole gender-blending thing, it's confusing to me," says O'Reilly. "I just want mayonnaise. I don't want guys kissing." Sorry; you must have a man's tongue in your mouth before you get any mayonnaise, Bill. Watch the homosexual Heinz ad after the jump.

[via Queerty, which also has video of O'Reilly whining]

The Scale of Celebrity Death

Richard — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:10:00 EDT

Tim Russert died. I'm not sure if you've heard. But, yes, the Meet the Press moderator and dedicated D.C. journalist passed away, at a too-young 58, last week and the media has been in a frenzy since. Jack Shafer at Slate (among many others, I'm sure) feels that the coverage is a bit overdone. Yes Russert was by all accounts a good guy and a good worker and just one of those decent people that feel in short supply, especially in Washington, especially in the media. But isn't it still a bit much? All the tributes and montages and teary testimonials. I mean, nearly every life deserves parades and fireworks and tears and montages when it ends. But, because this is on TV and people are being paid, somewhere, doesn't this seem all a bit circusy? Maybe that's cynical, but television has, to some extent, earned our cynicism. If this is indeed a "circus," then where does it rank among other notable, much-covered celebrity deaths? A writer for Psychology Today says it's the biggest death since John Lennon. We disagree. We'll put this all in some context after the jump.

Jossip offers names like Biggie, Tupac, and Anna Nicole Smith as comparison, but we've selected three other figures (Lennon included) who died famously and tragically to compare to Russert's death. We'll measure the impact (socially, on the media, etc) of each passing on a scale from 1-10.

The Respected Institution: Tim Russert, Heart Failure, June 13, 2008
Russert was a fixture of Washington press and politics. He was both jovial and stern, pleasant and probing. He was the kind of reporter who gave a good face to politics. To that end, every news media figure had some fond remembrance of Russert, some anecdote. Every news show in the land had (or is having) a special Russert retrospective. A "private" memorial service will be broadcast by MSNBC tomorrow.
Impact: 4. I suppose all of this is just something of a twenty-one gun salute from his colleagues. Some people, like Shafer, may criticize the coverage for being indulgent. Of course it's indulgent, these people are his friends and have newscameras in front of them. Whether some sinister network exec is standing in the shadows, rubbing his hands together, with dollar signs in his eyes seems mostly inconsequential. The lamentation and celebration seems genuine, heartfelt.

The Rising Star: Heath Ledger, Drug Overdose, January 22, 2008
The young actor, who had received critical raves for his portrayal of a repressed gay cowboy in 2005's Brokeback Mountain, was getting large buzz for a number of upcoming films, including this summer's The Dark Knight, in which he stars as The Joker, Batman's arch nemesis. Ledger's death, from a bad mixture of sleeping pills and other medication, was originally thought to be a suicide, but tests quickly disproved that. It seems as though it was just a dumb bit of bad luck. As the paparazzi was largely responsible for Princess Diana's death (see below), the paparazzi made themselves well known here too, this time as rabid spectators and (ahem) gawkers. When the news broke, legions of photographers rushed to the SoHo apartment where the 28-year-old's body was found, hoping to see the body brought out. And they did.
Impact: 5. The instant explosion of news about Ledger's death showed the blogosphere at its full, bellowing power. It mushroom clouded very quickly, with people speculating, trading gossip (was Mary-Kate Olsen involved?), and eventually criticizing the media's lasciviousness toward the whole matter. But news moved on fairly quickly, and it was all over within a week or so.

The Poet: John Lennon Shot and Killed, December 8, 1980
The strange, swirling brain of definitive rock band the Beatles, Lennon was as iconic a figure of the Western world's social, sexual, and political awakening as any other in the 20th century. Naturally, news of his death reverberated enormously with his fans and followers. A crowd of a 100,000 or so gathered in memorial in Central Park, not far from the scene of the shooting. News outlets covered the story non-stop, dogging the surviving Beatles for reactions. Central Park's Strawberry Fields was dedicated in his honor.
Impact: 8. As shocking a death as possible, given the nature of the incident and Lennon's iconic status. Though it had been ten years since the Beatles broke up, Lennon and wife Yoko Ono remained fixtures of the progressive music scene. Grief over his death was genuine and profound, and substantial and enduring media coverage reflected that. In the past two years two films about the assassination have been released.

The Heroine: Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales Killed in Car Accident While Trying to Avoid Paparazzi, August 31st, 1997
The death of Diana, ex-wife of the United Kingdom's Prince Charles, rocked the entire world. A grand tragedy in all possible ways — a lovely young mother of two little boys, a beloved activist for peace to boot, killed in the stupidest and most avoidable of accidents — 2.5 billion people watched her funeral. My mother, who had woken up very early in the morning years before to watch Diana's wedding to Charles, woke us up in the middle of the night to tell us what had happened. The world felt immediate then, everything felt close by — even though we were in a small summer house in Rhode Island and the tragedy was farway on a busy Paris street. I imagine that's how many others felt, as well.
Impact: 10. As big and devastating as these deaths get, one hopes. Loved for her kind nature and down-to-earth sensibilities, for many people Diana represented something universally good and hopeful in the world. When that was taken away, quite suddenly and under such frustrating circumstances, the sense of loss lingered for some time. That sadness, compounded with the scandal of the Queen's relative silence on the matter, made the frenzy over the story reach unimaginable heights. It seemed to go on for months and months (aided, I'm sure, by Elton John's "Candle In the Wind" redo). And who can forget that dreadful, defining footage (shown over and over and over again) of her two boys, William and Harry, walking in the funeral procession?

The real fact of the matter, though, is that many people have died since Friday, since this morning, since I started writing this post. Like I said earlier, nearly every one of those deaths deserves recognition and memorials and all manner of other things. As our world doesn't quite work that way, we're left here with the famous deaths and, strangely, I've been tasked to quantify the reactions. I'm certainly not assessing the import of the actual life, of the actual grief, but rather what the media and its followers did when they stumbled, carelessly or not, upon it.

Christian Bale: 'The Joker' Did Not Kill Heath Ledger

ian spiegelman — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:57:27 EDT

The stress of playing one of the most legendary characters ever in one of the most hotly anticipated sequels ever didn't contribute to Heath Ledger's death in January, says the Dark Knight star. "Christian Bale has called rumours that Heath Ledger's role as The Joker contributed to his death 'ridiculous.' Ledger, who died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in January, was urged to seek help by crew on The Dark Knight after he reportedly became too involved in his character."

Bale rubbished the speculation in an interview with Total Film, saying: "It's not for me to tell anybody or to pretend to have insights beyond what I absolutely know, but my instincts are that the idea Heath was disturbed by playing The Joker is ridiculous.

"Heath was somebody who, like myself, acted for that immersion in a character. It's not an unusual thing. And from working with him and knowing him, I don't think that was unusual for him at all." [DigitalSpy via OhNoTheyDidn't]

Graydon Carter's Delicate Sensibilities Offended

Ryan Tate — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:57:00 EDT

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter blasts back at Clinton: "The responses from the former president and his camp are very saddening in their own ways. Characteristic, but nevertheless shocking." [Observer]
Released from jail, Tatum O'Neal goes straight to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. PR experts say the actress' career should be fine, if she acknowledges her mistake, for example by going to an AA meeting. [Post]
The New York City Landmarks Commission tells Robert De Niro that it would be a shame if something were to happen to the top floor of his pretty little hotel, seeing as how it's disrespecting the zoning code and all. The actor would like his extra floor legalized, because he's a wiseguy over here. [Rush & Molloy]
Sharon Bush, ex-wife of presidential brother Neil Bush, only snagged $30,000 per year in alimony and child support, and only for four years. She is planning a tell-all book about her ex-husband's philandering, but only once W. is out of office. Apparently she didn't want to, you know, embarrass the president at this critical, lame-duck juncture in his administration. [P6]
The one time you trade your royalties for a $2,300 flat fee, the movie becomes a hit. Writers don't win. [P6]
Eva Mendes will launch a Calvin Klein perfume in the building where Heath Ledger died. It's called "Secret Obsession." Wow. [P6]
Jay Leno will get to see lots of "gayest looks" at a group gay and lesbian wedding in West Hollywood. [E!]
Ethan Hawke applied for a license to marry his pregnant former nanny, from when he was married to Uma Thurman. [P6]
Jennifer Aniston's ex, model Paul Sculfor, is now dating John Mayer's ex, Cameron Diaz. Aniston and Mayer are, of course, dating one another, and also frequently reassuring themselves they are the prettier of the two couples. [Sun]

The Heath Ledger Portrait that Won Art Prize

Sheila — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:33:44 EDT

This painting of Heath Ledger, by Vincent Fantauzzo, was done weeks before the actor's death, at his family home in Australia. It just won the "People's Choice" award at the Archibald Prize Exhibition. [UPI]

World's Sanest Family Seeks New Thetan

Ryan Tate — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:11:24 EDT

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are supposedly in the market for another screamless Scientology birth. [E!]
Paris Hilton isn't engaged to singer Benji Madden, she's just wearing those two diamond bands on her ring finger in an effort to look extremely desperate. She also claimed, "I cook great lasagna," which pesumably involves toggling between 30, 50 and 100 percent power on the microwave when the Stouffer's is in there. [People]
Liv Tyler is separating from her husband Royston Langdon, a British musician. [People]
Defeated American Idol contestant Jason Castro on forgetting lyrics on camera: "I definitely did not do that on purpose." [ET]
Ashlee Simpson calls fellow singer Britney Spears a "trashy girl" on an excruciating celebrity talk show improbably run by Nokia. Also, apparently a "Britney Spears" is code for "a beer" in some parts of the world. [Sun]
That painting of actor Heath Ledger, for which he posed just prior to his death, won the people's choice award at the Archibald Prize Exhibition in Australia, where the painter lives. [People]

Heath Ledger and Mary-Kate Olsen: Separated at Birth

Richard — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:41:00 EDT

Look closely at the late Heath Ledger and the... uh... early? Mary-Kate Olsen (who was mysteriously involved in the speculation following the actor's death) and note their similar bone structure, the way their cheeks dip in, and the general hay-like appearance of their hair. (We realize that the sunglasses are obviously not the same pair.) Is there some sort of astral projection here? Has the spirit of Heath been imbued in this, our unsexiest Olsen? I mean, the connection would make sense. After all, she's already played a grumbling cowboy before. [Via eden]

Heath Ledger Dolls Selling Like Mad

Ryan Tate — Tue, 06 May 2008 06:59:04 EDT

So not only has Mattel released the world's most awkward figurine, depicting Heath Ledger's Joker in the forthcoming Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, but the creepy action figures are actually selling. Really, really well. Reports the Post: "Toy peddlers are laughing all the way to the bank with Heath Ledger's Joker doll selling out at New York stores. Droves of people lined up early at the Toys 'R' Us store in Times Square... 'There are none left in the warehouse, either.'" The $10 dolls are being re-sold on eBay. Get one for $55 with a Batman figurine! Put it in your morbid Heath Ledger apartment! [Post] (Joker image via Post)

Lies!

Richard — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:55:00 EDT

New York magazine's Vulture blargh smells a rat in Leon Wieseltier's "thoroughly entertaining" review of a Martin Amis book from yesterday's New York Times. In a strange non sequitur, Wieseltier wrote that formerly living actor Heath Ledger once said of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar (Ledger was also nominated that year for Butt Cowboys 3: Paul Haggis' Revenge): "I thought it was for the best acting, not the most acting." Funny and sort of accurate, but untrue! says Vulture. Conducting a thorough Google search, they were unable to find any mention of this Heath Ledger bon mot. Did Wieseltier make it up? Was it just a small, unconfirmed anecdote he picked up somewhere? Either way, Vulture doesn't like that Ledger's rep will now be sullied for saying a sort of mean thing once, years ago. When he was alive. [NYM]

Curse?

Hamilton Nolan — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:03:07 EDT

Healthwatch! Verne "Mini Me" Troyer has reportedly been "rushed to the hospital" with vaguely described flu-like symptoms. Troyer has been working on The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus, the same film that Heath Ledger was starring in at the time of his death. [Us]

This Is How We Market Apartments Now

Ryan Tate — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:53:32 EDT

Prewar building. Stainless-steel appliances. All-night pharmacy around the corner. Service staff have Mary-Kate Olsen's phone number memorized. Get all the details on this apartment, which all but reeks of celebrity death, in the glorious Craigslist ad after the jump.

[Craigslist]

Heath Ledger's Australian Love Child

Ryan Tate — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:40:46 EDT

Heath Ledger may have a love child in Australia, the late actor's uncle said, which would mean he has two children. Isn't that straight out of Lost? I mean, except for the part about Heath fathering the child while 17 and still in grammar school with a woman eight years older who already had a boyfriend. [Daily Telegraph via HollyScoop]
Cracked-out singer Amy Winehouse has been writing and playing songs for her next album even while battling addiction and her skin condition. Also, while her husband sits in jail. "It is very, very dark." [Sun]
Woops: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie did not get married in Vegas, as reported in Star. Perez Hiton described Star's retraction as "shoving their baby cock between their legs." Eeww. This is why I should never read Perez Hilton before trying to sleep. [Perez]
It sounds like Britney Spears did not end up presenting during the Kids' Choice Awards as rumored. Actor Orlando Bloom seemed less than thrilled to get slimed.
Kiefer Sutherland of 24 wants to direct a music video for British band "the Feeling." It's high time rock videos added some torture scenes. [Sun]

Death And Misery Sell

Ryan Tate — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:50:05 EDT

A big magazine industry report came out, and it turns out People magazine's top selling regular issue last year featured Owen Wilson on the cover just after his attempted suicide. People's biggest seller so far in 2008 was about Heath Ledger's death. The magazine's top sellers of all time were Sept. 12, 2001 and just after Princess Diana died. But death and misery do not rule completely:

First of all, the numbers for 2007 don't include special People issues like "Sexiest Man Alive."

Also, at the other celebrity magazines, lighter covers topped the sales rankings:

OK!... found a pending birth story on the pregnancy of teen tart Jamie Lynn Spears to be its top seller. The magazine hit newsstands at New Year's Eve and claimed sales of well more than 1 million copies...

Us Weekly's best issue was a surprise: Jessica Simpson's losing of 20 pounds in two months....

Star's best seller was the 36 best and worst beach bodies, while its worst was "Angelina Jolie Babies in Danger."

NY Post: DEATH REARS ITS PROFITABLE HEAD FOR CELEB MAGS

George Clooney Explains How Gay He Is, Exactly

Ryan Tate — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:22:20 EDT

Actor George Clooney Googled himself in front of Esquire and addressed the various rumors that popped up. On his alleged feud with Fabio: "There is a moment when you are actually in the argument and you're thinking, 'If I do get beaten down by Fabio, that will be far worse than the pain. I wouldn't shake that.'" On being called "gay, gay, gay:" "No, I'm gay, gay. The third gay – that was pushing it." [People]
At long last police and maybe the FBI are more concerned about a deranged fan hurting singer Britney Spears than about a deranged Spears hurting herself. A fan is sending sex toys, customized porn stories and a picture of himself with the eyes cut out and, in at least in one case, odd liquid squirting into his mouth. The letters maybe also had talk of bombs and the Middle East. And the only reason you're reading about this is that Spears hasn't gone on a crazy rampage and thus buried the news of her insane stalker. Yay?
Spears shouldn't worry too much about the crazy, since she has a cussy new bodyguard, seen here about to grope her.
Also, comedian Rosie O'Donnell made Spears one of those YouTube-esque fan mashups, with just the song "Calling you" by Patti Lupone and some still pictures of Britney. OMG, more of this, please, Rosie. [P6]
Someone not home with actress Heather Locklear called 911, worried she would commit suicide. When police arrived at her house, Locklear seemed fine so the emergency crews left. ShowbizSpy detailed her love life.
Heath Ledger left none of his assets to his daughter or her mom. [Sun]
Matt Damon and his wife Luciana are expecting another child. [Us]
An aggressive and determined Kimora Lee Simmons conceived another child for her Scientology army. Some guy was involved, but that seems beside the point.

Esquire Writes Heath Ledger's Fake Memoir

Nick Douglas — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:54:27 EST

What were the last moments of Heath Ledger's life like? Esquire doesn't have the exclusive! So their reporter Lisa Taddeo added a gimmick to her story about the actor's final days: She wrote her story in the first and second person as the late actor, using Chuck Palahniuk's dramatic narrative style (which is pretty close to Esquire's default). The magazine cleverly introduces the piece as "reported fiction," which means we don't get to know which details of Taddeo's piece are true. So why didn't she just invent the whole thing? That seems easier. [Photo: Getty]

Ryan Phillippe Can't Flee From His Own Good Looks

rebecca — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:52:31 EST

Ryan Phillippe is thinking of leaving L.A. He's tired of having the paparazzi following him and his family everywhere he goes. Mary-Louise Parker thinks the paparazzi culture is sick. And Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have opted to travel permanently rather than give the paparazzi a chance to wait outside their eco-friendly gates. But with the popularity of digital cameras and stalking celebrities, there's no escaping fame and having said fame photographed. And whiners complaining to major news outlets are complicit in a culture that has them photographed picking up trash.

The paparazzi aren't a monolithic hoard of photographers only based in southern California. All it takes is a digital camera and a disregard for human privacy to become a "celebrity photo journalist." An unflattering and unwanted photo can happen anywhere.

Last month, John Mayer took a break from his multiple residences in major American cities to take a vacation in the Caribbean. You know, just chill with his fellow quarter-life crisis friends and do poor imitations of Sasha Baron Cohen in a Borat bathing suit. But Erin Horgan, a fan with nothing to do but stalk John Mayer, flew out to the Caribbean to spy on her idol, snapped pictures of him in a thong and sold them to Newsweek and VH1.

Heath Ledger moved out to Brooklyn hoping to escape photographers, but his life in the outer borough was well-documented. The very presence of his and Michelle Williams's celebrity validated Brooklynites. In New York, we pretend not to care about seeing celebrities, but of course we do, very much. In a small town in Colorado, or wherever Phillippe is thinking of running away to, there's no pretense. People will really care that he's living there, especially considering he's discussed his possible flight with W magazine. And they really will take pictures of him and sell them off to photo agencies and news outlets.

It's just the price of fame. Or the price of fame with a good body.

Cops Looking At Docs In Heath Ledger Death

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:23:24 EST

Two doctors are being investigated by the feds in connection with actor and Soho resident Heath Ledger's death. The Daily News reports that one doctor in California and one in Texas supplied Ledger with Vicodin and Oxycontin, and the feds want to know if the whole deal was legal. Nothing has been established yet. The two painkillers were among the six drugs in Ledger's system when he died of an overdose in January. [NYDN]

Heath Ledger's Last Portrait

Ryan Tate — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 02:05:13 EST

"It was about how we all have different consciences and voices in our head that tell us what to do and how to react. They're not good or bad, they're just voices that we hear, telling us how to behave. That's what the other figures are in the painting." [Page Six]

Replacements

Hamilton Nolan — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:58:45 EST

Deceased Soho resident Heath Ledger will be replaced by three separate actors—Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell— in his unfinished final role in "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." [Ain't It Cool News]

Mattel Releases World's Most Awkward Figurine

Nick Douglas — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:59:52 EST

It's no big deal for Mattel to release a toy that just happens to look like a recently deceased actor in conjunction with a popular action flick, especially when the family approves. But imagine you've somehow gone home with a comic book nerd, and he shows you his "collection." What is the one possible way he could further creep you out?

Faces of Death

Richard — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:29:28 EST

No one ever said the paparazzi were tasteful (far from it!), but sometimes they still manage to surprise us with their indelicate lensing. Like the photos of Michelle Williams that are floating around today. The images show Williams, who had a relationship (and a child) with now deceased actor Heath Ledger, walking past, get this!, a skeleton. The fake set of bones is being used in a film shoot or something. OMG, because her ex-boyfriend just died! Poetry! If you're curious about what sadness looks like, a photo lies after the jump.

[Image via Splash]

Touching Tributes

Richard — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:56:56 EST

As you may or may not have heard, Heath Ledger, the celebrated young actor who died unexpectedly last month, was memorialized this weekend in Australia with a hideous beach blanket bingo party. The wacky weirdos who celebrated his life by diving, fully clothed, into the sea he so loved are definitely tapped in the head. Bizarro! [Daily Mail]

Greedy Britney Refuses To Feed Her Flesh To Hungry Tabloids

Ryan Tate — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:28:07 EST

Probably panicked that Britney Spears might, through some miracle, actually become a sober functioning human being, the paparazzi started heckling her and her parents, literally making high-pitched jungle animal noises. Some editors thought the paps were infiltrated by actual Crip and Blood gang members, as if that could somehow be worse than their actual behavior.
With nothing but scraps from the paparazzi, the tabloids became desperate. One UK paper decided, based on looking at a picture of Spears' shirt, that she wasn't wearing a bra and thus was "back to her old tricks." Another saw a picture of Spears' dad carrying a pink wig and decided he was "confiscating" it as part of an image makeover.
Heath Ledger joke rolled out by Artie Lange in Vegas: "I'm not happy [Ledger] died, but I'll finally get all the roles I was losing to Heath. 'Brokeback Mountain.' I had a great audition. I [bleep]ed the [bleep] out of Jake Gyllenhaal." [NYP]
Scarlett Johansson is now dating Alanis Morissette's ex, but it looked like she wouldn't have his baby. Unclear what she'd do to him in a theater. [NYP]
Jay-Z will not hold your hand in front of his girlfriend, even for a stupid Grammy you earned with him. [ShowbizSpy]
Daily News described horror scene at Fashion Week portable toilets, decided not to go with obvious bulimia jokes.
Very pregnant Halle Berry even more beautiful and perfect. [TMZ]
Whitney Houston emerged, apparently sane. [TMZ]
Paris Hilton's movie was seen by roughly 10 people per theater on its entire opening night. That's a real statistic. [TMZ]
Lenny Kravitz "almost" became a farmer after four months on a Brazilian farm. For some reason he decided to remain a celebrity and also buy an iPhone. [ShowbizSpy]
Paul McCartney tells his ex wife he lost $6 million on his world tour. [Gatecrasher]

Heath Ledger, Britney Spears Teach Money Lessons On Awful New Site

Ryan Tate — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:42:25 EST

It sounds too ludicrous to be true, but unfortunately it is very real: financial news publisher TheStreet.com just launched a site that takes tabloid celebrity stories, gets your attention, and then segues into financial advice. The front page of the site, at MainStreet.com, recently included stories ostensibly about Shaquille O'Neal, Tom Cruise and Jason Biggs, but really about rolling over your 401(k), saving money on a motorcycle and buying a wedding ring. TheStreet.com cofounder Jim Cramer may have developed a taste for a large audience at his popular CNBC call-in show Mad Money, but this hardly the way to build one. The warmed-over celebrity news will not draw gossip hounds, while the financial advice would be better off on its own, for easy Googling when you need that sort of information. After the jump, how the site treated Heath Ledger's death, and other insane excerpts from this misguided mashup.

On Ledger:

Ledger, 28, died in his New York apartment January 22. A medical examiner ruled his death an accidental overdose of six prescription drugs identified by their generic names: oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, commonly known as Valium (RHHBY.PK), temazepam, alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax (PFE), and doxylamine. “Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication,” his father, Kim, said in a statement. On February 2, Hollywood friends of Ledger including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Sienna Miller and Ellen DeGeneres gathered at the Sony Lot for a private memorial service.

An unexpected tragedy is difficult to recover from emotionally, but some advance planning can make it easier to pay for financially. “Most funerals are unplanned and take place within a week or shortly after death,” says Sarah Orr funeral director of Adams Funeral Home in Ozark, Missouri, who says funerals can run as high as $13,000 or more.

One of the best ways to financially prepare for your funeral is to start a fund for a pre-arranged funeral. The pre-arrangement is set up at the funeral home...

On Spears:

Yesterday Britney Spears left the UCLA Medical Center psychiatric ward where she has spent the past week...

One banned visitor is Spears’ longtime companion and manager, Sam Lufti whom Spear’s mother Lynne accused, in a successful restraining order request, of drugging her daughter with up to “10 pills a day,” including the anti-psychotic medications Seroquel (AZN) and Risperdal (JNJ)...

You might not be planning for a trip to the psych ward, but what if an unforeseen health-related emergency, such a stroke, rendered you temporarily incapacitated? Who would make your medical and financial decisions? If a medical catastrophe strikes, you should be armed with a medical directive that will help dictate ...

On maroon-mystery TV show Lost:

Writers-strike weary TV viewers looking for new scripted programming found "Lost" last night on ABC (DIS). More than 16 million fans tuned into the season four premiere, which returned after an eight month hiatus. The hit drama follows the fortunes of air plane crash survivors on a remote and mysterious island. The ratings-topping season opener was packed with tears, gun shots, double-crosses, cryptic messages and flash forwards. Overall, the future looks bleak for the “Oceanic Six” – of which we know three to be Hurley, Jack and Kate – who eventually return to civilization. In typical “Lost” fashion, the audience was left with more questions about survivors’ fate than answers.

If being trapped on a strange island doesn’t sound like your version of paradise, it might be time to consider trip insurance before planning your spring break. Most people only think they’ll need trip insurance in case their flights get cancelled or their luggage disappears. But if you’re planning an exotic family trip, or just a long ski weekend, thinking about emergency medical insurance makes sense...

[MainStreet.com, Silicon Alley Insider]

Bob Schieffer Sings: "I Ain't Some Brokeback Mountain Dude"

Maggie — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:01:40 EST

Take a listen to this original clip of former CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer crooning Honky Tonk Confidential's "How I Became An Anchorman," a version of which he sang for Viacom boss Sumner Redstone last week. This recording has Schieffer's original line.Rebuffing the advances of a gas-station customer, Schieffer warbles, "I said, excuse me, bud, but before you intrude, I ain't some Brokeback Mountain dude, my kind of cowboys live in Lonesome Dove.”

The line was changed after Heath Ledger's inconvenient death, so as not to appear, you know, callous or whatever. Because it was the death of the film's actor that made that particular line insensitive.

Rent Heath Ledger's Flat

Ryan Tate — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:46:18 EST

At close to $25,000 per month, the landlord is ready to move on after two whole weeks. Broker: "As ghoulish as it sounds, people will rent that place in a heartbeat, especially when the vacancy rate is below one per cent." [UK Sun]

The Drugs That Killed Heath Ledger

Pareene — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:58:44 EST

Hey, everyone remember how Heath Ledger did all that cocaine and heroin at Hollywood "Drug Parties"? And how it killed him? Turns out, he was killed by legal drugs—perhaps ones given to him by doctors! The establishment killed him! Not, shockingly, all that deadly Mary Jane. No, the pills that did Ledger in are a bit more respectable, and all quite familiar to your standard self-diagnosing doctor-shopping members of the creative under- and over-classes.

As we've helpfully pointed out, it's remarkably easy to accidentally kill yourself with popular prescriptions. In Ledger's case, it was painkiller OxyContin, anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, a couple sleep aids, and Vicodin. You probably know people with most of that cocktail in their medicine cabinets (or purses) right now.

Isn't this a handy riposte to your average thinking person's argument for the decriminalization of "street drugs"? Taxation, regulation, and government oversight is supposed to make everything safer—but when you add in a large degree of disposable income, a depressive personality, and the lobbying power of the pharmaceutical industry, death's just as likely to be found at Duane Reade as on some theoretical dark streetcorner.

So... is Tom Cruise right? Would Scientologist Heath Ledger still be with us, healthy and drug-free? Discuss. Or just call us craven exploitative gossip-mongering leeches.

Heath Ledger Died of an Accidental Overdose

Pareene — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:30:19 EST

The New York medical examiner's office declared today that actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of anti-anxiety drugs and sleep aids. Autopsy and toxicology results find that Ledger wasn't under the influence of illegal substances at the time of his death at his SoHo apartment on January 22nd. "The medical examiner released results of the toxicology report Wednesday, saying Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine." [WNBC]

Brave Britney Spears Nearly Forgotten Amid Your Stupid Election Or Whatever

Ryan Tate — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:02:12 EST

Britney Spears is in a padded room, deemed by a court-appointed lawyer too crazy to understand her own case, but the judge wants to check with a doctor to be extra sure she's mentally unfit because apparently he doesn't have access to television, print media, the Internet, radio or anyone who has consumed any news whatsoever at any point in the past two years.
For the two weeks Spears is in the hospital, her dad retains control of her lawyers, medical situation and fast-dwindling supply of money, but she's bravely fighting to put all that in the hands of this buddy of her hanger-on who can't contact her due to a perfectly innocent restraining order.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Aniston heroically endures Angelina Jolie's pregnancy by Brad Pitt, even though Jolie is clearly trying to humiliate her though brazen fertility. [ShowbizSpy]
Married Daniel Baldwin is "inappropriate" with an adult film star, checks out of rehab, and Dr. Drew is the only one especially worried about all this. [ET]
People Magazine travels to Australia to discover the shocking truth: Heath "Ledger's father Kim and other relatives appeared solemn and tired" after burying their son and taking a 20-hour flight home. [People]
Paris Hilton going on The L Word, doesn't know "what kind of character I'll be playing" since her dramatic range allows for so many options. [Parade via GaySocialites]
Ashton Kutcher and Bruce Willis have a weird relationship. Surprising. [P6]

Drug Videos And Paparazzi Part Of The Solution, Not The Problem

Ryan Tate — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:24:18 EST

"I am convinced that if [Heath Ledger's] heart-wrenching video had aired, it would have gotten through and had a positive effect on young people in America. Perhaps it could have even saved lives." Also: "Had TMZ not videotaped [Britney Spears'] high-speed driving antics, her erratic mood swings, her British accent, those kids might still be riding around with her — and probably not in child-safety seats. And she might not be in UCLA Medical Center right now, with her parents around her, finally getting the medical help she desperately needs. [LA Times]

The Business of Death

Sheila — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:53:42 EST

"I saw the worst play of all time," today's Cindy Adams column begins in the NYP. She waits until halfway through to drop the real bomb: photos of Heath Ledger's body may be out there—and up for sale. What else have the vultures been trying to cash in on?

1. Supposedly, just supposedly, his body was snapped, and $300,000 is the price on that photo. Stories floating around have the fuzz checking building personnel, 911 people, the bodyguard, masseuse, that maybe an old arrest for one of them turned up. [NYP]

2. Then there's the cocaine video that E! bought but didn't fully air—there's $200,000 down the drain).

3. They're still not stopping production on his final, uncompleted movie. Computers will save the day!

4. As the AP's entertainment editor Jesse Washington reminds us, "If we wait an hour to have a really good obituary for someone like Heath Ledger, we're totally out of the game. And that's not a place that I ever want to be." Yeah, you gotta be in it to win it, man.

5. Naturally, there are some pretty trashy memorial t-shirts on Ebay. They will wring $12 out of this tragedy even if they have to stay up all night silkscreening his photos onto an XXL Fruit of the Loom.

Ledger Reporter Snorts Lede

Richard Lawson — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:18:05 EST

When a reporter spilled the beans that he had participated in drug use with Heath Ledger (and had even been the one to contact a dealer to buy more sweet, sweet substance) his magazine dropped the story it was going to run about the deceased gay cowboy's drug use. Quel scandal! Which magazine do YOU think it was? [FishbowlNY] (Originally from Popbitch so the mag could be British.)

Shock Video Of Dead Star Doing Drugs At Party

Nick Denton — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:01:00 EST

So quite how shocking is tape of dead actor, Heath Ledger, taking drugs at a party at Chateau Marmont? From the promo clips broadcast last night on The Insider and shown here, not that much. The revelation would be a party at the eternally fashionable Hollywood hotel at which celebrities weren't on something. The tape isn't worth $200,000, even if The Insider were to go ahead with the full broadcast. The closest thing to a money shot is someone (the actor?) leaning down to snort cocaine from a table. But most of the video consists of images of John Belushi, to underline the point that celebrity and drugs can be a fatal combination, talking heads to ensure the viewer is as shocked as she should be, and Ledger wandering the room in dreamy slow-motion. My unthinking reaction: even in blurry amateur video, the Australian actor looked good. But that's the amoral coastal cosmopolitan talking.

'ET,' 'Insider' Back Out Of Playing Heath Ledger Drug Video

Pareene — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:52:26 EST

A "shocking video" of Heath Ledger "snorting what appear to be drugs off a table" at noted Hollywood drug haven the Chateau Marmont has "surfaced." Entertainment Tonight bought it for $200,000, teased it, then backed away from playing it. Same with The Insider. Not, according to the Daily News, the case with Australia's Channel 9, which will play the tape tonight. Expect to be shocked! Shocked to see an actor attend a party, after an awards show (2006 SAG Awards), and snort a line of coke! Ledger expresses "remorse" at his life of habitual drug-taking, saying he used to smoke a lot of weed. "'I'm going to get serious s—t from my girlfriend,' Ledger tells his companions. 'We just had a baby three months ago.'" Does this seriously sound like a man in the grip of, according to today's Post, a major drug habit?

Though to be fair, Ledger had another two years to get to the point Page Six puts him at: addicted to heroin, disappearing for days at a time, finally kicked out of his home by Michelle Williams. So maybe—maybe!—this video shows Ledger's first terrible step toward eventual junkiedom, falling off the wagon and never looking back.

Or maybe it's just a dude doing coke at a party.

Or maybe it's so hard to tell how genuinely self-destructive our favorite stars are because of a celebrity media that treats each and every episode of recreational anything or public intoxication as immediate grounds for emergency rehabilitation while never quite reporting realistically on what they all know about the seriousness and extent of drug use, illegal or otherwise.