HEATH LEDGER DIES

[MattBrady]

Updated: 01.23.08 5:17 amEST According to Variety, Heath Ledger’s death will not affect the release of The Dark Knight, as the actor had completed his post-production work on the film. Ledge’s death may affect the film’s marketing campaign, which was scheduled to begin shortly – as the trade reports the first phase of the marketing is based upon the Joker, complete with images described as ghoulish.

From Variety:

The “Dark Knight” rollout will present more than a few challenges en route to opening weekend. One poster shows the Joker character drawing a clown’s smile on a mirror with red lipstick and scrawling the words, “Why So Serious?” Tagline was also used to launch a Joker-centric website that the studio used to bow new photos from the pic and a viral scavenger hunt, among other games.

“The Joker character is dealing with chaos and life and death and a lot of dark themes,” one insider with knowledge of the campaign said. “Everyone is going to interpret every line out of his mouth in a different way now.”

“The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news,” Alan Horn, president-COO, Warner Bros. & Jeff Robinov, president, Warner Bros. Pictures Group told Variety. “Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person.”

Updated 7:50pm EST:

NEW YORK (AP) _ Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday in a Manhattan apartment, naked in bed with prescription sleeping pills nearby, police said. The Australian-born actor was 28.

There was no obvious indication of suicide, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the SoHo apartment that is believed to be the home of the ``Brokeback Mountain'' actor, Browne said. The massage therapist and a housekeeper found his naked body in the bed at about 3:30 p.m. They tried to revive him, but he was already dead.

Paparazzi and gawkers gathered outside, and several police officers put up barricades to control the crowd of about 300. Onlookers craned their necks as officers brought out a black body bag on a gurney, took it across the sidewalk and put it into a white medical examiner's office van.

As the door opened, bystanders snapped pictures with camera phones, rolled video, and said, ``He's coming out!''

An autopsy was planned for Wednesday, medical examiner's office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.

While not a marquee movie star, Ledger was an award-winning actor who chose his roles carefully rather than cashing in on big-money parts. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in ``Brokeback Mountain,'' where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, now 2-year-old Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

It was a shocking and unforeseen conclusion for one of Hollywood's bright young stars. Though his leading man looks propelled him to early stardom in films like ``10 Things I Hate About You'' and ``A Knight's Tale,'' his career took a notable turn toward dramatic and brooding roles with 2001's ``Monster's Ball.''

``I had such great hope for him,'' said Mel Gibson, who played Ledger's vengeful father in ``The Patriot,'' in a statement. ``He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss.''

Ledger eschewed Hollywood glitz in favor of a bohemian life in Brooklyn, where he was one of the borough's most famous residents. ``Brokeback'' would be his breakthrough role, establishing him as one of his generation's finest talents and an actor willing to take risks.

Ledger began to gravitate more toward independent fare, including Lasse Hallstrom's ``Casanova'' and Terry Gilliam's ``The Brothers Grimm,'' both released in 2005. His 2006 film ``Candy'' now seems destined to have an especially haunting quality: In a particularly realistic performance, Ledger played a poet wrestling with a heroin addiction along with his girlfriend, played by Abbie Cornish.

But Ledger's most recent choices were arguably the boldest yet: He costarred in ``I'm Not There,'' in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan _ as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress.

And in what may be his final finished performance, Ledger proved that he wouldn't be intimidated by taking on a character as iconic as Jack Nicholson's Joker. Ledger's version of the ``Batman'' villain, glimpsed in early teaser trailers, made it clear that his Joker would be more depraved and dark.

Curiosity about Ledger's final performance will likely stoke further interest in the summer blockbuster. ``Dark Knight'' director Christopher Nolan said earlier this month that Ledger's Joker would be wildly different from Nicholson's.

``It was a very great challenge for Heath,'' Nolan said. ``He's extremely original, extremely frightening, tremendously edgy. A very young character, a very anarchic presence that taps into a lot of our basic fears and panic.''

Ledger told The New York Times in a November interview that he ``stressed out a little too much'' during the Dylan film, and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he called a ``psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.''

``Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,'' Ledger told the newspaper. ``I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.'' He said he took two Ambien pills, which only worked for an hour, the paper said.

Ledger was a widely recognized figure in his Manhattan neighborhood, where he used to shop at a home and children's store. Michelle Vella, an employee there, said she had frequently seen Ledger with his daughter _ carrying the toddler on his shoulders, or having ice cream with her.

``It's so sad. They were really close,'' said Vella. ``He's a very down-to-earth guy and an amazing father.''

Before settling down with Williams, Ledger had relationships with actresses Heather Graham and Naomi Watts. He met Watts while working on ``The Lords of Dogtown,'' a fictionalized version of a cult classic skateboarding documentary, in 2004.

Ledger was born in 1979 in Perth, in western Australia, to a mining engineer and a French teacher, and got his first acting role playing Peter Pan at age 10 at a local theater company. He began acting in independent films as a 16-year-old in Sydney and played a cyclist hoping to land a spot on an Olympic team in a 1996 television show, ``Seat.''

After several independent films, Ledger moved to Los Angeles at age 19 and costarred opposite Julia Stiles in ``10 Things I Hate About You.'' Offers for other teen flicks soon came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.

``It wasn't a hard decision for me,'' Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. ``It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, `You're crazy,' my parents were like, `Come on, you have to eat.'''

Original article: According to TMZ.com actor Heath Ledger, who was currently playing the Joker in the upcoming sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight was found dead this afternoon in one of his residences in Soho at 3:35 PM EST.

The 28 year old actor had been receiving acclaim from both director Christopher Nolan and his fellow actors on the set for his portrayal of the twisted criminal of the Batman mythos. Earlier this month, Nolan told the LA Times, "The Joker, he sort of cuts through the film -- he's got no story arc, he's just a force of nature tearing through. Heath has given an amazing performance in the role, it's really extraordinary."

The Dark Knight completed principle photography in the latter part of last year, and is currently in post-production.

According to TMZ, the police do not suspect foul play.

As reported by The New York Times, and MSNBC, pills were found near his body. Ledger was in the midst of filming The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus.

[wordballoon]

Holy ____ (no pun intended.)

[RickinToronto]

How sad. My Brokeback hero has passed away. I can't believe it.

[emerald archer]

I am stunned, I am just so stunned.............

[GuitarSmashley]

This is awful.

[Jamal Y. Igle]

HOLY SH!T!!!!!!

[Sims]

HOLY CRAP!

[Sean Walsh]

Been a long while since I screamed "HOLY F-word" at a computer screen, but dammit I just did.

RIP Heath.

[JohnShil]

Too soon. He was doing great stuff.

[Psivage]

Sad, sad news. This one shocks me. Great sympathies to his family and friends.

[Shadowarrow]

That stinks. I was excited to see him in Dark Knight, all and all he was a great actor.

[Simple Simon]

Good Lord!

[Jeremy288]

Omygoodness......I can't believe this has happened. I hope his daughter is alright and his family. I can't believe this has happened..it couldn't have been suicide right? He had good things going for him.... hopefully it wasn't...

[Will J.]

Jesus. I never saw this coming.

Condolences to his family and friends.

[1genxer]

What a shame

[HartyPotter]

Wow. This is not something I was expecting.

[michaelman9]

That really sucks. It's still a bit shocking when younger people die.

[guitargod694]

That's a damn shame. Condolences to his family and friends.

[1genxer]

Originally Posted by Jeremy288

Omygoodness......I can't believe this has happened. I hope his daughter is alright and his family. I can't believe this has happened..it couldn't have been suicide right? He had good things going for him.... hopefully it wasn't...

He just separated from his girlfriend. His house keeper found him, and it is looking that way. At least according to the AP.

[Bungle]

No way.

Seriously, what the f***?

[math]

There are few things that make me go "Oh my God!"this is one...
too soon..just too damn soon!

[Hobowatcher]

Whoobbaa...buh..buh...WHAT?! That is competely unexpected. I am STUNNED. He seemed healthy and surprisingly with it. Damn. My condolences to his family and friends.

Has he completed all of his scenes?

[djcoffman]

This is really sad. Great actor, going to make a great joker. What could have been?

Anyone else get the weird "Crow" movie feeling after this sunk in? I think it's going to make watching the new Batman movie kinda sad, or eerie.

[SmileOnADog]

First Brad Renfro and now Heath. WTF? What is going on in "Young Hollywood"? It sounds horrible but I would expect to hear about someone like Britany Spears and not be surprised but this...what a shock.

[DuncanHines]

Really? I mean.... Really? No effing way, man. Too soon to Dark Knight...


Really?