Michelle Williams has dismissed reports she is snubbing the premiere of The Dark Knight because of a bust-up with her late boyfriend Heath Ledger’s parents.

Reports suggest Williams wouldn’t attend the screening of Ledger’s last complete film, because she is angry with Ledger’s father Kim’s handling of the actor’s estate.

But her representative Mara Buxbaum insists the claim is “absurd”.

She tells People.com, “The presumption that Michelle ever intended to attend The Dark Knight premiere is unfounded, but to say she is ‘boycotting’ due to a rift with Heath’s family is absurd. It is time to allow this family to go about their lives without this continued scrutiny and speculation.”

Ledger’s parents and sister will jet to New York from their home in Australia to attend the premiere on July 14th – six months after Ledger took a fatal overdose of prescription drugs at his Manhattan home.

Source

WENN

Heath Ledger’s former girlfriend Michelle Williams is snubbing the premiere of his final complete film, after reportedly falling out with the actor’s family over her daughter’s inheritance.

The actor’s family is scheduled to make the trip from Australia back to New York – where the star died from an accidental overdose in January – for the screening of Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight on July 14th.

But Williams, the mother of his two year old daughter Matilda, won’t be with them, according to the New York Post.

The newspaper claims Williams has fallen out with Ledger’s father Kim, who is the executor of the late actor’s estate.

A source tells the newspaper, “Michelle is furious with Heath’s family and threatening to boycott the premiere. Matilda is supposed to be the beneficiary of the will, but Michelle has seen nothing from them. Heath didn’t have much in cash, but there was a big house in LA and a back-end deal for ‘Dark Knight’ (that) could reap millions.”

Ledger left just $145,000 when he died, but recent reports claimed he created a trust for his daughter that includes a $3.1 million home in Los Angeles, a $2 million property nearby and a duplex in Brooklyn, New York – currently valued at $4.5 million.

Source

WENN

A heart symbol tragic Heath Ledger scribbled on a letter to director Terry Gilliam’s daughter Holly has been turned into a tribute tattoo by the cast and crew of his final film.

Gilliam brought the letter to the set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus shortly after the Aussie actor died of an accidental overdose in January. Ledger was shooting the fantasy film when he passed away.

And Mini-Me Verne Troyer and select castmates decided to get Ledger’s heart symbol duplicated and turned into a tattoo.

Troyer, who wears his heart on his right hand, says, “A lot of us went and copied that heart and had it tattooed in remembrance to Heath. We had it copied identical to how he scribbled it.”

He reveals one of the people who chose to honor Ledger with the tattoo was the recipient of his heartfelt letter, Gilliam’s daughter.

Source

Sienna Miller has a special way of remembering her late pal Heath Ledger – she wears a pair of pajamas the actor once gave to her.

The British beauty starred opposite Ledger in 2005’s Casanova and the pair became close, socializing with each other after the film had wrapped.

And Ledger gave Miller the comfortable bedwear when she got soaked after falling in the rain after a night out with him and her mother in Venice.

She tells Britain’s Telegraph magazine, “Heath and I had this amazing night out in Venice with my mother. It had been pouring with rain. Heath ran out in the middle of St. Mark’s square and we were running around, and I slipped over.

“We all ran back to his (apartment) and he gave me these dry pajamas to get home in.”

And the star repaid the favor two years later, when the Brokeback Mountain star struggled to sleep while staying at her house.

She explains, “When he came over to my house last November, and he was having trouble sleeping, I gave them back, to help him sleep.”

Ledger, who was found dead at his New York apartment in January, was said to have struggled with sleeping, which led him to overdose on the prescribed medication which killed him.

And Miller was so devastated after hearing about Ledger’s death earlier this year, she asked his father Kim to send the pyjamas to her so she would have a keepsake to remember him by.

She adds, “When he died, I was so sad that I didn’t have these stupid pajamas anymore, so his father found them to give to me.”

Source

WENN

Maggie Gyllenhaal has hit out at the media for their reporting tactics after the death of fellow actor Heath Ledger – branding the industry “disrespectful”.

The Secretary star blasted journalists for their style of reporting after the tragic death of the Australian actor, insisting she was “shocked” by the way they tackled the sensitive issue.

Gyllenhaal starred opposite Ledger in his final full film, The Dark Knight, in which he stars as Batman’s nemesis, The Joker.

And the actress – whose brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, featured alongside Ledger in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain – reveals her co-star and friend’s untimely death has taken its toll on her.

She tells Britain’s Empire magazine, “It’s hard to talk about how it’s (Ledger’s death) affected me personally. It’s been really hard for me.” (And) the media has shocked me with the way that they’ve been disrespectful in some ways.”

Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment in January. Toxicology reports released a month later state he was killed by an accidental overdose of prescribed medication.

Source

WENN

It’s been five months since Heath Ledger’s shocking death at age 28. But the young actor was still very much on the minds of his colleagues at Thursday night’s Australians in Film 2008 Breakthrough Awards in Beverly Hills.

The emotional highlight of the evening came when Gregor Jordan – who became good friends with Ledger after directing him in 1999’s Two Hands – announced the formation of a Heath Ledger scholarship fund to help struggling Australian actors.

Long before the success of Brokeback Mountain, the director recalled, Ledger was just “your old, broke Aussie actor.” Once, things got so bad, in fact, Jordan said he had to loan his friend a few hundred bucks.

“The first thing he does with the money is go into a bar and buy everyone … a round of drinks,” remembered Jordan, who also worked with Ledger on Ned Kelly. “It is that generosity that somehow sums Heath up. When he had nothing, he still found a way to give to others.”

A Generous Heart
While details of the scholarship are still “a little sketchy,” Jordan admitted, the plan is to select one young Australian actor each year and give him or her the chance to “crack it” in Hollywood. (The first scholarship is due to be awarded in 2009.)

“It’s going to involve a number of benefactors and there’s been a lot of interest already,” the director explained. His voice cracking with emotion, he added: “I was talking to Michelle Williams, his partner and the mother of his child, today and Michelle has said she would be very proud and happy to be the first benefactor.”

At that pronouncement, the crowd erupted in loud applause.

Although Ledger’s father, Kim, could not attend, he did ask for a letter to be read aloud. “We know that Heath would be proud of his attachment to this scholarship,” wrote the surviving Ledger. “[It] does what Heath has done personally during the last 10 years …, [supporting] Australian actors, singers, directors or writers who seek to supply their talents to the U.S.A.”

One of the night’s honorees, Abbie Cornish, also paid tribute to Ledger, her costar in 2006’s Candy. “Heath’s a magical guy,” she told People. “Really incredible in every way – as a human being and as an artist.”

Source

WENN

After nearly five months, Mary-Kate Olsen still refuses to speak about the fact that she was the first person called after Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” Olsen, who turns 22 on June 13, tells Elle in its July issue. “I won’t give you a word about that in the nicest way possible. Let’s move on.”

The actress, who said in a statement last January that “Heath was a “friend” and “his death is a tragic loss,” also keeps mum about being a celebrity.

“It’s not a part of my life. It’s a media perception of who I am,” she tells the magazine. “It’s very weird. I mean, if I see a paparazzi shot of me walking that’s in a magazine or something at some event, it’s as if I see it from an outsider’s point of view. There’s like a character, almost, and then there’s me.”

Source

WENN