by Shannonn Kelly
Its been confirmed that the death of Brad Renfro was caused by accidental “acute heroin/morphine intoxication” According to a spokesperson for Los Angeles County Coroner’s office. Renfro had injected himself with the lethal dose hours before he was found dead in his home on January 15, 2008.
Friends who came to visit him in his Los Angeles home found Renfro dead. They may have been the same friends partying hard with Renfro from the night before, but nothing has been confirmed. Continue reading »

written by RHIFF

By Shannonn Kelly

I’ve decided to stay with articles that focus on Heath in a postive light where we learn about him as a person, father and actor.

Below is an introduction by New York Times writer Sarah Lyall and a link to the interview at Heath’s London UK Home, while shooting The Dark Knight.  The New York Times File Photo

The Patriot (2000)   Brokeback Mountain (2005)

A fan lights a candle for actor Heath Ledger outside New York apartment

Photo by Gary He, Associated Press

Thursday,  January 24, 2008 3:23 AM
By Sarah Lyall
The New York Times

In what turned out to be one of his last interviews, actor Heath Ledger spoke to The New York Times shortly before the release of the film I’m Not There in November. This profile proved to be prophetic. Describing Ledger, Todd Haynes, the director of I’m Not There , said, “Heath has a little bit of James Dean in him.” In light of Ledger’s death Tuesday of an apparent drug overdose, the story offers an intimate — and ultimately final — glimpse at one of the world’s finest young actors.

To Read the interview click here.

written by RHIFF

by Shannonn Kelly

A deeply saddened Ang Lee speaks about his feelings on Heath Ledger and his unexpected death Tuesday January 22, 2008.

Heath Ledger’s death is ”heartbreaking” says director Ang Lee. In a statement relased to People.com, Lee says, “Working with Heath was one of the purest joys of my life.”

Many remember not only the stirring score but the unforgettable performance from Ledger as the aloof and tormented gay cowboy Ennis Del Mar in the critically acclaimed drama, “Brokeback Mountain”, co-starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

Ledger was singled out for an Academy Award © nomination in 2005 for his performance. Lee describes Ledger’s performance as “miraculous”.

As many entertainment writers can attest, Ang Lee has always spoken admiringly of Ledger, often comparing him to a young Marlon Brando, describing the “Brokeback” performance as “miraculous.” “I think it’s not only remarkable, it’s almost like a miracle,” Lee said.

In the statement to people.com Lee goes on to say, “Heath brought to the role of Ennis (Del Mar) more than any of us could have imagined — a thirst for life, for love, and for truth, and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him.”…

written by RHIFF

by Shannonn Kelly 

I’m still in shock about my reporting yesterday on the death of Heath Ledger. It’s not because I thought he was sexy or a Hollywood hunk. I don’t really have crushes on so called ‘movie stars’. I just felt incredibly sad at the news of this bright actor’s death.

I was following his film career quite closely since I came across him in the delightful 2001 A Knight’s Tale” opposite Paul Bettany.

Almost 24 hours have passed and I still am having difficulty writing anything. The reports are all over the media speculating about his death and its cause.

What I will report is that Michelle Williams, Ledger’s ex-fiancée and their two year old daughter Matilda flew from a Swedish film set to their Brooklyn home following the tragic news.

“You can’t begin to imagine the state she’s in,” an executive on the film told the Mail Online.

Larry Williams, Michelle’s father is reported to have said: “It has just broken everybody’s heart in my family. I think Tennyson got it right in the poem he described someone as having died at a young age but burning the candles at both ends. And oh what a beautiful flame he made. That was Heath.”

He also said Ledger was devoted to their daughter Matilda. And it’s true; you can see it in all the pictures of them together.

Instead of supplying links to articles full of speculation and gruesome pictures of Heath’s lifeless body on a stretcher, being wheeled into an ambulance, I thought I’d share with you a couple of sweet pictures of Matilda when she was a baby and her in a recent photo being cuddled by Heath Ledger, the bright star that is her father…

written by RHIFF

by Shannonn Kelly

Tuesday January 22, 5:30PM EST

“Heath Ledger was found dead at 3:26 pm”, a police spokesperson said, saying he was found in an apartment in the Soho district of New York City. “We don’t know the cause of the death.”

The entertainment website TMZ said Heath was discovered “face down on the floor” adding that “law enforcement sources … believe it was not a crime.”

Even though there were prescription drugs found, Ledger’s family has said Heath’s death is not suicide. To read more on this tragic story please click here.

written by RHIFF

by Shannonn Kelly 

The 80th Annual Academy Award® nominations were announced this morning, Tuesday January 22,  around 6:00 AM in Los Angeles.

The complete list of  nominees are listed below.  For a printable Academy Nominee Ballot for your Oscar® Party click here.

Click on the Category links to get bios and Oscar history tidbits. And now—the Nomineees…
 

1. Best Picture: “No Country for Old Men”, “Atonement”, “Juno”, “Michael Clayton”, “There Will Be Blood.”
 

2. Best Actor: George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”; Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”; Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”; Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”
 

3. Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie Christie, “Away From Her”; Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”; Laura Linney, “The Savages”; Ellen Page, “Juno.”
 

4. Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”; Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”; Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”; Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”
 

5. Best Supporting Actress: Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”; Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”; Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”; Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”; Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton.”
 

6. Best Director: Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”; Jason Reitman, “Juno”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
 

7. Best Foreign Film: “Beaufort,” Israel; “The Counterfeiters,” Austria; “Katyn,” Poland; “Mongol,” Kazakhstan; “12,” Russia
 

8. Best Adapted Screenplay: Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”; Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”; Sarah Polley, “Away from Her”;  Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”

9. Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, “Juno”; Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl”; Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”; Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, “Ratatouille”; Tamara Jenkins, “The Savages”

10. Best Animated Feature Film: “Persepolis”; “Ratatouille”; “Surf’s Up”
 

11. Best Art Direction: “American Gangster,” “Atonement,” “The Golden Compass,” “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “There Will Be Blood”

12. Best Cinematography: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” “Atonement,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood”

13. Best Sound Mixing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Ratatouille,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Transformers”

14. Best Sound Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Ratatouille,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Transformers”

15. Best Original Score:  ”Ratatouille,” Michael Giacchino; “Atonement,” Dario Marianelli; “The Kite Runner,” Alberto Iglesias; “Michael Clayton,” James Newton Howard;”3:10 to Yuma,” Marco Beltrami

16. Best Original Song:  ”Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; “Falling Slowly” from “Once,” Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova;”Raise It Up” from “August Rush,” Nominees to be determined; “So Close” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; “That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz

17. Best Costume: “Across the Universe,” “Atonement,” “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “La Vie en Rose,” “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
 

18. Best Documentary Feature: “No End in Sight,” “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” “Sicko,” “Taxi to the Dark Side,” “War/Dance”
 

19. Best Documentary Short: “Freeheld,” “La Corona (The Crown),” “Salim Baba,” “Sari’s Mother”
 

20. Best Film Editing: “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “Into the Wild,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood”
 

21. Best Makeup: “La Vie en Rose,” “Norbit,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
 

22. Best Animated Short Film: “I Met the Walrus,” “Madame Tutli-Putli,” “Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven),” “My Love (Moya Lyubov),” “Peter & the Wolf”

23. Best Live Action Short Film: “Il Supplente (The Substitute),” “At Night,” “Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets),” “Tanghi Argentini,” “The Tonto Woman”
 

24. Best Visual Effects: “The Golden Compass,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Transformers.”
 

____

The HONORARY OSCAR AWARD will be given to Production Designer Robert Boyle who designed for legendary director Alfred Hitchcock among others.
____

Beloved comedian, political satirist and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart makes a return visit to host the 80th Annual Academy Awards LIVE from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC at 8PM EST on Sunday, February 24, 2008.

written by RHIFF

Oliver Stone Votes for ‘Bush’ Project

By MICHAEL FLEMING, Variety 
Posted: Sun., Jan. 20, 2008, 3:57pm PT

One need only Google the words “Stone” and “Bush” to find plenty of the director’s critical comments about the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq. Despite that, the director said he’s not looking to make an anti-Bush polemic.

His goal is to use seminal events in Bush’s life to explain how he came to power, using a structure comparable to “The Queen.”

“It’s a behind-the-scenes approach, similar to ‘Nixon,’ to give a sense of what it’s like to be in his skin,” Stone told Daily Variety. “But if ‘Nixon’ was a symphony, this is more like a chamber piece, and not as dark in tone. People have turned my political ideas into a cliche, but that is superficial. I’m a dramatist who is interested in people, and I have empathy for Bush as a human being, much the same as I did for Castro, Nixon, Jim Morrison, Jim Garrison and Alexander the Great.”

To read the full article by Michael Fleming click here.

written by RHIFF

by Shannonn Kelly 

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) –

Every year there are several book-club favorites that turn up at the multiplex. Perusing the list of Academy Award best-picture winners can feel like a trip to Barnes & Noble, from “Gone With the Wind” and “The Godfather” to “The Silence of the Lambs” and “The English Patient.”

But during this tumultuous, strike-hobbled awards season, at least a dozen movies with literary roots have real shots at winning the biggest prizes. Some of those novels, like Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner,” are beloved and readers feel proprietary about them.

Others, like Ian McEwan’s “Atonement,” which won best drama and musical score at the Golden Globes on Sunday night, and Jean-Dominique Bauby’s memoir, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” which won the directing prize for Julian Schnabel and the foreign-language film honor, seemed impossible to adapt because they were too complicated, too internal.

The adaptations themselves range from the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men,” which maintained much of Cormac McCarthy’s rich Texas vernacular, to Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood,” in which the writer-director merely used Upton Sinclair’s “Oil!” as a leaping-off point. Still others come from novellas (”Lust, Caution“), graphic novels (”Persepolis“), or are based on non-fiction works such as (”Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Into the Wild,” “A Mighty Heart”).

To read about screenwriter David Benioff and his experience while working on an adaptation of “The Kite Runner”, click Here.

written by RHIFF

by Shannonn Kelly

Actor Brad Renfro is dead at 25 years of age.

Renfro was found dead by his girlfriend Tuesday January 15 around 10 am in his Los Angeles home. Best known for roles such as 1998’s “Apt Pupil” and 1994’s “The Client“, Renfro was plucked from obscurity in Knoxville, Tennessee after playing a drug dealer in a school play to star in “The Client” opposite Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon. Read more at the New York Times.

written by RHIFF

by Shannonn Kelly

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Four major studios: Warner Bros. Television, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox Television and CBS Paramount Network Television have canceled dozens of writers’ contracts in a possible concession that the current television season cannot be saved, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier today.

Studios typically pay $500,000 to $2 million a year per writer for them and their staffs to develop new show concepts.

With this latest development the studios save a lot of money, lose their new television season and writers, possibly, lose their homes, because really, this is a ploy for the studio executives to get rid of writers they no longer want. Really, this is all about cleaning house…

Read more

written by RHIFF