‘Dark Knight’ plans rerelease

Batman wants an Oscar.

More literally, Warner Bros. wants a statuette — or 10 — for “The Dark Knight.” So the studio plans to rerelease its blockbuster Batman sequel in January, the height of Academy Awards voting season.

“It’s just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder for people,” a studio insider said.

Warners domestic distribution president Dan Fellman acknowledged ongoing talks with Imax executives about the prospect of restoring the Christian Bale starrer to some number of giant-screen venues in January. It’s uncertain if “Dark Knight” also will reappear in conventional venues at that point.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film’s huge commercial and critical success has spurred talk of possible Oscar nominations for its director, producers and cast — most specifically Bale’s co-star, Health Ledger, for the late actor’s edgy performance as the Joker.

- from THR

Anatomy of a Hit: ‘The Dark Knight’

Sue Kroll had been in her job as Warner Bros. president of worldwide marketing for less than a week when her office phone rang. A friend implored her to look at the news online immediately.

“At first I thought it was a rumor,” recalls Kroll of that tragic afternoon in January. “I didn’t believe it was true.”

Heath Ledger, co-star of the studio’s highly anticipated summer tentpole “The Dark Knight” and the centerpiece of Warners’ meticulously planned marketing campaign, had been found dead in his New York apartment.

On the Burbank lot that day, many more phones were about to start buzzing.

“It was just this incredibly quick sequence of calls,” Kroll remembers. She talked to producers Chuck Roven and Emma Thomas, production president Jeff Robinov and president/COO Alan Horn.

Horn’s first priority, he says, was to reach out to Ledger’s mother and father in Australia and offer his condolences. All the movie’s marketing materials would be run past the family, he promised them.

“We were already out with the ‘Why so serious?’ campaign,” he notes. “We said (to Ledger’s family), ‘Look, is this an issue? Would you like us to pull this?’ And here’s what they said: ‘Heath loved the movie, was very proud of it. This was just an accident.’ They were fine with it — more than fine, they were completely supportive.”

Nearly six months later, Ledger’s performance as the Joker helped power “The Dark Knight” to a best-ever $18.5 million opening-night take. It was the first in a cavalcade of domestic boxoffice records shattered by a film that has survived a host of challenges to become the highest-grossing Warners release of all time ($489.4 million and counting).

“No one could have anticipated this kind of success,” Horn reflects. “It surprised us. And, once in a while, it is kind of fun to be surprised on the upside.”

- from and read more at THR

‘Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ stars donate to Heath Ledger’s daughter

Little Matilda Ledger’s bank account just got a boost thanks to three generous actors.

Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, the actors who played variations of Heath Ledger’s character Tony in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” have donated their pay from the film to the late star’s 2-year-old daughter.

The actors made the donation out of concern for Matilda’s financial future, as she was not named in her father’s will.

“They didn’t take money — it goes to Heath’s daughter,” director Terry Gilliam told Britain’s The Sun newspaper.

“That’s extraordinary! And wonderful . . . and when you’re part of that, you think, ‘Ah, this is maybe why I went into the movies in the beginning. I thought it would be full of wonderful people.’

“We’ve got a movie full of wonderful people who did extraordinary things to help.”

- from NY

Heath Ledger’s final movie a tough sell

Heath Ledger has helped propel “The Dark Knight” to the top of the boxoffice. His presence might have a less beneficial effect on his next and final film, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”

For U.S. distributors, the quirky Terry Gilliam film — centering on parallel worlds, a theater troupe and a devil-dealing 1,000-year-old doctor — presents a conundrum. On the one hand, it’s a chance for the history-making opportunity — not to mention a marketing coup — of releasing Ledger’s last movie.

But it also comes with challenges that lately have followed the stubbornly noncommercial Gilliam. The director has been behind a series of boxoffice flops and hasn’t had a hit since “Twelve Monkeys” in 1995. Buyers who might otherwise be willing to shell out for a Ledger film are holding back.

- from THR

Heath Ledger inquiry ‘is to be dropped’

Ledger starred in The Dark Knight, his final film role before he died
US investigators are to drop a criminal case into how Heath Ledger obtained two powerful painkillers that contributed to his death, an official has said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had suspected oxycodone and hydrocodone found in Ledger’s system were obtained with false prescriptions.
But an official in New York told the AP news agency prosecutors now thought there was not “a viable target”.
Ledger was found dead at his home in January after an accidental overdose.

- from BBC

Mary-Kate Olsen Demands Immunity Over Heath Ledger Death

Pint-size actress Mary-Kate Olsen has refused to be interviewed by federal investigators probing the accidental drug death of her close friend Heath Ledger unless she receives immunity from prosecution, The Post has learned.

The actress’ lawyer has repeatedly rebuffed attempts by the feds to question Olsen, who was the first person called after her masseuse discovered Ledger’s body in his SoHo apartment in January.

Frustrated federal officials could obtain a grand-jury subpoena to compel the funky “Full House” actress to tell them whatever she knows about the “Dark Knight” star’s behavior, his possible drug use and the events of that fateful morning, according to sources.

Probers have interviewed everyone connected to Ledger and his death, including his doctors, the masseuse, bodyguards, housekeepers, business associates and even the mother of his 2-year-old daughter, Matilda, his “Brokeback Mountain” co-star Michelle Williams.

“Ms. Williams was extremely nice and cooperative,” a source said.

Another added, “Everyone has been very eager to help, saying what a great guy Heath Ledger was, everyone except Mary-Kate, who has refused to speak.”

- from NYPost

Heath Ledger’s Joker is just Rotten

Heath Ledger based The Joker in the new Batman film on punk legend JOHNNY ROTTEN.
The Dark Knight director CHRIS NOLAN suggested the actor studied the SEX PISTOLS legend, now known as JOHN LYDON, to help him with the psychotic character.

“We very much took the view in looking at the character of the Joker that what’s strong about him is this idea of anarchy,” says Nolan.

“I talked to Heath a lot about it, even while we were finishing the script.

“We wanted to show the pure anarchy of someone who wants to do harm purely for its own sake and for his own entertainment, and Johnny Rotten was one of those we had in mind to help us achieve that.”

Meanwhile leading man CHRISTIAN BALE says he doesn’t believe that Heath, who died of a drug overdose in February, was disturbed by his character in the Batman Begins sequel.

Sienna Miller Remembers Heath Ledger’s Pajamas

Sienna Miller says a pair of pajamas she shared with Heath Ledger, who died in January, helps keep her Casanova costar alive in her heart.

“Heath and I had this amazing night out in Venice with my mother,” Miller tells June 7 issue of Britain’s Telegraph Magazine, recalling working on their 2005 movie. “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,” Miller says.

Two years later, Miller had the chance to return the favor to Ledger, who often talked about his trouble getting a good night of sleep.

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

To Miller, the PJs became a symbol of her friendship with Ledger. “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.”

Miller keeps the blue checked sleepwear close, and had them with her in Prague during the filming of her upcoming movie, G.I. Joe, the magazine reports.

- from People

Brokeback Mountain. The Musical!

New York City Opera has commissioned Charles Wuorinen to compose an opera based on Annie Proulx’s short story “Brokeback Mountain,” which was adapted into the 2005 film.
Slated to premiere in the 2013 spring season, the work will be Pulitzer-winning composer Wuorinen’s second commission for City Opera, following the 2004 premiere of “Haroun and the Sea of Stories,” based on the Salman Rushdie novel.

City Opera general manager-designate Gerard Mortier, whose appointment was announced last year, commissioned the work, signaling his intention to breathe fresh life into the New York cultural institution.

Mortier has built an international reputation for innovative productions at the Salzburg Festival in the 1990s and more recently at Paris Opera. He starts his first season at City Opera in Sept. 2009.

“Ever since encountering Annie Proulx’s extraordinary story I have wanted to make an opera on it,” said Wuorinen. “It gives me great joy that Gerard Mortier and New York City Opera have given me the opportunity to do so.”

- From Variety

Michelle Williams Helps Fund Heath Ledger Scholarship

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.

- From People