Rumors have been floating around for a while that several actors may fill in for the late Heath Ledger in his last, unfinished film, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.” Today Colin Farrell confirmed that he, Johnny Depp, and Jude Law will share the remaining parts of Heath Ledger’s role.

“I will be honored to be part of that,” the actor told the Herald Sun.

Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp will split what remains of Ledger’s role.

“It makes me feel uncomfortable to think about it too much and to get into it really here but it’s an incredibly painful honour to have, you know, and an honour I wish wasn’t bestowed but an honour none-the-less,” Farrell said.

“It’s about getting Heath’s work out there, get his work out there, he’s too good for any of his work not to be seen, you know, and I’m really keen and looking forward to doing it and just doing the best job I can do,” the actor added.

[From Us Weekly]

Christopher Pummer, who also stars in the film, said that the film deals with magic, so it’s possible to alter the script a little in a way that will explain why Ledger’s character looks different. He also said that they’ll probably use some CGI imagery as well.

In other Colin Farrell news, he will be the best man at his brother’s same sex marriage ceremony this spring – and he’s paying for the whole thing. Eamonn Farrell is getting married in Provincetown, Massachusetts to his longtime partner. Colin’s four-year-old son James will be the ring bearer. Colin has really brought his A-game the last few years since he’s become a father. James is a special needs child, and Farrell has done a lot to bring attention to the Special Olympics and other worthy causes – along with a lot of smaller random acts of kindness that haven’t been widely reported on by the mainstream press. Colin is said to be very happy for his brother, and the whole wedding will be a family affair.

“Colin is the best brother in the world to Eamonn. So Eamonn asked him to be the best man when he and Steven get married.

“Colin took Eamonn shopping for the wedding ring - and intends to pick up the tab for the wedding.”

“Colin is a firm believer in gay rights and he is proud of his brother, said the source. “Colin has played bisexual and gay roles several times in his career.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, February 18, 2008]

Colin also told “The Advocate” that love is what’s important, not sexual preference. He seems to have a really wonderful and loving attitude towards his whole family, and his comments about taking Heath Ledger’s role were very humble and beautiful. I’m sure all three actors will bring a lot of depth and compassion to the experience.

Here’s Colin Farrell at a panel discussion for Arthur Levine’s book ‘Click’ on October 22nd. Images thanks to PR Photos.

When I first read this story I thought it must have been something cooked up by a journalist with an overactive imagination, and it very well might be, but movie site Ain’t It Cool News is reporting that the director of the film Heath Ledger left unfinished when he died, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, has three big names in mind to take over for his character. Since the film is a fantasy in which Ledger’s character could easily change into someone else, all three replacement actors may pay tribute to Heath with performances:

Have I mentioned how much I love this idea? Because I do. I think it’s beautiful that the script loaned itself to this sort of idea, that we’re going to see Heath Ledger’s work in Terry Gilliam’s new film, and that we’re also going to see three very interesting actors step up to offer interpretations of him as a way of paying one final tribute to this actor whose career was cut so sadly short.

We’ve heard rumors about who might be stepping in, but now we’ve got the names verified. Count on it.

JOHNNY DEPP.

JUDE LAW.

COLIN FARRELL.

Nice choices, Gilliam. Can’t wait to see what happens inside the IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS, and I’d love to get a look at the script they’re going to use as they start this next stretch of shooting on the film.

[From Ain't It Cool News]

Ain’t It Cool News has a good reputation for getting insider information on films and this could be true. About three weeks ago unreliable British source The Sun wrote that Imaginarium director Terry Gilliam wanted Johnny Depp to take over Heath’s part. There’s a scene in which Heath’s character falls through a magic mirror, and Cinematical quotes a studio source as saying “He could change into another character after that and that is where Johnny would come in.”

Back when that story came out, the movie was in shutdown mode following the death of Ledger, and workers on the film thought it wouldn’t come back. The star of the film, Christopher Plummer, has said that Heath’s final scenes would be created using CGI imagery, and he did suggest that other actors would be used. He is quoted as saying that “Because the film deals with magic, there is a way of turning Heath into other people, and then use stills and computer generated imagery.”

Maybe Heath’s character will get turned into three other top actors. It’s exciting to think that Depp, Law and Farrell might play in this film. I bet Daniel Day Lewis would be happy to be involved too, as he dedicated his SAG Award to Heath and seemed to be very affected by his death.

The evocative header image was created by /film.

Colin Farrell really has been shaking my world’s very foundation. The former playboy/love ‘em and leave ‘em guy is now a do-gooder. He has a special needs son that he’s really involved with and seems to love unconditionally, he’s involved with Amnesty International, and he randomly took a homeless man shopping when he was in Toronto. Who knows what caused the dramatic change in his personality, but either way it seems like he’s changed for the better and is doing a lot of good with his fame. Recently he attended the Special Olympics and took time out to meet Lorraine Burke, a 13-year-old who won two fourth place medals for horse riding in the games.

ONE of Inishowen’s Special Olympics’ champs is still reeling from meeting some of the world’s biggest movie stars on a day the youngster will never forget. As she celebrated her 13th birthday on Sunday, Burt youngster Lorraine Burke, who bagged two fourth places for horse riding in the Shanghai games, has become a star in her own right. But her proud mother Colette said a special thank you to the stars who supported the momentous event.

Lucky Lorraine, not only did Buncrana and Ireland proud in the games, but was the envy of most young ladies across the world, when she met Hollywood actor, and Dubliner Colin Farrell backstage at the event. The star of Miami Vice, who is himself father to a four-year-old special needs child, James, took time out of his busy schedule to meet Scoil Iosagain pupil Lorraine. Heart throb Farrell’s son has a rare form of cerebral palsy known as Angelman Syndrome, which affects his speech and motor skills. Recently the youngster took his first steps and his dad has spoken about his joy at this important milestone.

Lorraine’s proud mum Colette said: “Colin was at the opening ceremony as patron of the games. He came to meet Lorraine backstage. It was amazing. “He must be a really caring guy, he’s got the Irish charm. I am delighted he took the time to meet Lorraine. All Lorraine could say afterwards, was that she had a ball.”

[From the Derry Journal]

Colin Farrell was reasonably sexy before, but I think he’s a lot sexier now with all of his do-goodery (yes I made that word up and no I won’t change it). I’m guessing Colin’s son had a lot to do with him changing his ways, and it seems like he’s really stepped up to the plate, not just for his son but in terms of being more socially active in general.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Colin Farrell is shown on 10/22 at a panel discussion at the Borders on Columbus Circle in NY for the collaborative novel Click, a mystery written by ten authors including Nick Hornby, Roddy Doyle and Gregory Maguire, with the proceeds to benefit Amnesty International. Farrel was there as part of his work with Amnesty International.

Colin Farrell has revealed that his four-year-old son James suffers from a rare form of cerebral palsy called Angelman Syndrome. According to Wikipedia, Angelman Syndrome is “characterized by intellectual and developmental delay, speech impediment, sleep disturbance, unstable jerky gait, seizures, hand flapping movements, frequent laughter/smiling and usually a happy demeanor.” Farrell says that he is “incredibly blessed to have him in my life” and that he often only remembers something is wrong with James when he sees his son playing with other children.

“He said that his son had shown ‘amazing courage’ in the first four years of his life and that he is an ‘incredibly happy boy’ despite his condition. Ironically Colin – who has joint custody of James with his mother Kim Bordenave – proudly led the Irish team to Croke Park for the Special Olympics before his son was born. Colin – who has starred in such movies as Miami Vice and Phone Booth – said that James has ‘enriched’ his life ‘incredibly.’ And he said that he is dedicated to helping his son reach his own ‘individual potential’ and to be ‘as happy as he can be.’

“‘With my son the only time I’m reminded that there is something different about him – that he has some deviation of what is perceived to be normal – is when I see him with other four-year-olds. Then I go “oh yeah” and it comes back to me. But from day one I felt that he’s the way he’s meant to be.’ The actor spoke with pride about the barriers his son has overcome in the first four years of his life – and paid tribute to his ex-girlfriend Kim for being proactive in getting James the early intervention he needs. ‘He took his first steps about six weeks ago and it was four years in the making. All the work is his, he worked his arse off for four years.’

“‘And when he took the first steps it was incredibly emotional, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.’ He’s broken that barrier and its all about building on that now. Although Colin has been juggling a career in Hollywood since he first burst onto the scene in 2003, he is dedicated to spending as much time as possible with his son. Little James has already met with his extended family in Dublin and even Colin’s new girlfriend, Irish student Muireann McDonnell. ‘I have never thought of my son as being someone with a disability. It goes back to special needs and what is a disability and what isn’t.’”

[Form the Ireland Independent]

I have to say, I’ve never really thought of Colin Farrell as this super deep guy, but he’s done a lot of things recently that make me have a lot of respect for him. It sounds like he has an amazing attitude towards his son. He’s not trying to make James something he isn’t, and loves him as he is and just wants him to be as happy as he can be. I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must be to have a child with cerebral palsy, but it sounds like Colin doesn’t really see it as a heartbreak, and is just glad to have such a great kid. This on top of the helping homeless people makes me have a crush on him all over again.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header image of Colin and James. Thanks to ONYD for the images.

A few years ago a homeless man, known to locals as Stress, made friends with Colin Farrell in Toronto. Farrell returned to town this week, promoting his new film Cassandra’s Dream, when he bumped into his old friend and took him out shopping.

On Tuesday, Farrell took the man on a $2,100 shopping spree. The actor, who told CTV’s eTalk that the homeless man is “a friend of mine,” walked into a Toronto store with his arm around his pal. He then bought the man, whose street name is “Stress,” waterproof jackets, pants, boots, and even socks.

“The homeless guy was grabbing … whatever he wanted,” Dave Mott, manager of Europe Bound, an outdoor gear store on King Street, told CTV Toronto.

“Colin was walking around with the guy and doing the same thing — grabbed a sleeping bag and back pack, came back down and grabbed more clothing.”

Mott told CTV Newsnet that “they seemed like they were really good friends and they were best buddies, like they’ve known each other for years.”

Mott says Farrell made it absolutely clear: “Get him what he wants, get him the best.”

CTV

After the shopping spree, he took him to an ATM where he gets out a ‘wad of twenties’, then paid rent on an apartment for stress for a year too.

This isn’t the first good deed Farrell has performed for stress, when a radio station offered $2,000 to anyone who could get the actor into the studios (alive, I presume) the actor took the man into the studio and he was $2,000 richer!

Apparently the homeless have been loitering around the Toronto Film Festival, getting A-list cash, although Whoopi Goldberg is known for not giving anything, Keifer Sutherland and Al Pacino have been known for generosity.

Stress is the only one to have struck Irish Gold!

Note by Celebitchy: According to the article in the Toronto Sun, none of Farrell’s people have mentioned his generosity to this man to the press and it only got out by word of mouth. What’s more is that Farrell donated $100k to a Uruguayan school back in 2005 to fund a computer lab - and the news did not get out until this summer.

Woody Allen’s French nanny was summoned to Colin Farrell’s hotel room for some awkward quickies before the London premiere of “Miami Vice.” She says he’s got a small dick and that he really sucks in bed. He made love to her three times in just an hour and a half. He invited her to the premiere and after party, but she left once she saw that he was getting cosy with Gong Li:

The best part is that she compared him to James Blunt. That’s so nasty that Colin didn’t wear protection!

I would like confirmation that he’s poorly endowed, though. Has anyone seen Colin’s sex video? He’s all covered up in the screencaps. (NSFW)

It sounds like this woman is bitter than Colin didn’t contact her again and hooked up with Gong Li instead. I believe her, though. Colin sounds like a teenager with no staying power. Maybe he’ll be embarassed enough by this story to use a condom and some manners next time.

Here are some candids of Colin taken on 8/3. [via]

Colin Farrell says his son “gave him a reason to live” and that he hasn’t had a drink in six long months.

He was once such a user that he spent over three hours begging a 70 year-old woman to sleep with him. Maybe he just wanted the experience:

Colin, 30, is now clean and sober, except for chain smoking, and is ready to be a responsible father. His sister watches his 3 year-old son, James, while he’s on set.

If Colin really did try to sleep with a 70 year-old woman, the memory must be as powerful a motivator to stay off drugs as the feeling of responsibility for his infant son.

Here is Colin on the set of his new movie, (title unknown) on 7/11. [via]

About six weeks ago, we reported that Colin Farrel was dating Lake Bell, 27, his co-star in “Pride and Glory,” now filming. It seems that the relationship is going well and people are saying that Farrel is ready to marry Bell.

Farrell just got sober and he turns 30 tomorrow. He has a hard-partying past and it would be surprising if the marriage lasted if he rushed into it after just two months of dating. He may be ready to settle down, but he should try a long commitment first. Not that we’re discouraging Farrell - it would be pretty amusing to see him married with such little forethought.

Here are some pictures with Farrell out with what looks like Bell in the beginning of May. [via]

We reported the demise of Page Six yesterday after their recent payoff scandal, but they had a few good items today, notwithstanding their validity.

Colin Farrell may be dating his “Pride & Glory” co-star, Lake Bell. They were spotted together at a Gen Art Film Festival party last week and were said to be cosy:

We couldn’t find any pictures of Farrell and Bell together at the Gen Art Film Fesitival, but here she is alone at the event and in a couple of other recent appearances, and here is Farrell with Shea Whigham at the same film festival.