Heath Ledger is rumored to be in talks to reprise his character Ennis Del Mar in a second installment of Brokeback Mountain. The groundbreaking film chronicled the secret ongoing affair of two cowboys that spanned two decades starting in the repressed 1960s West. Ledger’s lover, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is killed toward the end of the film a few months after they had a falling out.

—spoilers if you have not seen the movie yet—

The film is said to take place after the last, with only Ledger returning since Gyllenhaal’s character is deceased. OK! says Brokeback 2 will chronicle Ennis coming out of the closet in 1963 Wyoming, but it seems like they’re mistaken about the timeline. The last Brokeback movie ended some 20 years after 1963, in the 1980s.

Have you ever wondered what happened to Brokeback Mountain’s closeted Ennis Del Mar after the heartbreaking loss of his lover Jack Twist? Wonder no more: A sequel is in the works!

Although we won’t be seeing his pal Jake Gyllenhaal, 26, Heath Ledger, 28, is currently in negotiations to reprise his role as Ennis. “It will follow the nasty process of being openly gay in 1963 Wyoming, an insider tells OK!. “Ennis will finally come out of the closet.”

[From OK! Magazine]

I’m not really sure they would make a sequel to this film, and it sounds like just a rumor for now. It’s the kind of film that seems to have too much integrity for a sequel, and just following the guy as he struggles to come to terms with his sexual identity sounds like it isn’t much of a plot. Still, if Ang Lee directs again it could be as rich and strong a story as the first, and I know I would watch it.

There’s economic incentive too. Brokeback is the eighth highest grossing romantic drama of all time, according to Wikipedia.

Heath Leger and Michelle Williams lead a very low-key lifestyle in Brooklyn punctuated by the occasional annoying paparazzo who catches them going about their daily business with surly looks on their faces. They have a daughter who will be two next month, Matilda, and have been together for a little over two three years. There was a story first reported by DListed that they applied for a marriage license in Brooklyn, but it was never confirmed that there was an actual ceremony. They were spotted wearing what appeared to be wedding rings, but they could have been symbolic and don’t necessarily mean they were legally married.

Now US Weekly is reporting that they split up “quietly and amicably” a few weeks ago:

A source close to the couple tells Us that Heath and Michelle “quietly and amicably split a few weeks ago.”

“The relationship had been rocky recently. They tried very hard to make it work but finally decided to separate. They just grew apart.”

The couple, who live in Brooklyn, NY and have a daughter, Mathilda, 23 months, met on the set of Brokeback Mountain in 2005.

“They have a beautiful daughter and they are both committed to being great parents.”

[From US Weekly]

Heath and Michelle’s reps haven’t commented on their supposed split yet.

I guess in all those candids of them looking miserable they really were miserable. They must have had that in common though, and maybe what once brought them together slowly eroded their relationship until there was nothing left. It’s sad when people break up, but they’re not my favorite celebrities and I can’t deny the schadenfreude I feel at hearing that they’ve broken up.

I’m interested to see if they really are married or not. Now that they’re breaking up we’ll probably get more details as the legal papers come out.

Heath Ledger is working on the Batman Begins sequel, in which he will play the role of Joker. Michelle Williams is looking busy lately too. According to IMDB she has four movies coming out next year, two of which she’s finished filming. Maybe they were both so wrapped up in their work they didn’t have time for each other and just drifted apart. Or maybe Heath was jealous that he wasn’t getting as much work as her.

In the header image Heath and Michelle are shown at the Independent Spirit Awards in February, and on vacation a while ago in the photo below.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is playing Katie Holmes’ old character on the latest Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, which is filming now. Hair-challenged Heath Ledger (not that there’s anything wrong with that, shave it off though and work The Bruce instead of The Donald) is playing villian Joker, but he was a hero on set when he saved Maggie when her clothes accidentally caught fire.

There were pyrotechnics as part of a scene they were filming, and the machine creating the fire fell over and Maggie’s skirt caught on fire. Heath jumped on top of her to put out the fire. This story sounds somewhat plausible except for the ending, which is cheesy to say the least:

Heath Ledger… jumped in to save the day when co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal’s clothes caught fire on the set of the Batman sequel, “The Dark Knight!” The scary accident occurred during a scene where The Joker confronts Maggie’s dishy district attorney character – and a pyrotechnics display suddenly explodes behind him, sending fireworks rocketing high into the air. Instead, the special effects generator toppled over – and balls of flame jetted at Maggie, who screamed as sparks set her skirt ablaze!

Quicker than you can say: “Holy fireworks, Batmant,” Heath threw himself on top of Maggie and pushed her down, smothering the flames with his body. Crewmembers raced to the rescue, but Heath was already helping shaken Maggie up, checking her charred skirt for stray sparks. “I’m fine,” she reassured everyone – then thanked Heath with a peck on the cheek. Snarked the macho star: “I got a better kiss from your brother!”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, Mike Walker's column, August 27, 2007]

There seems to be a hero story every week in that guy Mike Walker’s column in The Enquirer, so I’m not entirely convinced this is true. There are two famous people involved and it happened on a crowded set, so it seems more likely in that it’s a verifiable incident.

If so, it’s a damn good story, especially with the bit about Heath telling Maggie that her brother was a better kisser! That’s priceless.

Maggie Gyllenhaal has said that she’s going to play Holmes’ former character as herself and that ““I’m not walking into Katie Holmes’ performance. I’m thinking of it as an opportunity to play somebody who’s alive and smart. Chris (Nolan the director) asked me to do this because he wanted me, not because he wants some generic lady in a dress.” It sounds like a dig at Katie Holmes to me. I wonder what would have happened if her skirt caught on fire. One of her Scientology minders would have probably been there with a hose and then given her some vitamins to cure the burn.

Sorry if you’re a Heath Ledger fan, but he’s looking really fug. It doesn’t seem to bother his maybe-wife and the mother of his baby, Michelle Williams, as she’s still staring at him adoringly on the red carpet. Her hair is a bit of a risk, but it’s surely low-maintenance, and along with what I believe are some new features, she’s looking rather cute in that pixie cut.

Heath, on the other hand, needs to lose the caterpillar facial hair and soul patch and get a Britney ‘do. If you’re losing your hair, guys, and you’ve got a decent-shaped head, shave it off. I personally have a thing for bald and balding guys and think they’re hot with the right attitude and close-cropped haircut. Heath is an attractive, albeit arrogant-seeming guy, and he would look great in a nice short buzz cut. He’s probably cultivating the unkempt look to keep the female fans at bay, though, and it’s working.

Leo DiPorkchop gains a few lbs, while Heath doesn’t wash his hair, grows a bad moustache, and wears really ugly sunglasses. They both have their means of ensuring that their days as a teen heart throb are well behind them.

Heath and Michelle are shown at the Independent Spirit Awards, where Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps took home the surprise awards for best actor and actress for roles in Half Nelson, while Little Miss Sunshine won best picture, best screenplay and best director. Sarah Silverman hosted the ceremony.

Pictures from GossipRocks.

Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were snapped at “Bubby’s” restaurant in Tribeca last week. Ledger said he wanted some time off from filming to be a stay at home dad to eight month-old Matilda. It looks like he has been enjoying his role by not bothering to shave or bathe.

Ledger and Williams are scheduled to begin working on the weird “I’m Not There” Bob Dylan biopic this summer. The film will feature different actors and actresses playing the singer throughout his life. Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Julianne Moore and Richard Gere will join them in the film.

Reader Phyllis of HeathHeathens.com was not happy with our characterization of Ledger as a crybaby after his father revealed that he hightailed it out of Australia when the paparrazi squirted him with water on the red carpet. Ledger was composed at the time, but was said to have broken down and cried afterwards and asked his father to sell his Australian home. It turns out that Ledger was harassed by the paparrazi beyond what is allowable in the states, and that photographers delighted in tormenting him. People were camped out in his backyard and held a press conference on his front lawn. Phyllis says that Ledger probably never spat at the paparrazi as reported, and that he moved out of Australia after months of enduring constant monitoring. She says that “Heath is a very gentle and private person. He doesn’t have an ego.”

Heath always came off as aloof and cool to me, but maybe that’s a defense mechanism. I finally saw “Brokeback Mountain” and have to say that he’s a superb actor, and that it was one of the best films I’ve ever seen. Like Heath, I cried like a baby at the end.

Here are Heath and Michelle looking cute and cuddly at lunch. [via]

Poor Heath Ledger. First his girlfriend tells everyone how upsetting it was to him that his hot naked pictures got leaked onto the ‘net, and now his dad reveals that getting squirted with water by the paparrazi made him cry all night and move out of Australia. In related news, his dad’s name is Kim:

[via]

Ledger is going to be so pissed that he dad revealed that he cried over this. Unlike Tom Cruise’s angry response to getting squirted on the red carpet, Ledger was said to be “unruffled” by the incident. He must hold everything inside until it eats him up, just like his character in “Brokeback Mountain.”

Breaking down and moving out of town because some photographers get pissy with you is a response way out of proportion to the incident. He was said to have spit on the guys, so getting hit with some watergun spray is a pretty mild consequence. Maybe he’ll grow up and quit being so sensitive after he realizes how foolish this makes him look.

Why would his dad reveal that about him though? He could be pissed that he’s not seeing his granddaughter much since Ledger is so afraid of travelling to Australia and getting sprayed with more water.

Update: We noted in an article shortly after this one that we were wrong about our assessment of Ledger and that he was harassed beyond the point that was acceptable by those same paparazzi. Thanks to reader Phyllis whose comment is below.

Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams courtside at the Spurs/Lakers game Monday 3/7.

Heath recently flipped off the media outside of the Vanity Fair post-Oscar party after refusing to pose for pictures. This is the second incident in which Heath has had a run-in with the press. Both Heath and Michelle have mentioned that they would like to move abroad to avoid constant scrutiny, while Heath is keen to be a stay-at-home dad.

[via]

Heath Williams and Michelle Ledger arrive at the 78th annual Oscar awards. Michelle is wearing a bold yellow v-neck dress and minimal accessories. She looks lovely and very well put together.

Update: Lots of high-res Oscar pictures at Egotastic