Michelle Williams will be boycotting the upcoming premiere of the new Batman movie Dark Knight. Heath Ledger’s family will be flying in from Australia to attend, representing Heath. However according to the New York Post, the Ledgers and Williams are feuding over Heath’s will.

Part of the problem is that Ledger never updated it after he and Williams had daughter Matilda, now 2. His old will, written in 2003, had his father as the main beneficiary. However Matilda is supposed to be the beneficiary now, and the Ledgers have publicly stated that she will be taken care of. But Michelle has supposedly not gotten anything from the family yet, and is pretty upset.

HEATH Ledger’s father, Kim, mother, Emma, and other family members are flying in for the “Dark Knight” premiere on July 14 for what some are calling a “sort of tribute” to him - but don’t expect to see his ex, Michelle Williams, or daughter, Matilda. An insider said, “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’s will, made out in 2003 before Matilda was born, left everything to his father, mother and sisters. But Matilda is now considered the beneficiary, and Kim is the executor. Williams fears that by the time Matilda reaches 18 and can cash in on her inheritance, nothing will be left. Years ago, Kim’s brothers charged that he mismanaged their father’s estate, losing millions. A rep for Williams didn’t return repeated calls.

[From Page Six]

The issue of Kim Ledger’s mismanagement of his late father’s estate does appear to be a pretty legitimate concern, as all the money was lost and the estate ended up in debt. My first thought was that as an actress, you’d think Michelle Williams could afford to take care of Matilda just fine. But that’s really not the issue – Heath’s daughter has a right to what her father presumably would have left her.

Page Six doesn’t make it clear if Matilda is now supposed to be the beneficiary of the will legally or if it’s just that the Ledgers promised she would be. All of that said, it seems like the mature thing would be for Michelle to go to the premiere and try to keep relations friendly. It’s likely that Matilda will want to have a good relationship with Heath’s family as a way of staying connected to her dad. Hopefully both sides will work through their issues for that reason alone.

Here’s Michelle Williams and Matilda taking a walk for coffee in sunny NYC on June 8th. Images thanks to Splash.

Even though they were separated at the time of Heath Ledger’s death, Michelle Williams is still regarded as his widow of sorts. The actress is the mother of Ledger’s only child, and she took the news of his death very hard. Many insiders felt that the pair would have eventually reconciled. Now, Michelle is working with a film director to set up a scholarship fund for aspiring Australian actors in Heath’s name.

Aussies with Hollywood dreams will be given the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the late Heath Ledger.

At Thursday’s Australians in Film 2008 Breakthrough Awards in Beverly Hills, director Gregor Jordan announced the formation of a Heath Ledger scholarship fund to help struggling Australian actors. The plan is to select one young actor from Down Under each year — beginning next year — and give him or her the chance to make it in Hollywood.

Gregor, who became friends with Heath after directing him in 1999’s Two Hands, told the audience: “It’s going to involve a number of benefactors and there’s been a lot of interest already. 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.”

[From Star Magazine]

This is a pretty cool idea, although I’m still unclear on how a scholarship is going to help a struggling actor make it in Hollywood. Isn’t that more about what you look like, who you know and who your agent will step on to get you a role? Or am I watching too much “Entourage?” Anyway, kudos to Michelle for agreeing to be a benefactor.

Michelle Williams is shown at the premiere of Synedoche, New York in Cannes with her co-stars Samantha Morton and Catherine Keener on 5/23/08, thanks to WENN.

The Cannes Film festival officially ends today after two weeks of premieres, parties and glamor on the French Riviera. The top prize at the festival, the Palm D’Or, will be announced at 7:30 pm Central European Time, which is 6 hours ahead of EST. Frontrunners are generally thought to be Steven Soderbergh’s Che and maybe Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, although past winners were often complete surprises and it could go to any of the deserving films in competition.

On Friday night, Michelle Williams made her second red carpet appearance and looked a little more somber than on Thursday, when everyone was heralding her return to the red carpet after the death of her daughter’s father, Heath Ledger, in January.

In an article about the seedy side of Cannes, author Liz Jones mentioned that the photographers at the premiere of Williams’ film were shouting questions at her about Heath. Her description is sad:

I see Michelle Williams braving the red carpet to promote her new film as shouts from the paparazzi, begging her to give just one soundbite about the death of her former fiancee; Heath Ledger, rain down on her narrow shoulders like hail.

[From The Daily Mail]

Williams was at the premiere of Synedoche, New York, with a screenplay written by Charlie Kaufman, who also wrote Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation. She appears in the film along with Samantha Morton, Catherine Keneer, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. When I saw these photos I got confused, because I thought the photocall pictures we published earlier were from Williams’ film Wendy and Lucy, but it turns out they were for Synedoche, and that Williams is in two movies at Cannes this year. According to IMDB, Synedoche, New York is about “a theater director [played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who] struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.”

Also shown are photos from the premiere of The Palermo Shooting Saturday, where the stars of the film along with plenty of lesser-knowns showed up. Shown are Milla Jovovich, Campino, Dennis Hopper, Kerry Washington (who was also at the Synechdoche premiere), Phoebe Price (who I know primarily from D-Listed), Dennis Hopper’s super skinny wife Victoria, some chick named Jana Pallaske in a ridiculous pink feather dress, Sarah Marshall, and Zhang Zilin.

Michelle Williams, 27, made her first red carpet appearance since her daughter’s father, Heath Ledger, died of a prescription drug interaction on January 22. People Magazine reports that she made a last-minute decision to fly to Cannes to promote her film, Wendy and Lucy. She wore “vintage Chanel Haute Couture” to the premiere of the film last night, and appeared refreshed and happy at a photocall with her co-stars today.

“It was decided on Monday night that she could come to Cannes, and she got on the next plane to arrive just in time to get dressed and come to our premiere,” said a rep for Wendy and Lucy. “She came in and had a long nap and then came to the screening.”

Williams, 27, was radiant in a vintage Chanel Haute Couture dress. She will remain in Cannes at least through Friday night to promote another festival movie in which she appears, Synecdoche, New York, before flying back to the United States to resume filming a Martin Scorsese movie in Boston.

[From People]

Williams is the star of the film Wendy and Lucy, which IMDB describes as “a narrative feature about woman whose life is derailed en route to a potentially lucrative summer job. When her car breaks down, and her dog is taken to the pound, the thin fabric of her financial situation comes apart, and she is lead through a series of increasingly dire economic decisions.” Williams’ performance has been well reviewed. Cinematical notes that she didn’t attend the screening for the film, and that it is thought that she attended the screening for Adoration next door.

I love her hair like that, it’s lovely in soft controlled waves. She looks beautiful and relaxed, and this seems like a good time for her to resume her career and start making public appearances again.

Also shown at the photocall are Samantha Morton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener. Thanks to WENN.

Two days before Heath Ledger passed away, Michelle Williams spoke frankly about her painful breakup in an interview with Elle Magazine. She talked about feeling out of place and without a purpose after they broke up. If that was how she felt when she was just estranged from him, it must have been awful when he passed so unexpectedly:

At the time, she was still mourning their breakup. “I didn’t know where to go” after their 2007 split, she says in the magazine’s April issue. “I couldn’t imagine any place in the world that was gonna feel good to me.”

Williams, 27, dove into work on several films, because “when I have too much free time, that’s when things start to get a little messy.”

She also naturally focused on Matilda, 2, her daughter with Ledger. “She’s bigger to me than any relationship, bigger than the awards,” Williams says. “She’s what came out of it.”

[From People.com]

Elle has a segment of the interview on their website, and Williams’ statements are almost haunting in retrospect. She talks about how she faced what sounds like depression for a long time, and how she was a solemn person from a young age:

“I have that feeling inside, like when something really tickles or delights me—it’s not singular. I recognize all the awful things in the world, and in spite of them, I can still laugh.” This hyperawareness has come at a price. “For so long, I felt like a walking open wound everywhere I went,” she says. “There’s this Joan Didion quote about being afflicted from an early age with a presentiment of loss. Did I come into the world like that? Or was I kind of gifted that?”

[From Elle.com]

I know how it is to wait for the other shoe to drop. Sometimes when I’m with my son I start to worry that something will happen to him. It’s like you love and cherish someone so much that you think that there’s another side to it and that everything could come crumbling down. When it does, as in the case of a breakup or death, it’s especially painful because you think you must have done something wrong and you wonder how you could have prevented it.

Williams said in that interview that she threw herself into her work to avoid thinking too hard about her breakup. I hope that she’s able to find some peace, and that having her daughter there will help her through this very tough time. It seems somehow sadder for her that she didn’t feel grounded before Heath passed.

Michelle Williams is shown on 10/4/07 at the NY Film Festival, thanks to PRPhotos.

Michelle William’s last interview before ex-boyfriend Heath Ledger’s death has just been published in Wonderland, a British magazine. Michelle talks briefly about her split from Ledger, and some of the advantages that came with it – notably less attention from the paparazzi, which was always a big issue for the couple. She also talks about her relationship with their two-year-old daughter Matilda. Michelle had just finished working on a film called “Incendiary” with Ewan McGregor in which she plays a woman who loses her husband in a terrorist attack. It’s very sad to hear her talking about how hard it was just to film something so emotional, knowing she’s actually living it right now.

On Splitting with Heath Ledger:
“When you’re in a relationship with somebody who is also a public personality then it doubles the attention from the media. When you minus that equation it’s just less enticing. That’s been a real bonus. It’s the plus side of the break-up for me. It was so pervading, it got bad there for a while. Every time I walk out of the door I still worry. That’s what is so silly about it: even if the paparazzi aren’t there, you wonder if they are. I’m not good at that stuff. I need to get better at it. It really used to affect me.”

[From Us Weekly]

Michelle and Heath seemed to dislike the paparazzi more than any celebrity couple I can recollect. There’s an infamous picture of the two in bathing suits, flipping off the camera with Heath holding a sign that says “Fuck Off.” They managed to live a pretty low-key existence in Brooklyn, everything considered. By most accounts everyone knew who they were, but were pretty respectful of the couple’s privacy.

Michelle’s been living as a single mother since she and Heath broke up in the fall, but now she no longer has a co-parent and is truly on her own in that sense. She talked about the physical and emotional struggle of filming a demanding movie like “Incendiary” and trying to still be a good mother to Matilda at the same time.

On Balancing Work and Motherhood:
“It’s not easy. Last April I was over in London doing a movie called Incendiary with Ewan McGregor. It’s about a woman grieving after losing her husband and son in a terrorist attack. It was a brutal role and arduous: six-day weeks, 14 hour-days. I was like the walking dead towards the end. Matilda would visit me everyday on-set for lunch and I’d race home to put her to bed. My only days off were Sundays and as much as I’d want to pass out, I’d try to take her out somewhere fun so she didn’t associate me with boredom. The only time that is really my own these days is after I’ve put her to bed and until I go to bed. That’s about two hours.”

[From Us Weekly]

Later on in the interview, Michelle brings up a really good question: why did she choose her line of work, considering she’s such an introvert? Michelle started acting at only 16 and says she never thought it would make her life so public. She seems to definitely be a real introvert, noting, “I have such problems with people looking at me.” She admits that acting is a strange choice of professions, considering the fame it brings. Unfortunately there’s probably no time in her life where she’s wanted less attention given to her, and no time where people have focused on her so much. Hopefully that’ll die down in the coming months and she can figure out a way to live the rest of her life happily.

Heath Ledger’s remains were finally cremated yesterday, after what sounds like a beautiful and fitting tribute to the young actor. There was a memorial which was attended by hundreds, as well as a small private funeral. Heath’s family, ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams, actress Cate Blanchett, and fellow Perth-born model Gemma Ward joined the hundreds of mourners at the large first service, which was held in the theater of Guildford Grammar school. Michelle was reportedly distraught throughout the service. Both Heath’s sister Kate Ledger and Cate Blanchett gave speeches, and Heath’s favorite songs were played.

A mourner told the paper, “Kate (Ledger) spoke of the unique bond she shared with her brother, how he would ring her three or four times a day and how he never forgot his friends even at the height of his fame.”

Blanchett also delivered an emotional eulogy.

“He achieved so much in his short life and was capable of so much in the future,” she said.

Ledger’s favorite songs were played at the memorial, including “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, “The Times, They are A-Changin’” by Bob Dylan, the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” and “Come Together,” and Ben Harper’s “Happily Ever After,” which Harper wrote for Ledger and Williams’ two-year-old daughter Matilda.

[From Us Weekly]

During what was described as a subdued wake at the Indiana Tea House on Cottesloe Beach, many mourners, including Michelle Williams, jumped into the ocean as the sun was setting.

At least 50 people attending the wake ran onto the beach and many began to take off their clothes. While some women took the plunge in their black dresses, other men and women stripped down to just their underwear and jumped into the ocean.

Williams, still wearing her cream-colored sundress and black sunglasses, was briefly dragged into the water as everyone cheered. She was then quickly surrounded by a group of mourners, creating a protective circle around the actress.

Those in the water laughed and cheered as Michelle watched from the shore. Ledger’s sister Kate also took a dive into the water and was surrounded by pals splashing around her while her father Kim Ledger watched from the restaurant’s balcony and shouted, “Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!” giving two thumbs up in the air.

As the sun began to set, the swimmers came on shore and stood in a line on both sides of Williams and linked arms. In the last five minutes, as the sun moved toward the horizon, the mourners stood in silence, watching and embracing.

[From People]

What a lovely tribute to Heath. I have always been a big fan of the idea of funerals as a celebration of a person’s life, but the younger and/or more tragically they die, the harder that is to do. It sounds like Heath’s family mixed the unavoidably heart wrenching memorials, funerals, and wakes with a bit of a celebration of Heath’s infectious spirit.

Michelle Williams has done her best to stay away from the press since ex-boyfriend Heath Ledger passed away ten days ago. Michelle released a statement today through Ledger’s rep, asking that the press respect her privacy. It was a really touching and sad statement, in which Michelle said that her “heart is broken.”

Michelle Williams is speaking out for the first time since ex Heath Ledger’s untimely death January 22.

“Please respect our need to grieve privately. My heart is broken,” Williams, 27, said in a statement released on Friday by Ledger’s rep, Reuters reports.

“I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father,” Williams continued in her statement.

“All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day.

“His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still.

“She will be brought up with the best memories of him,” Williams’ statement concluded.

[From Us Weekly]

I think that - for the most part - the press has shown a good amount of restraint towards Heath’s family. I wasn’t really thrilled with the magazines that chose to print photos of Michelle Williams arriving back in the states from Sweden after Heath died. And there have certainly been some unscrupulous news outlets that have reported on every little rumor that flew their way. But it seems like that majority of websites have waited on confirmations before publishing news related to Ledger’s death investigation. While it was sad that Entertainment Tonight bought the video of Heath supposedly doing drugs two years ago, I think it says a lot that so many people came out and requested them not to air it - and they listened. Hopefully everyone will continue to be respectful and give Heath Ledger’s family their space.

Yesterday commentors over at US Weekly were overwhelmingly critical of a new cover story about Heath Ledger’s supposed past drug use. They claim to have an exclusive about how the recently-deceased up and coming A-list actor decided not to go to rehab in 2006. As if that had anything to do with his death nearly two years later, in which no illegal drugs or even alcohol was found in his apartment. Multiple sources have said that Heath only drank nonalcoholic beverages around them in the months leading up to his death, and the autopsy was inconclusive, but showed that he had pneumonia. Sources tell TMZ (who never hesitate to print negative news when they get their grubby hands on it, so this seems plausible) that preliminary toxicology reports are inconclusive and point to a natural or accidental cause of death.

Now there’s supposedly a new video showing Heath snorting coke confessing to being a habitual pot smoker for 20 years while another man on the tape snorts something. It was taken on January 29, 2006, and Heath mentioned his baby daughter by name and says he’s “going to get so much shit from his girlfriend.” This suggests to me that it was a rare occasion when he did cocaine he was just out at a party and felt guilty about it. (Update: The NY Daily News’ story about the tape clears up the misconception in Page Six’s report that Heath was actually shown snorting something - he wasn’t) . Entertainment Tonight and The Insider bought the video, shot at the Chateau Marmot, for $200,000. They sent a warning to other outlets not to publish it, but Page Six notes that Entertainment Tonight is still deciding whether to air it or not.

How many of us have done illegal drugs in the past, including cocaine? If you keeled over tomorrow for some other reason, how fair would it be if all people talked about was how you did drugs a few years back?

It’s possible that Heath did die from some kind of drug-related cause, either prescription or illegal, but what good does it do to speculate about that just a week after he died? And how flimsy is this “evidence” from nearly two years ago? We don’t have any new information about his death yet, except for testimonials and heartfelt wishes that keep pouring in from people who knew him. It just doesn’t seem fair to bring this up.

There are stories that Heath had a drug problem and that Michelle wanted him to get tested before he had visits with Matilda. Those reports originated in the Daily Mail, which is notorious for making shit up entirely. It could be true, but what kind of evidence do we have other than a two year old video and some hearsay?

Thanks to commentors for pointing out that last week on “The Soup” host Joel McHale showed a picture of Heath and said “Stop digging through the dirt, weasels. A talented decent guy is gone and our thoughts go to those who knew him.” Here’s a link to the video.

Update: Entertainment Tonight reports that they will not run the video of Heath “Out of respect for Heath Ledger’s family.”

Heath Ledger was working on the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in the UK right before his untimely death. One of Heath’s co-stars in the film, Christopher Plummer, has revealed that the director, Terry Gilliam, plans to use computer generated imagery to produce the scenes that Heath had not yet filmed. Plummer, who plays Dr. Parnassus in the movie, also revealed that Heath was ill on set, that he was taking antibiotics and pills to sleep, and that he often talked about how he had trouble sleeping. It sounds like their filming schedule was grueling as Plummer says “We had to shoot every second we were out there”:

Director Terry Gilliam is trying to “salvage” The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus which Ledger was in the middle of shooting before his shocking death.

Gilliam’s close friend Christopher Plummer, who stars as title character Dr. Parnassus in the movie, said: “Terry’s throwing himself into the job of trying to salvage the picture. He’s terribly saddened by what happened, and is trying to work out how to continue. He wants to dedicate it to Heath.

“Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way of turning Heath into other people, and then use stills and computer generated imagery (CGI).”

Veteran actor Plummer also revealed Ledger was ill while on location in London for the project.

He added: “We all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath’s went on and I don’t think he dealt with it immediately, even when he was taking antibiotics. I think what he had was the walking pneumonia.

“We had to shoot every second we were out there. There was hardly any time to keep warm.

“He was saying all the time, ‘Damn it, I can’t sleep’, and he was taking all these pills to help him.”

[From News.com.au via Fark]

This reminds me of the 1993 death of The Crow star Brandon Lee, who was killed when a prop gun was accidentally loaded with a bullet on set. He died after a shot to the stomach in a scripted scene with a co-star, who of course assumed that the gun just held blanks. There were 8 days left for shooting, and a stunt double replaced Lee in some scenes in which his face was digitally added afterwards. Technology has advanced so much in 15 years and it’s sure to be an easier process with Ledger’s film.

Ledger’s ex Michelle Williams was working on Blue Valentine with Ryan Gosling in Sweden when she received the news that the father of her child had passed. Filming has been postponed to allow her time to grieve. People Magazine quotes a source as saying “We will hold off until she is ready. The production is in the process of sorting it out in respect to her.”

Celebrities and public figures who have spoken out recently about Ledger’s death include his Four Feathers co-star Wes Bentley, who it turns out shuns the spotlight even more than Ledger did. Bentley took a five year hiatus after Four Feathers and is now acting again. He even helped Heath get his role in Monster’s Ball after he backed out at the last minute and was afraid of being sued. He said:

“At one point we were as close as two people could get without being blood. That closeness came from sharing a similar, life-altering experience in life at a young age where very few could relate and those who could often were pre-occupied with competition. It would have been isolating, not to mention boring, without him…. I don’t know if I could have come back without him.”

[From People.com]

Self help guru Deepak Chopra was supposed to have dinner with Heath the day he died. He’s a friend of Shekhar Kapur, who directed Heath in The Four Feathers, and the three were scheduled to dine together that fateful night. Chopra said he spoke to Heath the day before and that he mentioned that he missed his daughter Matilda, and said he was not able to see her over the holidays. Chopra called Ledger a hard-working actor and said “He was still high from the experience [of filming in London] and he hadn’t come down … He was exhausted.”

As for whether Heath committed suicide, Chopra speculates that it’s unlikely because “He was connected to life and joy.” [Details From People.com]

Heath’s co-star in the groundbreaking film Brokeback Mountain, Jake Gyllenhaal, has yet to issue a public statement and is said to be understandably broken up about his good friend’s sudden death. People reports this the film he was working on, Brothers, is shooting around him while he takes personal leave. They also told a funny story about how Jake made a joke on set before Heath died by putting a picture of him on the wall of his prison cell before filming a harrowing scene.