8:19 Monday, January 28, 2008
The masseuse who found actor Heath Ledger dead in his apartment repeatedly called actress Mary-Kate Olsen instead of emergency services - even after she couldn't get through to the star, it has been claimed. Diane Lee Wolozin called Olsen three times, but apparently reached her only once, before finally calling 911 to say Ledger needed medical assistance, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told the New York Post.
"We believe that of the three phone calls by the masseuse to Mary-Kate Olsen, only one got through. That call was 99 seconds long."
The successful call from Ledger's own mobile phone was made between the two other brief calls from Wolozin to Olsen, who was rumoured to be dating the Brokeback Mountain star, that didn't go through. Around 10 minutes elapsed between the first time Wolozin tried to reach the Olsen, 21, and the call she finally made to emergency workers, who found opened packages of prescription pills next to Ledger's body.
Kelly's account of the masseuse's phone calls, based on detectives' examination of phone logs, contradicts initial claims that Wolozin spoke to Olsen twice on Tuesday after finding the Australian actor unresponsive in bed in his apartment.
According to the newspaper, it still leaves questions about why Olsen told Wolozin she was sending her private security guards to Ledger's apartment, instead of telling the masseuse to call 911. It's also unclear why Wolozin repeatedly called Olsen, who was in California at the time, before phoning 911. Paramedics found Ledger's torso still warm when they arrived. But they quickly ruled that he was beyond help. Toxicology tests on Ledger have not yet been completed by the medical examiner.
Picture: Janet Mayer
8:07 Monday, January 28, 2008
The director of new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, has paid tribute to its tragic star Heath Ledger. Christopher Nolan said Ledger, who was found dead in his New York apartment last week aged 28, was a deeply charismatic person who was "bursting with creativity". Nolan said:
"Heath was bursting with creativity. It was in his every gesture. He once told me that he liked to wait between jobs until he was creatively hungry. Until he needed it again. He brought that attitude to our set every day. There aren't many actors who can make you feel ashamed of how often you complain about doing the best job in the world. Heath was one of them."
Ledger stars as The Joker in the upcoming film, which is set for release worldwide in July 2008. The movie is expected to undergo a new marketing campaign following his death, so studio Warner Bros is not seen to be "cashing in" on the tragedy, industry insiders have said. Nolan's tribute appears in the new issue of Newsweek magazine.
He added:
"When you get into the edit suite after shooting a movie, you feel a responsibility to an actor who has trusted you, and Heath gave us everything. As we started my cut, I would wonder about each take we chose, each trim we made.
I would visualize the screening where we'd have to show him the finished film-sitting three or four rows behind him, watching the movements of his head for clues to what he was thinking about what we'd done with all that he'd given us. Now that screening will never be real. I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly."
And he recalled the moment Ledger turned up to work to perform a scene on a skateboard. He wrote:
"I curse the moment that Heath first skated onto our set in full character makeup. I'd fretted about the reaction of Batman fans to a skateboarding Joker, but the actual result was a proliferation of skateboards among the younger crew members. If you'd asked those kids why they had chosen to bring their boards to work, they would have answered honestly that they didn't know. That's real charisma - as invisible and natural as gravity. That's what Heath had."
Pictures: Splash News
7:51 Monday, January 28, 2008
Our dedicated shutter bugs took hundreds of photo's at this year's Screen Actor's Guild Awards! But don't fear, clever Splash has done the hard work for you, by filtering out the best of the bunch. In true red carpet form, click the thumbnails below to see more glitter, shine and white teeth than one person can handle!
In order of appearance: Eva Longoria, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kate Beckinsale, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Marcia Cross, Lisa Rinna, Andrea Bowen, Ashley Tisdale, Debra Messing, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Sandra Oh, and Teri Hatcher.
6:48 Monday, January 28, 2008
Some of the more regular readers will be aware I'm a huge Josh Hartnett fan. So much so, I hound our NYC Picture Editor for regular 'Josh updates'. So, you can correctly assume I was pretty pleased to see these great shots of the Black Hawk Down actor in Greenwich Village this morning.
Having just return from a trip to Utah (for the Sundance Film Festival) Josh was spied in a cosy jacket, scarf and cheesy white sunglasses on route to a cafe for perhaps a much needed caffeine hit. Well he has certainly 'perked' me up!
Pictures: Ahmad Elatab / Jackson Lee / Splash News
6:09 Monday, January 28, 2008
Movie beauty Angelina Jolie fuelled rumours she is pregnant by turning up to the Screen Actors Guild Awards in a flowing, loose-fitting dress. (Style tips from J-Lo?) The Tomb Raider star's choice of outfit for the Los Angeles ceremony on Sunday night did nothing to dampen fevered speculation she is expecting twins.
US reports have claimed golden couple Angelina and Brad Pitt are looking forward to two new additions to their ever-growing family. Brad's rep refused to comment on the "unsubstantiated rumour" which emerged last week. Angelina first sparked at another awards show on January 7, after looking like she had put on weight and by drinking only water all night at the Critics' Choice awards.
The screen siren already has a daughter and three adopted children with Brad. Star magazine last week quoted a source saying: "Brad and Angelina are absolutely ecstatic. But I still think there will be more adoptions to come."
Angelina was nominated for 'Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role' at the SAG Awards for her role as murdered journalist Daniel Pearl's wife Mariane in 'A Mighty Heart'. But she missed out on the award, which went to veteran actress Julie Christie.
4:37 Sunday, January 27, 2008
