Film & TV Music Supervisors Try And Predict The Future - Results Vary

Yeah, it's a fucking slow day. Entertainment Weekly has talked to nine working soundtrack music supervisors and asked them to give a list of what they're listening to. We whittled it down to one pick each; generally the music we happen to like the best from their picks and in some cases, the ones that sound the most interesting. We mainly posted this cause we're fans of the work Poster and Leyh do.

RANDALL POSTER
Music supervisor for "I'm Not There," most Wes Anderson films picks.
MAGNETIC FIELDS ''With a new album, Distortion, 2008 is the year perhaps that they put leader Stephin Merritt's name on a Broadway theater or on a New York street sign or a school for gifted children.'' (myspace.com/themagneticfields)

BLAKE LEYH
Our boy Blake, music supervisor for "The Wire," and some kick-ass Omar stalking Marlo's people scene set to fly soul tracks reccomends:
MULLY MAN; BOSSMAN; DIABLO ''If one of these Baltimore hip-hop artists doesn't have a hit single in 2008, I'll eat my head. The things they're talking about are forward-thinking: It's not just gangsta — they're not afraid to be positive while talking about real things [affecting their community].'' (myspace.com/mullyman; myspace.com/bossman; myspace.com/diabloflames)

NIC HARCOURT
Music supervisor for "Gone Baby Gone," and host of the MOR-indie-lite taste radio show KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic
GOLDFRAPP ''They could cross over. Ethereal, retro, dreamy. [Lead singer Alison Goldfrapp] has got a dead sexy voice.'' (myspace.com/goldfrapp) [ed. but whatever about Harcourt, Goldfrapp rules]

JIM PITT
Music booker for "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" suggests...
YEASAYER ''They manage to fuse a kitchen sink of musical styles (rock, pop, Middle Eastern, folk, dance) without it feeling like a train wreck. They've been compared to David Byrne and Brian Eno, but don't let that scare you.'' (myspace.com/yeasayer)

CHRIS DOURIDAS
Music supervisor for "American Beauty," October's "The Women"
LUCY SCHWARTZ ''An unsigned singer-songwriter who's 18. Her dad was jogging by my house [in Pacific Palisades, Calif.] and handed me her demo. Her songs have the confidence of a woman twice her age.'' (myspace.com/lucysong)

LIZA RICHARDSON
Music supervisor for "Friday Night Lights"
WHITE WILLIAMS ''He's incorporating elements of Beck, Jim Noir, Roxy Music, T. Rex. Some of the songs are really catchy and fun and stick in your head, and some of it's out there and weird.'' (myspace.com/whitewilliams)

There's also picks from Jay Faires - music supervisor for "Good Luck Chuck," Dana Sano, supervisor for "Dan in Real Life" - and Joe Cuello - who oversees music for all MTV shows, including The Hills - but we can't be bother to list them all as we're sleepy and already grown tired of this post (plus in many cases we're starting to think, "Huh? Jesus, we should have some of these people's jobs.")

Johnny Depp To Take Over Heath Ledger's Role in 'Imaginarium'?

Is Johnny Depp going to step in and take Heath Ledger's role in "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parssanus"?

Unless you've been living under a rock you heard that Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment this week - and the actor was just six weeks from finishing director Terry Gilliam's fantasy 'Imaginarium' flick.

His untimely death had left the project up in the air. The project is currently listed as a "force majeure" (a clause which allows producers to end contracts in extraordinary circumstances).

However, reports are now claiming that Gilliam wants to finish the film with Johnny Depp taking Ledger's role as an outsider clown that tries to heed off the devil (played by Tom Waits).

A studio source apparently has said: “There is a point in the film when Heath falls through a magic mirror. He could change into another character after that and that is where Johnny would come in.[ed. this sounds totally retarded, just reshoot it]. It’s a weird, fantasy, time-travel movie so Heath’s character could easily change appearance. It would be a poignant moment. Johnny’s not working at the moment so everyone is praying he will do it."

Take that with a grain of salt until you hear further (it is coming from the tabloidy UK Sun). The paper does add that Ledger had a huge blow-out with 'Imaginarium' producers just three days before he died after they refused to reshoot a scene he was unhappy with.

But it does sound feasible. Depp has a good relationship with Gilliam having already starred in "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas," and almost in "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote," before production was shut down within a week of filming due to the dire health of actor Jean Rochefort and other unforeseen acts of god (the debacle of that production of film became the fascinating documentary, "Lost In La Mancha").

Depp has said he would always return for 'Quixote' if Gilliam could ever get it back off the ground (which there's been recent talk of, coincidentally), so he has a soft spot for the wacky, near-cursed director and he probably has a thing for salvaging destroyed projects since 'Quixote' got canned. While we remain skeptical, we hope it happens if only cause Gilliam has had some really, really terrible luck in recent years and it would be nice to see him get a film off the ground that's not a total disaster.

Watch: The only completed sequence of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote"

Watch: Trailer for "Lost In La Mancha"

'Across The Universe' Writers At It Again: Animated 'Ruby Tuesday' Film To Feature Rolling Stones Tunes

Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, the writers behind the Beatles musical "Across the Universe," were recently asked if they had plans to make a sequel.

They said they had a better idea: An animated film that was to feature the music of the Rolling Stones.

Titled, "Ruby Tuesday," the duo had written the song before the writer's strike and work on the film was apparently supposed to start next month. Like all animation however, the duo said they "hope that [the film] will get made in the next couple of years.”

"It is going to be CGI. It will be interesting. The animation is actually going to be done in Paris. It will be some pretty hip animation. It is amazing how many French animators work at Dreamworks. When we were doing "Flushed Away," we were over there. It was like a foreign campus.”

This is actually old news. Mick Jagger signed on to co-produce this back in 2006, so that tells you the Stones are onboard and liscensing won't be a problem. Filmmakers Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi were to direct the "faustian" tale concerning a single mother searching for happiness in New York City. The original "Ruby Tuesday" song itself was allegedly about a free-spirited and possibly tragic groupie that Keith Richards knew (though according to lore Brian Jones wrote most of the song). Whether that single mom will be that groupie is unknown, but tragic and faustian seem to go hand and hand, plus the writers said while it won't be R-Rated and would not be a "kiddy film" (via Slashfilm).

Thurston Moore Scores Porno For Old Sonic Youth Video Directing Buddy

Thurston Moore and porn. Which one of these things is not like the other, right?

As you may have heard the Sonic Youth guitarist/frontman/noisemaker is getting into the porn industry. Ok, not really, he won't be felching or giving anyone dirty sanchez's (or at least not in this film; what he does in the privacy of his own home is his business).

Moore recently lently his avante noise-rock talents to the score of "Extra Action (And Extra Hardcore)," a pornographic film that apparently features "real women: unpretentious, unadorned, and definitely undressed" (as opposed to the animated, fussy, dolled-up and fully-dressed women in most porns).

Directed by photographer/filmmaker Richard Kern (who shot music videos for Sonic Youth - he also photographed the cover of Evol - Marilyn Manson and a short film that featured the music of the Butthole Surfers) the skin-flick apparently convinces women to "roll around and do something interesting for a few minutes." Sounds riveting. We're sure watching naked women writhing around to skronky noise rock (with wah-wah pedal?) will be a turn-on for someone out there.

Those looking to buy birthday gifts for their Piscean friends, the DVD is due March 18 via MVD, and it will feature Moore's original score and previously unreleased Kern flicks as extras (probably just more porn). This isn't actually the first time Moore has written music for blue movie - he provided an original soundtrack to an hour-long DVD accompanying Kern's 2007 photo book, "Action." We're assuming Kim Gordon is cool with all of it.

"Extra Action (And Extra Hardcore)" tracklisting:
'The King Of Sex'
'Pierce'
'Scooter And Jinx'
'Catholic'
'Nazi'
'Goodbye 42nd Street'
Watch: Sonic Youth - "Death Valley '69" (directed by Richard Kern)

Heath Ledger's 'Imaginarium' Not Quite, Errr, Dead... Yet

Yeah, weird choice of words. What else are we gonna say? So yesterday US Weekly reported that "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parssanus" - the last film that Heath Ledger worked on before he died - had been shut down.

And it has been, at least temporarily according to Variety. But it remains unclear whether the Terry Gilliam directed film remains shuttered for good. Or at least, it seem there are a few options studios are trying to explore:

"Parnassus" has three options: Replace Ledger in the role, shoot around him or shut down the production entirely. The insurance company will likely determine which option the producers take.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is trying to figure out how to rejigger their "The Dark Knight" campaign which focuses heavily on the ghoulish and psychotic Joker played by Ledger.

Another film project that's obviously not going to happen now is Ledger's directorial debut - an adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel "The Queen's Gambit," with British writer-producer Allan Scott. The lead female role of a young chess prodigy had been offered to Ellen Page. Gilliam had recently been lauding his actor's film talents. "He's watching everything, and he's going to be a much better director than I will ever be."

Daniel Day-Lewis Gets Emotional On Oprah Discussing Heath Ledger

Man, this is really sincere, heartfelt and a little hard to watch near the end. Daniel Day-Lewis was on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" today (January 24), ostensibly to talk about his current Oscar nomination -- but instead made an emotional statement on the death of Heath Ledger.

"I have a strong impression that I would have liked as a man [had I met him] and I had already marvelled at his work and had looked forward so much to seeing the work he would do in the future," Day-Lewis said as his voice cracked and trailed off.

We're trying to stay away from most kinds of this stuff, but this was particularly affecting. [TMZ]

Indies Vs. Studios Video Sums Up This Year's Oscar Noms Rather Well

Pretty amusing play off the Mac vs. PC ads with that kid Justin Long.

Julian Schnabel Continues To Be Insufferably Awesome

We are generally fascinated with boorish, self-adulating filmmaker/artist Julian Schnabel. Much like Vincent Gallo, you love to hate his pretentiously awesome, hilariously arrogant and douchey ways (must be a downtown New York artist thing).

There's many things to love about the director of "The Diving Bell & The Butterfly": he's a big hairy teddy bear that loves to wear pajamas under his blazers; he has a mousy effeminate voice; he's a notorious blow-hard name-dropper, he built a large pink eyesore building in the middle of New York City named the Palazzo Chupi; he's got a litter of kids he can barely remember the names of; and as Intelligencer points out, he appears to have no internal monologue filter whatsoever.

He's always spouting off some deliciously churlish and audacious bon mot - he also once famously declared that he was "as close to Picasso as you are going to get in this fucking life." (you'll remember at the New York Film Festival he claimed the 2006 Cannes Film Festival Palm d’Or award was rightfully his and he was robbed). His latest? His thoughts on 'Diving Bell' not earning an Oscar nomination for Best Picture (though he did get a Best Director nod and the film took a bunch of nominations).

"Do I think that I made the best picture? I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But does it mean you win an Academy Award? No. How long did Martin Scorsese wait to get an award for best director? Years after making 'Raging Bull,'" he told the Hollywood Reporter comparing himself to Marty.

He also just recently told a London Telegraph reporter about the glowing 'Diving Bell' reviews. "Have you read them? If my mother wrote them they couldn't be nicer."

Man, he rules. Every unfiltered phrase that comes out of his mouth is a joy to behold. We're rooting harder for 'Butterfly' than any other film at the Oscars this year (it's a wonder of nature that this guy can make something as beautiful as that film) aside from "There Will Be Blood," and the few nods that "The Assassination of Jesse James" got.

'Once' Song is NOT Ineligible For Oscar In Spite Of Your Whining; Director's Letter Saves The Day

If you're a regular Pitchfork/Bk Vegan music blog reader you might be wondering and grumbling to yourself about Jonny Greenwood's disqualification at this year's Oscar nominations for his haunting "There Will Be Blood" score; how unfair it was and how you're not going to tune into the Oscars this year because of it [ed. that'll fucking show them].

Additionally, if you're a Rolling Stone/Stereogum reader you might be further pissing and moaning that Eddie Vedder and Sondre Lerche were shut out of the original song Oscar categories and "Enchanted" scored three delightful nominations, hogging up almost the entire category (you're like, "wtf!!?")

And finally, if you're an inquiring and astute music fan you're thinking to yourself in bitter lashing-out frustration, "How the fuck is it that Jonny Greenwood gets disqualified and yet the bullshit 'Once' soundtrack songs by Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova are still eligible?" (even though they're in two different categories, you're so incensed, you're not thinking clearly)

After all, the duo's nominated song, "Falling Slowly," has been released twice before. Yes, twice. Once (get it!?) on the Frames (Hansard's day-job band) 2006 album The Cost and once on The Swell Season's (the name under which the duo sing) self-titled album also released in '06.

That would seem to make the song ineligible, correct? Wrong. The hot topic has aggressively debated recently with message boards and other nerds all in a lather about it with preemptive outrage on behalf of their snubbed favorites.

But according to HitsDailyDouble and Fox Searchlight, "Falling Slowly" was eligible because the song was written specifically for "Once." Director John Carney even wrote a letter to that fact to the Academy to beg and plead his case. Holy shit, a letter!

Apparently this happened before when a song by Bird York ("In The Deep") - released five years earlier - was nominated for "Crash." But apparently the song was written specifically for the film, and director Paul Hack Haggis sent a similar angry communiqué to the Academy at the time to back this claim - and it worked.

There you have it. Letters from directors are all the proof the Academy needs. I mean, they wouldn't lie, right? They had the film entirely thought out and approached people to write songs about it like five years prior, right? Suuuuuuuuure. Maybe Paul Thomas Anderson needs to buy a typewriter.

Greenwood's "Popcorn Superhet Receiver" is currently streaming over at WNYC|New York Public Radio, and in listening to it you really do get the sense that Greenwood should have been disqualified, cause a lot of Superhet thingamajiggy is used in "There Will Be Blood" all over the place and in many memorable and key moments (and since it wasn't written for the film...).

Watch: Glen Hansard and Marketa Iglova - "Falling Slowly"

Moldy Peaches Perform On 'The View;' Juno Soundtrack Moves Up To #2 On Billboard Charts

The little indie-movie that could, "Juno" got nominated for four Oscars (including Best Picture, Actress, Director and Screenplay), the Moldy Peaches - who originally penned what has become the film's de facto theme (which they made a video for) - awkwardly performed "Anyone Else But You," to million of housewives on the television show "The View," and the "Juno" soundtrack sold a very respectable 57,000 and change copies of and moved up to number two on the Billboard charts only behind Alicia Keys. Oh and screenwriter Diablo Cody appeared on David Letterman the day the Oscars were announced too.

It's safe to say everyone involved with this over-achieving little film is having a very good week (PS. we have one copy left of the "Juno" soundtrack to give away - we'll throw in some other Juno paraphernalia in their as well including cool little guitar picks).

Adding to the phenomenon that is this movie/rediscovered Peaches and Kimya Dawson, MTV is going to put the video into regular television video rotation next week which is rather unheard of and a big coup for the filmmakers/songwriters.

Watch: The Moldy Peaches - "Anyone Else But You"

Production On Terry Gilliam's 'Imaginarium' - Heath Ledger's Last Film - Shut Down

Earlier today, as you might have expected, the future of Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" was cast into doubt due to the untimely death of one of its main stars Heath Ledger.

Terry Gilliam, while probably monstrously upset, probably couldn't help but wonder if he was cursed? Gilliam's had a rocky - to say the least - number of last few years when it's come to getting films off the ground (as we've discussed many times). His 'Don Quioxte' film (which he's trying to get off the ground again, the glutton for punishment) was demo'd by difficulties and shut down a few weeks into production (which was painfully documented in the 2002 film, "Lost In La Mancha"), and his next two films "The Brothers Grimm" - starring Heath Ledger - and "Tideland," were bombs neglected by studios and limped into barely-there theatrical releases (no to mention the huge studio debacles that were "Brazil" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen").

The $30 million indie wrapped its London leg of shooting last week and the had been move to Vancouver, Canada, where blue-screen work was due to start next week and continue until early March, presumably with Ledger. Well, absolutely with Ledger (20 days of filming had been completed; other stars included Tom Waits and Christopher Plummer).

Gilliam's luck isn't getting any better. Ledger wasn't the film's lead, but apparently funding for the film was contingent on his participation. Us Weekly is now reporting that the film has been shut down for good.

“I just got the call [Tuesday] saying everyone was being let go,” an on-set source told the gossip rag. “We were supposed to start this weekend, but obviously they fired everyone today.They don't know yet what they are doing with the footage that was already shot. Right now, everyone is in complete shock and can't even speak."

Not a huge surprise and yet another sad blow to this sad story.
'Parnassus' was supposed to follow an ancient traveling theater company “which arrives in modern London with a magical mirror that can transport its audience into fantastical realms of the imagination.” Plummer was supposed to play the Dr. and Ledger's role was an outsider that fends off the devil (Waits).

It remains to be seen whether Ledger's death was a suicide (and all reports point to an accidental overdose), but nonetheless 'Imaginarium' had a weird, now chilling hanging scene in it with a noose around Ledger's neck that's pretty disturbing in retrospect.

In an November MTV News interview while promoting "I'm Not There," Ledger called the film "mind-bending" and "a hoot." "It's going to be fun. I love Terry. I'd really do anything for him. I'd cut carrots and serve catering on his movies."
Ledger was attached to Terrence Malick's long-gestating "The Tree of Life," but left the project before he died (Brad Pitt is in talks to replace him).

Revamped Badly Drawn Boy Song To Be Featured In "Definitely Maybe"

A slightly revised version of Badly Drawn Boy's "The Time of Times - taken from his Born In the UK album will be featured in the upcoming drom-com "Definitely Maybe," according to the knit-capped wearing songsmith's myspace page.

Due February 14 - Valentine's day! how about that - the fromage-looking film stars Ryan Reynolds as a 30-something dad going through a divorce and in this process, has to retell his 10-year-old daughter (that four-eyes Abigail Breslin from "Little Miss Sunshine") how he and her mother fell in love. The film also stars Rachel Weisz, Isla Fischer and Elizabeth Banks as Reynolds' former love interests (Reynolds is rumored to be marrying Scarlett Johansson, btw).

The song will be available digitally on February 4th as a download and possibly on the film's soundtrack. What's on the rest of it? Who knows, details aren't out there yet. Feel free to let us know.

Though according to IMDB, Coati Mundi (the stage name of Andy Hernandez, vibraphone player and member of Kid Creole and the Coconuts) sings a song he penned called, "Mighty Mambobique," in the film.

The last film that Mr. Drawn Boy was largely involved in was the 2002 comedic drama adaptation of Nick Hornby's "About A Boy," which the Weitz Brother directors asked him to score in its entirety (to which he obliged). We were never huge Drawn Boy fans, but his 'Boy' work was something we always felt was a cut above his usual work (some samples below).

Download: Badly Drawn Boy - "Exit Stage Right"
Download: Badly Drawn Boy - "A Peak You Reach"
Download: Badly Drawn Boy - "I Love N.Y.E"
Watch: "Definitely Maybe" trailer
Watch: Badly Drawn Boy - "The Time Of Times"

Little-Seen Nick Drake Video Shot By Heath Ledger Features Bathtub Suicide Scene

Here's another chillingly coincidental Heath Ledger update (see the odd 'Imaginarium' coincidence in our obit).

We hope we're not being too crass here, but this is just eerie.

According to MTV News (in a bit we helped report), representatives of the Nick Drake estate said that an eerie and chillingly coincidental video for Drake's "Black Eyed Dog" was shot and edited by Ledger last year on behalf of the reissues and Fruit Tree boxset that was released in November 2007. In the stark, black and white video, Ledger is the subject and at the end of the clip he drowns himself in a bathtub. "Black Eyed Dog" was apparently the last song Nick Drake wrote before overdosing on pills (titled because of a Winston Churchill quote describing depression as a "black dog"). The video is not available commercially and has only been screened twice for the public (once at Bumbershoot in Seattle and once at a L.A. Nick Drake event to promote the reissues).

Bizarre and weird.

Ledger told reporters at a 2007 Venice Film Festival press conference that he was "obsessed" with the folk artist and once aspired to tell his story. "I was obsessed with his story and his music and I pursued it for a while and still have hopes to kind of tell his story one day," but added that those hopes "faded away."

Ledger's music ties didn't end there. He directed Ben Harper's video for "Morning Yearning" and announced plans to start a label with the singer called Masses Music Co. last year. Their first signing was Australian singer Grace Woodroofe; Ledger also directed a video for her cover of David Bowie's "Quicksand."

Ledger also introduced acts at the "I'm Not There" tribute concert to Bob Dylan.

Police Updates
Meanwhile, Ledger's parents are insisting that their son's death was not a suicide. TMZ is reporting that the actor was sick with pneumonia when he died. More importantly a police spokesman said there was no "obvious indication of suicide" like a note, according to the New York Times. No illegal drugs were found in the apartment.

The State of Dr. Parnassus?
Incidentally, as you might have expected, the future of of Ledger's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" is now in doubt. The cast also featured Tom Waits. Director Terry Gilliam must feel like he's cursed.

M.Ward/Zooey Deschanel Collabo Album Coming March 18

As we reported earlier this month, the M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel collaborative album under the name She And He is due in March. On KCRW's "Open Road" program Deschanel told show host Gary Calamar the album would be titled Volume 1.

Now the remaining details have trickled in, according to Pitchfork who have spoken to Merge records, the album is now set specifically for a March 18 release. Many of the songs have leaked online and have been available for months. The tracky-list is below. So far, She & Him have lined up a live performance at Merge's SXSW showcase in March.

Volume 1 tracklist
01 Sentimental Heart
02 Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
03 This Is Not a Test
04 Change Is Hard
05 I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
06 Take It Back
07 I Was Made for You
08 You Really Got a Hold on Me (Miracles cover)
09 Black Hole
10 Got Me
11 I Should Have Known Better (Beatles cover)

Download: She And Him (M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel - "Sentimental Heart"
Download: M. Ward & Zooey Deschanel - "You Really Got A Hold On Me"
Download: M. Ward & Zooey Deschanel - "Change Is Hard"

How She Move Soundtrack Feature Lil Mama, Montell Jordan, Due January 22 Digitally

The "How She Move" soundtrack is due out... let's see today! The hip-hop dance film hits theaters January 25 and the digital-only soundtrack which features Lil Mama, Montell Jorden, Smugglaz and Kadar is now available on ITunes and other digital retailers (January 22).

"How She Move" the film, is - according to the film's synopsis - a "gritty and ultimately inspiring coming of age tale about a gifted young woman who defies all the rules to achieve her dreams." The film combines the emerging street culture of step dancing and the talents of a new generation of Canadian actors (apparently it's a Canadian-made film, though produced by MTV Films).

There's not a lot of well-known names in the movie, but it does have an appearance of Keyshia Cole as herself.

"How She Move" soundtrack tracklist.
01. G Slide (Tour Bus) – Lil Mama feat. Kadar
02. Out Here - Mayhem Morearty
03. My Boots - Montell Jordan
04. Perfect - Carl Henry
05. Jane & Finchin' - Smugglaz
06. It Don't Make Any Difference To Me (acoustic version) feat. Akil Dasan – Kevin Michael
07. Hot Hot Hot - Montell Jordan
08. Reflectionz – Fenom
09. Ms. Golly - Lenn Hammond
10. Rude Girl Remix - Montell Jordan
11. Monster – Saukrates
12. Work That Stick - Montell Jordan
13. Still Burnin' - Fenom
14. Don't Let It Slip Away - Mood Ruff
15. Tempo – K Smith

Watch: "How She Move" trailer

Heath Ledger Dead From Apparent Drug Overdose; New Film Has Eerie (Suicide?) Death Scene

Ooof. Wow, Heath Ledger is dead. The actor apparently died of a drug overdose according to Page6. The story is developing over at TMZ as well. Sad waste of talent. We have no jokes for this one.

The 28-year-old Australian actor split from his his partner, Michelle Williams, with whom he has a daughter, Matilda Rose last year. They met during the filming of "Brokeback Mountain" in 2004. Personally sad because they actually used to live in our Brooklyn neighborhood and we used to see them all the time. RIP (1979-2008).

Details are emerging from the New York Times city blog and apparently he was found naked in a Manhattan apartment in Soho owned by Mary-Kate Olsen (insert bad conspiracy joke), according to the New York City police. Foul play is not suspected and he was apparently found dead on arrival.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived the fourth-floor apartment of the building, at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of the bedroom Mr. Ledger was in. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger naked and unconscious on a bed, with sleeping pills — both prescription medication and nonprescription — on a night table. They moved his body to the floor and attempted to revive him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities.

"We are investigating the possibility of an overdose," police spokesman Paul Browne told Reuters."There were pills within the vicinity of the bed." The NYTimes City blog has updated and is now saying the death points to a suicide or an accidental overdose. An autopsy will be conducted on Wednesday.

Ledger recently wrapped production on "The Dark Knight" as the Joker which is set for release this summer (and which will probably mean posters like this will soon disappear), and had begun work on Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus." be His latest role was one of seven Bob Dylan's in Todd Hayne's "I'm Not There."

Wow, Insert Terrible, Presciently Weird and Inapropriate Joke Here
On December 14, Ledger was spotted shooting scenes for 'Imaginarium' in London. In the scene, Heath was seen hanging (himself?) from London’s Lambeth Bridge and was rescued by costar Andrew Garfield. There's accompanying photos in the link with a noose around Ledger's neck, but god, we're not posting these here.

The Associated Press is reporting that "a large crowd of paparazzi and gawkers began gathering Tuesday evening outside the building on an upscale block, where several police officers guarded the door." At 6:30 p.m., city workers rolled Ledger’s body, in a black body bag on a stretcher, out of the building.

Olsen update: Reporters spoke too soon. A representative for Mary-Kate Olsen said this afternoon that the apartment did not belong to the actress. “It is not her apartment,” said the representative, Annette Wolf. “She does not own the apartment. She has never owned the apartment. She and her sister have an apartment in New York City but they are not in this building.”

Us Weekly's Source: "We Saw It Coming"
TMZ is reporting that Ledger had dinner with his new girlfriend, supermodel/actress Gemma Ward last night. The always classy US Weekly has already dug up a friend who says, "we saw it coming." "Heath has gone though a rough road of trying to get sober," the source told US. "Things were very dark, his one joy was Matilda. Everything else was misery for him. Unfortunately he was too late in getting help."

What are believed to be the last amongst the last photos of Ledger are over at Gawker. Intelligencer is reporting that CNN said that Ledger was actually still alive but unconscious when he was found (which TMZ and the CityRoom blog seem to confirm).

U2 Lose Whats-Left Of Their Dignity When Premiering New 3D Film At Sundance

Don't they look so happy? The Edge looks like he's thinking, "Jesus, why the fuck do I continue to agree to Bono's cockamamie ideas?"

Oscar Snubs 2008: 'Wild,' Gangster, Jolie, Eddie Vedder Denied

Ok, we're going a little overboard with the Oscar coverage. This will be the last one for a while.

What films got snubbed? Well, "snubbed" is a relative and fairly subjective term.

"Into the Wild," really made a comeback at the SAG awards, but both Sean Penn as director, the film itself and Emile Hirsch all got locked out. In fact, it was snubbed nearly everywhere and we figured it would at least score an Best cinematography nod (maybe it's all those lefty causes of Penn's that piss people off).

Note, these are snubs from others perspective - the pundits at large if you will - we're fine with what we felt was the mostly average "Wild" being looked over (and our favorite part about it, Hal Holbrook got his nomination so we're happy; the film also got an editing nom).

We're pleased as punch that "Atonement" and "American Gangster" were (sort-of) overlooked. Ok, not exactly for the British WWII epic. The film did score itself a Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay Nod (7 noms in all, not shabby), but director Joe Wright was passed over as were the cast's principal players (hacktress Keira Knightly and James McAvoy) and we view that as a small victory and a sign this film isn't going to win any major awards (another sign? It didn't get nominated for Best Editing).

The extremely mediocre 'Gangster' didn't score any major recognitions either except a nod for Ruby Dee in the Best Supporting Actress category (she doesn't have a prayer). We would have been sincerely outraged if Ridley Scott, Denzel or the film were nominated and thankfully they weren't.

We actually liked Angelina Jolie in "A Mighty Heart" and her breakdown scene is the kind of stuff that Oscar nomination highlight reels are made of, but it was not meant to be for the pouty-lipped, adoption-happy actress.

All in all, we're surprisingly happy with this year's Oscar nominations. We were afraid that populist crap like 'Gangster,' "Charlie Wilson's War" and "Atonement" were going to dominate (and yes, to a degree Atonement did, 7 noms is nothing to slouch at), but aside from the latter, they didn't make much of a dent.

Other Snubs:
Isn't Randy Newman supposed to earn a mandatory Oscar nod each year? He was nowhere to be found this year. Judd Apatow couldn't get a "Knocked Up" screenplay nod, but that wasn't a huge surprise. Catherine Keener earned herself a SAG nom for 'Wild,' but was shut out (much like the rest of the film). Ryan Gosling collected himself a SAG nod, but other than original screenplay "Lars & The Real Girl" was totally out in the cold. Tim Burton and 'Sweeney Todd' were thankfully (mostly ignored) as well.

Musical Snubs
Well, Jonny Greenwood got fucked on a technicality which sucks for him. Another guy who many expected to see at the Oscars was Eddie Vedder. He won a Golden Globe, but got dismissed here which is no crying shame for us. As far as we're concerned Nick Cave and Warren Ellis were robbed in the Best Original Score category. We're a little annoyed that Loudon Wainwright III was ignored for "Knocked-Up," but the Oscars love shit like "Enchanted" and "Hairspray" so we can't say this is a big shock. While it was also not unexpected, none of the "Walk Hard" songs could find themselves a nomination either.

Yeah, movies we really wanted to earn some respect like "The Assassination of Jesse James," "Margot At The Wedding," "Knocked-Up" and "I'm Not There" were largely overlooked, but as we said in our For Your Consideration piece we weren't naive enough to think they would've gained noms and therefore they don't qualify as "snubs" and are more just personal disappointments.

Wanna hear nuts? The box-office numbers for the Best Picture nominees. Usually it's studio pictures with big numbers and an indie or two that sneaks in there will low receipts, right? But of all the Best Picture nominees - "Atonement," "Juno," "No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," and Michael Clayton"? The highest grossing of all these films is "Juno" with $85 million so far. The second highest grossing film is barely half that. 'No Country' has earned $48.6 million so far. That's like the little-train-that-could "Little Miss Sunshine" outshining the competition the year it was a dark horse. Very, very odd times we live in.

And not a good sign when it comes to Hollywood business. There's a lot of good Oscar factoids about this year's nominees here.

'No Country For Old Men' and 'There Will Be Blood' Tie For 8 Oscar Nominations Each, 'Once's Duo Get Songwriting Nom, Vedder Shut-Out

Kathy Bates joined Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis this morning to announce the nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards. It was a rip-roaring good time and Ganis seemed to work hard to pronounce Marion Cotillard's last name which was nice.

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Micheal Clayton
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Actor
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In The Valley Of Elah
Viggo Moretensen, Eastern Promises

Tommy Lee Jones, what? Well, he did get a SAG nomination, so this makes sense, but otherwise a major upset as he really wasn't on any one's radar. Whoever laid odds on him just made some serious money.

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Laura Linney, excellent, good for her, but otherwise expected.

Best Director
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
The Coen Brothers, No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Wow, Reitman for Juno this is super unexpected. No one woulda guessed that in a million years. Dude is currently celebrating, ordering hookers, uncorking champagne and getting ready to cut lines off of asses.

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James
Javier Bardem , No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into The Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

We were spot-on here.

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

That little brat Saiorise Ronan better not win. We can't stand her.

Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Brad Bird and co., Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

Pretty much expected all around. We're sad to see that "Knocked Up" didn't get a nod though. This category is always good to the indies, but Cody has a lock on it no matter what (though it would be nice to see Jenkins take it).

Best Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away From Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Sarah Polley, wow. A nice little surprise. I'm she she's still sleeping and will wake up to about 400 voicemail messages, will shrug and then sip coffee with her husband over some light feminist literature.

Best Animated Feature
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

Persepolis gets some recognition and love, finally!

Foreign Film
"Beaufort," Israel
"The Counterfeiters," Austria
"Katyn," Poland
"Mongol," Kazakhstan
"12," Russia

Art Direction
"American Gangster"
"Atonement"
"The Golden Compass"
"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
"There Will Be Blood."

Cinematography:
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood."

Yes, Jesse James! We basically called this. Pleasantly surprised that 'Assassination' got it, but wondering how "Into The Wild" got snubbed (that not we mind). But as we said yesterday, this is going to be a weird one. Roger Deakins is nominated twice, both for 'Jesse' and also for 'No Country' which could split the votes and give the victory to Robert Elswit for 'Blood,' but hopefully Janusz Kaminski's beautiful 'Butterfly' work takes it. Deakins is the first cinematographer to receive two nominations in the same year since 1971.

Sound Mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"3:10 to Yuma"
"Transformers"

The Bourne film should probably be a lock for most technical awards, but then again the ominous air-gun sounds from 'No Country' could take this.

Sound Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Transformers"

Original Score:
"Atonement," Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner" Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton,"James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille" Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma," Marco Beltrami

Wow, boring, boring picks. We hope 3:10 To Yuma takes it. That was a great score that we recently considered picking up. As we reported yesterday Jonny Greenwood's "There Will Be Blood" was named ineligible.

Original Song
"Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz;
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush," Nominees to be determined;
"So Close" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz;
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

No Eddie Vedder, this is a surprise as he did win a Golden Globe, but we can't say we're displeased. Will the Oscars give it to the creepy Hansard who is fucking someone like 15 years younger than himself - his co-songwriter Irglova. But basically this is the reason Stereogum, Pitchfork, et al, won't be interested in the Oscars this year and we say good riddance. And gee, you think these guys like "Enchanted" or what? 3 nominations in this category? Ugh.

Costume
"Across the Universe"
"Atonement"
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Documentary Feature:
"No End in Sight"
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
"Sicko"
"Taxi to the Dark Side"
"War/Dance"

We love us some muckracking Michael Moore, but "No End In Sight" was amazing.

Documentary (short subject):
"Freeheld"
"La Corona (The Crown)"
"Salim Baba"
"Sari's Mother"

Film Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Nice to see a psedonymn earn a nomination. Roderick Jaynes was nominated for 'No Country'. Who is the masked man? A stand-in name for Joel and Ethan Coen. If they win (and they have a great shot at winning) expect the Coens to make refernce to Jaynes and the fake reasons he couldn't be there to accept his award. Remember 9 out of 10 times whatever wins Best film editing wins the Oscar. So when you're doing your pools and looking at your cheat sheet, if you don't have Best editing you're basically fucked.

Makeup
"La Vie en Rose"
"Norbit"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

Animated Short Film: "I Met the Walrus," "Madame Tutli-Putli," "Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)," "My Love (Moya Lyubov)," "Peter & the Wolf."

Live Action Short Film: "At Night," "Il Supplente (The Substitute)," "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)," "Tanghi Argentini," "The Tonto Woman."

Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Transformers."

The 80th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2008 live on at 5 p.m. PST.

The Playlist's Super Last-Minute Oscar Predictions

So in anticipation for the Oscar nominations in oh, 30 minutes, we're up and we can't sleep. Since we did our Cinematography picks last night we figured we'd drop our Oscar predictions as something to do to pass the time and hell, just for the record - so we can look wise or dumb depending on what goes down. Some of these will probably seem like no brainers, but truthfully, as we see it, the major awards are mostly set in stone.

However, "Atonement" could make a comeback and sweep up some major nods, but if we had to bet, we'd go against it. Wait, really? Really? The Academy loves shit like this, it's their bees love honey staple. Yes, but so far during awards season the WWII love story epic has been shut down, so we're mainly hoping that this trend is going to continue. But yeah, we won't be surprised if it makes a comeback. "American Gangster" is another that could score some major nods, but if it does, we call bullshit on this whole thing. Right, ever the preemptive apologist, right? Even Denzel shouldn't earn a nod. Ok, let's get to it.

Best Picture
No Country For Old Men
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
There Will Be Blood
Juno
Atonement

Wait, what? Yeah, we changed our minds. "Michael Clayton" probably has a better shot than 'Diving Bell,' which will most likely earn a Best Director nod, but we can't help root for it. We're going with out heart, not our head here and Atonement is to cover our asses. "Into The Wild" could sneak in there too.

Best Director
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
The Coen Brothers, No Country For Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Sean Penn, Into The Wild
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton

Best Actor
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Emile Hirsch, Into The Wild
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Viggo Moretensen, Eastern Promises

Dark Horse: Ryan Gosling, Lars And The Real Girl

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett , Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Ellen Page, Juno

Best Supporting Actor
Hal Holbrook, Into The Wild
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Javier Bardem , No Country For Old Men
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Catherine Keener, Into The Wild