Is there a filmmaker in the world with worse luck than Terry Gilliam? He was directing Heath Ledger in "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus," when the actor died -- and it's not the first time he has lost a leading man. Jean Rochefort didn't die eight years ago, but Gilliam had to abandon "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" after a few days when 70-year-old star Jean Rochefort became seriously ill and a flash flood washed away the entire ...

The film Heath Ledger was making when he died, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," will feature at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The Terry Gilliam production was delayed by several months after Ledger's death from an accidental overdose last January, before Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law stepped in to complete his role. It will screen out of competition. In competition previous winners Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Lars von Trier and Jane Campion join fellow cinematic giants Pedro Almodovar, ...

"Slumdog Millionaire," the little film about a poverty-raised teaboy who goes on a game show as a way to find his lost love, leads all films at the Oscars with six Oscars at the 81st annual Academy Awards. "Millionaire" has won Oscars for adapted screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), score (A.R. Rahman), song ("Jai Ho," co-written by Rahman), cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle), sound mixing and film editing. "All my life I've had a choice between hate and love, and I chose love, ...

Heath Ledger won best supporting actor for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" at the 81st annual Academy Awards on Sunday. His parents and sister accepted the award for the actor, who died in January 2008. "This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath's quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here -- his peers -- within an industry he truly loved," said Ledger's father, Kim. Ledger is only the second actor to ...

A U.S. Army medic was sentenced Friday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after being convicted of murdering four detainees in Iraq, a U.S. military spokesman in Germany said. The Australian actor, who earned rave reviews for his hosting of the Tonys, now has the Academy Awards to contend with. It's a job that's put Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg and David Letterman on the firing line, with only Billy Crystal and Johnny Carson emerging ...

This year, the Oscars are on Hugh Jackman's shoulders. The Australian actor, who earned rave reviews for his hosting of the Tonys, now has the Academy Awards to contend with. It's a job that's put Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg and David Letterman on the firing line, with only Billy Crystal and Johnny Carson emerging more or less unscathed in the last couple of decades. But with typical verve -- after all, this is the guy who won a ...

A group of Heath Ledger fans have taken their reverence for the late "The Dark Knight" star to a whole new level. Followers of the actor, who electrified audiences with his chilling reinvention of the Joker in the second Batman blockbuster, are calling for the character to be retired from the movies permanently. Ledger supporters at new Web site, The Ultimate Joker, launched a petition last week calling for studios to remove the Joker from any future Batman ...

"Slumdog Millionaire" extended its run of international acclaim as it won seven top awards on Sunday from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, including best film. Danny Boyle took top directing honors for "Slumdog." The film also won awards for adapted screenplay, music, cinematography, editing and sound. In January "Slumdog," about an orphan raised in poverty in Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," won outstanding performance by a cast at ...