We've been following Michelle Williams's transformation into Marilyn Monroe for her role in My Week With Marilyn with some curiosity, and now, with the film set to premiere at the New York Film Festival this Sunday, the first trailer for the flick has been released. more ›

Short Cuts will be a regular feature here, delivering some recent bits of news from the big screen. more ›

It's coming up on the third anniversary of Heath Ledger's death, who was found dead in his downtown NYC apartment on January 22nd, 2008. He left his ex Michelle Williams behind, along with their daughter Matilda (who is now 5 years old), and during that time there were a lot of photos surfacing of Williams walking around her neighborhood of Park Slope, but she rarely discussed his death. more ›

With Heath Ledger's posthumous Oscar win this past Sunday, his only daughter Matilda has been thrown back into the spotlight. Her mother, actress Michelle Williams, was recently interviewed by the Telegraph in Brooklyn, the borough that mother and daughter are still calling home. In some of her first public statements about Ledger's death, she says she still feels "burned out," hasn't set foot on a film set since last May, finds the Hollywood lifestyle "a hassle," and spends her time these days "cooking, baking, cleaning and sewing." Clearly in no rush to film a big budget blockbuster, she did comment that she'd be "happy making movies for $300,000 for the rest of my life." Don't look for her to have an LA zip code though, she seems content in Brooklyn: "I can handle sitting here chatting in a bar in Brooklyn, that's right up my alley. I just don't want to strap a film to my back - fly all over the world and show up at lots of different places with a different dress and a new hairdo." As for Matilda, her mother has high hopes for her becoming a doctor, though adds that she's "currently more interested in being a cowgirl." more ›

Following the death of Heath Ledger, his grieving family was questioned endlessly about the actor's will, which was written before his daughter Matilda was born. Now Ledger's father has publicly declared that every cent of the estimated $20 million estate (originally left to his sisters and parents) would go to Matilda, telling People magazine that was the plan "from the moment my boy passed away." Fox News notes that "Williams' father [Larry Williams, one of the world's best-known stock market traders] has previously challenged the grieving Ledger family to publicly state the value of their son's fortune." Meanwhile, TMZ is reporting that the ReliaStar Life Insurance Company, who wrote Heath Ledger's $10 million life insurance policy is in June of 2007, is "being sued after claiming the actor's death might have been a suicide, even though officials concluded it was accidental. Lawyers for Ledger's daughter say it's a transparent ploy to avoid paying the money." more ›

An “insider” tells the Post that the late Heath Ledger’s ex Michelle Williams is furious with Ledger’s family over the management of his estate. Ledger’s 2003 will, made out before his daughter Matilda was born, bequeathed everything to his father, mother and siblings; Matilda is now considered the beneficiary, but according to the Post, Williams thinks Ledger’s dad Kim will blow his Dark Knight millions before Matilda reaches 18. (Ledger's uncles have claimed Kim Ledger mishandled their own father's estate.) Rumor has it that Williams is so upset that she’s going to boycott the Dark Knight premiere on July 14th. more ›

Word on Heath Ledger's will has hit the newswire, and according to documents filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court, he had less than $145,000 in New York assets when he died on January 22nd. The figure includes about $100,000 in bank accounts, a $25,000 Toyota Prius and $20,000 in furniture and fixtures. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on East 169th St. and Franklin Ave. in the Bronx, an aircraft emergency at Laguardia in Queens, and a power outage on Laconia Ave. in the Bronx.
• The suit about seizing private property for another private owner in the name of public gain will move to the Supreme Court after a 3-judge panel ruled that Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards eminent domain actions were O.K. with them.
• Some subway graffiti suggesting who the real Cloverfield monster is.

Yesterday, Kim Ledger visited his son's apartment on Broome Street. After Heath Ledger had been found dead in a Soho loft last week, mourners have left letters, flowers and other tributes to the 28-year-old actor. The building staff had collected the items and kept them in the basement; the building super told the Post Kim Ledger said the mementos were "beautiful." more ›

Last night, the G'Day USA Australia Ball was held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, concluding Australia Week festivities. But the week held sadness, after Australian actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his Soho apartment on Tuesday. At the ball, Australian Counsel-General John Olsen read an unexpected letter from Ledger's father Kim:

"Heath is, and always will be, an Australian. more ›

Some more details surrounding Heath Ledger's death have emerged, even though the autopsy is inconclusive for the actor's cause of death. Though CBS 2 initially reported that a rolled up $20 bill in Ledger's SoHo apartment had narcotic residue on it and that cops had found unidentified drug packets, the NYPD now confirms that lab tests found nothing to indicate the bill had been used to snort drugs and that no illegal drugs were found in the apartment. There were six types of prescription drugs in the room, including pills to treat insomnia and anxiety. more ›

The NYC Medical Examiner's office says Heath Ledger's autopsy is inconclusive, citing the need to more tests. Spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said, "The autopsy is inconclusive and we have to do further testing which includes toxicology and tissue testing. We expect to have results in about 10 days to two weeks." more ›

Yesterday afternoon the world learned of Heath Ledger's untimely death. Both old and new media gossiped, rumor-mongered, and pitched their circus tents outside of his building on Broome Street the moment word spread. Sadly, most of his close friends and relatives, including his parents, heard about the tragedy through the newswire. more ›

The shocking news of Heath Ledger's death in an SoHo apartment is front page news. more ›

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Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on Coney Island Ave. in Brooklyn, a bank robbery on Maiden Ln. and Gold St. in Manhattan, and an amputation at The Public School on Bristol St. in Brooklyn. Get ready for a possible porn release of Amy Fisher, thanks to her boyfriend. He handed over video of the pair to a porn producer during a fight and before the pair reconciled. Neighborhood resistance to the... more ›

Earlier this month it was reported that Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams called it quits, and the big question was: will their Boerum Hill home be on the market soon? A resident of that area took the above photo this morning, apparently the house on the corner of Dean and Hoyt Streets is the home of the New Victorian royalty. We wonder if they just Googled "celebrities moving" and that's what came up. more ›

After years of what seemed like coupled bliss, Heath Ledger proved he could quit someone as he and Michelle Williams have officially split. Sources told People Magazine that "It was rocky for awhile. They did what they could to make it work." more ›

The Observer has an interesting piece on The New Victorians, who are apparently bringing monogomy and early adulthood back. To get a mental image, think: Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger in Boerum Hill, Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss in Park Slope and Liv Tyler and Royston Langdon in the West Village. A new breed of 20-somethings in the big city, and apparently this new regime is more into nesting than late nights. more ›

(directed by Julian Goldberger) more ›

As we mentioned yesterday, MTV is sending in their reality crew troops to Brooklyn Tech for a new series. more ›

- Finally, a good tour of Greenwood Cemetery from Forgotten-NY. more ›

JC: ALL RIGHT! I just took extra Vitamin C - I'm waiting for some food delivery. more ›

As Jon Stewart takes to the stage this Sunday at 8 pm to host the 78th Annual Academy Awards, the movie-lovin' Gothamist will be watching with eager anticipation from our couch. The spectacle, the glamour, the bad musical numbers and cheesy memorial montages -- we love it all. In fact, Gothamist (ie. Jen Chung and movie correspondent Karen Wilson) will be live blogging the ceremony but in the meantime, here's a few predictions for the winners: more ›

- Check out the on-the-scene photographs of the grilled cheese sandwich eating contest from yesterday in Times Square more ›

- Nicolette Sheridan does not look over-Botoxed with fish lips! more ›

It's all about Brokeback these days: This morning, Kate Beckinsale, Mark Wahlberg, and Steve Carrell announced the 63rd Annual Golden Globe nominations, and Brokeback Mountain walked away with 7 nominations, including Best Picture (Drama), Director, Actor, Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams). Match Point, the unreleased Woody Allen movie, also got nods in Picture and Director, plus Supporting Actress Scarlett Johnanssen. As for the TV nominations, the ladies of Wisteria Lane took four leading actress nominations, giving Weeds' Mary Louise Parker a good shot of winning, though Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross were fierce this year. We do want to say this, though: Kristen Bell, you were robbed! more ›