Brokeback Mountain is coming to the stage as an opera.New York City Opera commissioned composer Charles Wuorinen to set the cowboy romance to music. A 2013 premiere is planned.The 2005 film adaptation of Annie Proulx's story that starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal won three Academy Awards. — J.R. Whalen
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Last night, I reluctantly rewatched Brokeback Mountain. I say "reluctantly" not because I dislike the film. If I were to compile a top-10 list of my favorite movies of all time, Brokeback would easily make the cut. No, I hesitated because the heartbreaking love story of Ennis and Jack always leaves me an emotional wreck, and the undercurrent of Heath Ledger's untimely death was a tragic added layer I couldn't bear. But after a couple of glasses of chardonnay and a gentle nudge from my partner, Kit — "Think of it as a tribute to Heath" — I decided to do the brave thing and, rather than sidestep my grief, run headfirst into it. So I popped in the DVD. And within seconds, the floodgates opened. I was a mess. A crying, nose-running, whimpering mess. But then, Gustavo Santaolalla's haunting, Oscar-winning score always triggered my inner Tammy Faye. (The Terms of Endearment theme has a similar effect on me.) The fact that those simple guitar tracks could easily double as the sou...
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Actor Heath Ledger Found DeadAcademy Award-nominated actor Heath Ledger was found dead yesterday in a Soho apartment at the age of 28. The tragic news of the Brokeback Mountain star’s death came as a shock, and the cause (though speculated to be an overdose) is still undetermined. An autopsy this morning was deemed inconclusive. Ledger's family has been quoted as saying that the death is "very tragic, untimely and accidental." Here we take a look at some of Ledger's most memorable roles. Watch the video. | More online videos10 Things I Hate About You (1999)After work in a small indie film followed by some television roles, Ledger got his big break in the Hollywood film 10 Things I Hate About You. One of his most memorable moments in this modern remake of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, in which he played bad-boy Patrick Verona, came when he serenaded Julia Stile’s character with the song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.” Watch the video now. | Mor...
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Jan 23, 2008 07:10 AM ET
- by Ken Fox
Not long before 3:35 pm on January 22, 2008, the short life and promising career of actor Heath Ledger came to a sudden, tragic end. It was around this time that Ledger's housekeeper and his masseuse discovered the body of the Australian-born actor in the bedroom of the Broome Street apartment he'd been renting in lower Manhattan. Ledger was not yet 29 years old.News of Ledger's death came as a terrible shock to nearly everyone, even though it now seems the low-key, Oscar-nominated actor had been privately battling his own demons for quite some time. His passing is the terrible surprise ending no one saw coming, an abrupt finale to a life and career that seemed to be all about the unexpected.Born and raised in Perth, Australia, and named after the darkly romantic anti-hero from Wuthering Heights (he has a sister named Katherine), Ledger left school at the age of 17 to pursue a career in acting. He eventually landed a role in Blackrock, a small independent feature about teen rape, fo...
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CBS Mobile is launching this week a cell-phone game based on CSI: Miami. I imagine it's like Donkey Kong, but instead of barrels you jump little flipping sunglasses.... Producer Mark Gordon (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Army Wives) has inked a new deal to stay put at ABC Studios through 2011.... Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood are among the performers lined up thus far for the CMA Awards, airing Nov. 7 on ABC.... Brokeback Mountain writer Annie Proulx has greenlit an opera about those two frisky cowpokes.... The ratings people have begun beta-testing "Hey! Nielsen," an online forum in which TV enthusiasts can express their views.
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