SiM Stills: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

First look at the final film of the late Heath Ledger

Lionsgate Films has released several new stills for their highly-anticipated The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which stars the late Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) in his final feature. Directed by Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), this fantasy flick follows the immortal 1,000-year-old Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), who has made a pact with the Devil and leads an extravagant travelling theatre troupe that delves into the imaginations of its audiences. The $30 million film, due September 24th (June 6th in the UK), also stars Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield and "Mini-Me" Verne Troyer.

2009 Empire Movie Awards

The Dark Knight extends its awards streak overseas

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Although the Jameson-sponsored Empire Movie Awards were handed out on March 29th--better late than never--SiM has recently gotten ahold of the big winners of the 15th annual awards show, organized by Britain's top-selling film magazine Empire.

Voted on by the readers of the popular mag, which is also available here in North America, the Empires saw last year's The Dark Knight capture three major wins, including Best Film, Director (Christopher Nolan) and Actor (Christian Bale), while a special commemoration tribute honoured the late Heath Ledger, who played The Joker in the blockbuster.

Hosted at London's Grosvenor Hotel, the ceremony welcomed The Dark Knight executive producer Kevin De La Noy and actor Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow) in accepting the prestigious Best Film trophy on behalf of its filmmakers. "Thank you to Empire for your support up to and since release," stated De La Noy. "It was an extraordinary film to work on and thank you for this."

23-year-old actress Gemma Arterton was named Best Newcomer for her role in the James Bond flick Quantum of Solace (named Best Thriller), beating out the likes of Robert Pattinson (Twilight), Jim Sturgess (21), Hayley Atwell (The Duchess) and Toby Kebbell (RocknRolla). Below is the complete list of winners for the 2009 (Jameson) Empire Movie Awards.

Best Film: The Dark Knight
Best British Film: RocknRolla
Best Comedy: Son of Rambow
Best Horror: Eden Lake
Best Thriller: Quantum of Solace
Best Sci-fi/Superhero: Wanted
Best Director: Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
Best Actor: Christian Bale (The Dark Knight)
Best Actress: Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd)
Best Newcomer: Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace)
Best Soundtrack: Mamma Mia!
Actor of Our Lifetime: Russell Crowe
Done in 60 Seconds Award: Jerry Maguire
Outstanding Contribution to British Film: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Empire Icon: Viggo Mortensen

Posthumous Ledger Projects Arise

Indie pop-rock group Modest Mouse are exciting Heath Ledger fans with their recent news about the animated video for their single "King Rat," which was directed by the late actor, and animated by Terry Gilliam of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. Ledger worked on the clip shortly before his untimely drug overdose in January 2008, and the band only recently added "King Rat" as a bonus track for their 2007 album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.

"Heath and I have a mutual friend and when we were in Australia, my fiance and some of us in the band went out on a boat with him and his family and friends and talked about the idea," remembered Mouse frontman Isaac Brock in a 2007 interview with VH1. "The idea sort of dropped, but then he just sent me an email saying that he wanted to do it."

Spin magazine also reported that Ledger--who was 28-years-old when he died--also had helmed a music video for a cover of David Bowie's "Quicksand," by Aussie blues singer Grace Woodroofe, who was to be the first act signed to Ledger and friend Ben Harper's indie label Masses Music Co.

Best known for his roles in Brokeback Mountain (2005) and last year's The Dark Knight, Ledger had previously directed videos for Harper ("Morning Yearning") and the late Nick Drake ("Black Eyed Dog"), the latter of whom Ledger had been "obsessed" with, and who had died under similar circumstances in 1974. Both "King Rat" and "Quicksand" will be released this year, though no specific dates were available. Ledger's final film, Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Pamassus, is also slated for this year.