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LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - The Los Angeles-based organization, Australians in Film, has announced that they will launch the Heath Ledger Scholarship Fund, which will be given annually to a young Australian actor to help them pursue a career in Hollywood.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Ledger's family fully supports the fund, and Gregor Jordan, a longtime friend of the late actor, read statements of support from Ledger's family at Australians in Film's 4th annual Breakthrough Awards on June 5.

Susie Dobson, the president of the organization said, “We're so pleased to recognize the efforts and talents of Australia’s newest faces who are already proving they are on their way to join the ranks of the high-profile Australian talent working in Hollywood. We are also thrilled that, through Heath's scholarship, we will be able to assist burgeoning Australian talent launch their careers in the U.S. to become potential future recipients of a Breakthrough Award.”

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LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Heath Ledger's hometown of Perth, Australia announced today that they will name a theater in his honor, according to the Associated Press. The Heath Ledger Theater cost an estimated $87 million and holds 575 seats.

Western Australia state Premier Alan Carpenter stated, “Heath Ledger was totally dedicated to the craft of being an actor and that's what made him successful. I think what we're doing is continuing that support for young people who want to make a career in the arts and acting, stage and in film, whatever it happens to be.”

Kim Ledger, the actor's father, called the tribute a pleasant surprise and said, “He was such a giver to the arts right across the board. I really feel that there's not a lot of things he'd put his name to, but he'd put his name to that."

Ledger will make his final film appearance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" which opens on July 18.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - The Dark Knight shattered box office records for the midnight opening, earning an unprecedented $18,489,000 at the box office last night. Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures made the announcement today, and added:

“We have been thrilled by the response to The Dark Knight, first from the critics and now from audiences. From our earliest screenings, the buzz on the film has been white hot and it hasn’t let up. Now that the opening weekend is here, we are very excited to finally share The Dark Knight with moviegoers nationwide.”

The 12:01 a.m. opening grosses beat the previous record of $16.9 million, which was held by Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith from May of 2005. Insiders have predicted that the film could make up to $150 million this weekend, and Heath Ledger has already gotten Oscar buzz for his role as the Joker.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Yesterday it was announced that The Dark Knight broke the midnight opening record by bringing in $18.5 million, but after everything was tallied up from Friday night sales, the film ended up having the best opening day gross ever, with an estimated $60 to $63 million in ticket sales, according to Variety.

The film could potentially have the highest opening ever for a non-holiday weekend at this rate. The previous record holder for both best opening day and best opening for a non-holiday weekend is Spider-Man 3 which made $59.8 million on its opening Friday, and $151.1 million for the weekend.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - The Dark Knight grossed a record breaking $158.4 million from Friday through Sunday, to earn the biggest three-day opening in box-office history. The film beat out the previous record holder, Spider-Man 3, which earned $151.1 million in its opening weekend. The Dark Knight also earned a record $6.2 million from 94 IMAX venues over the weekend (Spider-Man 3 held the previous record at $4.7 million).

Mamma Mia! came in at number two, with $27.6 million, which marks the biggest premiere ever for a movie musical, if early estimates are correct.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - A Superior Court judge has dismissed 11 of the 12 claims filed against the photo agency responsible for distributing video the late Heath Ledger doing drugs at a party, according to Fox News.

The woman filing the claims, identified in court documents as "Jane Doe," was a reporter on assignment for People magazine, and she sued the photo agency and two photographers in April for fraud, intrusion, unjust enrichment.

According to the lawsuit, the tape was made after the Golden Globe Awards in January 2006 and wasn't released until after Ledger's death in February of 2008. Entertainment Tonight and The Insider planned to air the video in a segment, but later decided to pull the footage after some of the biggest names in Hollywood protested their decision.

The fuzzy video showed Ledger allegedly doing cocaine and other drugs supplied by the photographers, and the reporter claimed that her appearance in the video "ruined her." A judge thought otherwise, stating that the hotel room had been taken by her for an interview with Ledger and that it was therefore a professional setting, not a private one, and that she had no right to claim invasion of privacy.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Heath Ledger's estimated $20 million estate will be granted to his daughter, with actress Michelle Williams, Matilda Rose, according to Ledger's father.

The late actor's will has been probated behind closed doors at the Supreme Court in Perth, Australia, the actor's home country, and he left everything to his parents and three sisters, according to "Perth Now."

But Ledger's father Kim says his family members have decided to give 100% of the assets to Matilda.

Some reports had speculated the Matilda's mother, Williams, would lodge a challenge to the probate, but Kim Ledger confirmed there would be no contest: "There is no claim. Our family has gifted everything to Matilda."

The actor died at aged 28 on January 22, 2008.

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LOS ANGELES, California (X17online)- Heath Ledger's insurance company is refusing to pay $10 million dollars to his 2-year-old daughter Matilda because the company says he died under "suspicious circumstances," according to the New York Post.

The company also wants Mary-Kate Olsen to tell them what she knows about Heath's death!

Lawyers for Heath's estate are now suing the insurance company, ReliaStar Life, a subsidiary of ING Americas, accusing the company of bad faith and snooping into Heath's life.

The Post is reporting that the insurance company is looking into the possibility that Heath took his own life, which would mean the company would be off the hook for the $10 Mil. The NY medical examiner ruled that Heath died of an accidental overdose of prescription medication.

The insurance company isn't commenting on the suit.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Michelle Williams is talking about the death of her daughter's father, Heath Ledger in an interview with Newsweek magazine.

"I just wake up each day in a slightly different place—grief is like a moving river, so that's what I mean by 'it's always changing'," she told the mag.

In Michelle's case, the grief has definitely not lessened with time. "It's a strange thing to say, because I'm at heart an optimistic person, but I would say in some ways it just gets worse. It's just that the more time that passes, the more you miss someone. In some ways it gets worse. That's what I would say."

Michelle also goes on to say that the constant attention on her personal life may be too much for her to handle. "If it gets to the point where I can't situate my life in a way that they stay away more, then I'll drop a match on the thing," she said. "I'll be sad. I like to act. It's saved my life over and over again. It's given me a sense of self-esteem, self-worth. I have this thing that I'm in love with—acting—and now it has this baggage."

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Heath Ledger's final performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" has been honored by the Australian Film Institute.

Ledger's family accepted the best actor award in a ceremony on Saturday in Melbourne, according to the Associated Press.

The Australian Film Institute said: "It was this swaggering, psychopathic clown that turned his career into a legacy and the name Heath Ledger into an ongoing inspiration for actors everywhere."

Many critics believe Ledger's performance has a solid chance to garner a posthumous Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Should Heath Ledger win the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a motion picture for his performance as the Joker, Michelle Williams will not be on stage to accept the award, according to Access Hollywood.

"There have been no conversations about Michelle Williams presenting or accepting an award having to do with Heath nor are there going to be,” a spokesperson for Williams told Access.

Ledger, who died in January 2008 at the age of 28, is up for the award against Tom Cruise (“Tropic Thunder”); Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man”); Ralph Fiennes (“The Duchess”); and Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”).

Kim Ledger, the actor's father and "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan have been called the likely choices to represent Ledger at the awards ceremony on January 11th.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - A lawsuit over a tape that allegedly showed the late actor Heath Ledger using drugs two years before his death has been settled according to lawyers involved in the case.

The video surfaced after Ledger's death last January.

"Entertainment Tonight" had plans to air part of the footage and showed a teaser, but backed off after receiving pressure from stars and publicists. On it, Ledger is heard talking about his wife and daughter and prior drug use.

A freelance reported who appears on the tape sued to have the tape destroyed. She claimed the agency provided the drugs to Ledger, the agency denied the allegations.

Terms of the settlement were not made public.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Heath Ledger won a posthumous SAG award tonight for best supporting actor in The Dark Knight.

Heath's co-star, Gary Oldman accepted the award saying, "It is a great honor to be asked to accept this on behalf of Heath. He was an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary talent, and it is wonderful that you have acknowledged that and honored that talent tonight. On behalf of Heath, his family and his family on The Dark Knight, I thank you."

Ledger is also nominated for an Oscar for the same role.

The other big winners of the night were the cast of Slumdog Millionaire for best cast in a motion picture. Sean Penn won for his part in Milk for the best male actor in a leading role. Best female actor in a leading role went to Meryl Streep for Doubt and the best supporting actress award went to Golden Globe winner Kate Winslet for The Reader.

Television awards went to Mad Men for best ensemble drama series. 30 Rock picked up the prize for best comedy. Hugh Laurie won for best male actor in a drama series for House. And Sally Field won the same prize for her work in Brothers & Sisters. 30 Rock co-stars Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey picked up the awards for best male and female actor in a comedy series. Paul Giamatti won for best male actor in a TV movie/miniseries for John Adams. His co-star Laura Linney also won.

The SAG also celebrates the stunt work in film and TV - Dark Night won for best stunt ensemble in a motion picture and Heroes won the same prize for in the TV category.

The actor James Earl Jones received the lifetime achievement award.

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LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit over a life insurance company's refusal to pay Heath Ledger's $10 million policy, the Associated Press reports.

Ledger's daughter, 3-year-old Matilda Rose is the beneficiary of the policy.

The insurance company had refused to pay the value of the policy while they investigated whether Ledger, who died in New York last January, committed suicide.

A coroner later ruled "The Dark Knight" star died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Will audiences in America get a chance to see Heath Ledger's final performance in Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?"

According to the Risky Business Blog, Heath's sister Kate told reporters backstage at the Oscars that her family is very much "in the loop" on her brother's final movie. Kate said, "We've seen a little bit of the footage. I think it's going to be amazing."

Heath died while the film was still in production, but Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp were brought on board as part of an "elaborate workaround," in which they played different parts of Heath's character. While it seems like the film itself has been saved, the sales and the process of acquiring a deal are proving to be a whole different can of worms.

Numerous domestic buyers were said to be interested in acquiring stateside rights, but apparently marketing this film will be a challenge, as it's considered to be more on the experimental side. Marketing experts say that retailing the flick as a Ledger film "risks running a word-of-mouth problem with general audiences unaccustomed to that kind of material." A source tells Risky Business Blog, "This movie stars Heath Ledger in his final performance - it will get a deal and come out in the U.S., but it's no accident that it's taking this long."

However, despite the drama, a domestic deal is expected to be announced shortly, and a mini-major or larger indie studio is expected to sign on as well.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Heath Ledger's final performance will be seen in the US now that the film has found a distributor.

Sony Classics is expected to release "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" theatrically later this year.

Heath Ledger was working on the film when he passed away in January of 2008.

Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell took over Heath's role in the film after his death.

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