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/ 9 February 2008

Actor Heath Ledger mourned at private funeral

Family and friends of actor Heath Ledger bade farewell at a private service in his Australian home town of Perth on Saturday, with the media kept away and Ledger’s father appealing for mourners to be allowed to grieve in peace. Ledger (28) died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in his New York apartment on January 22.

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/ 23 January 2008

Ledger decided ‘to forge his own way’

Actor Heath Ledger was found dead at a Manhattan apartment, naked in bed with sleeping pills nearby, police said. He was 28. Ledger, who moved to the United States at age 19, quickly turned away from typical teen films and instead started to build a career on more challenging roles.

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/ 5 September 2007

Blanchett’s take on Dylan has critics raving

With hair teased into the familiar bird’s nest of frizz, Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of Bob Dylan is already being tipped for Oscar success. Yet as Todd Haynes’s surreal biopic I’m Not There was premiered at the Venice film festival on Tuesday, the director revealed that the Australian actor’s decision to take on the role had been far from instant.

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/ 4 September 2007

Iraq war films among favourites at Venice festival

Two very different movies about the Iraq war are among the favourites for awards at this year’s Venice film festival as it passes the halfway stage, and an unusually high number of male leads have stood out. For pure shock value, Brian De Palma’s Redacted wins hands down, stunning audiences with an uncompromising reconstruction of the real-life rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl.