Heath and Jake

A hard day - the cause of Heath's death was announced and it shouts out a lack of care from Heath's prescribers, the very people who should have given Heath the help he needed. Meanwhile, Michelle and Matilda arrived in Perth for Heath's funeral which, according to this report, may take place on Saturday.


New York's chief medical officer made the statement that: “Mr Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine," said Hirsch. "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."

The response from Heath's father, Kim: “Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage.”


It's unsettling how coincidences happen, but they do. Jake Gyllenhaal is on the cover of the new Italian Vanity Fair, accompanied by photographs from Mark Seliger's Interview shoot. The interview took place three months ago, when none of us could have imagined how the year would begin. In the interview, Jake discusses the dangers of fame and thanks his parents for protecting him from the film world during his childhood - allowing him a peek but keeping him safe.


It may have felt hard at the time, not to have been allowed to do roles, but now Jake realises 'That was love. Having a child who asks about making a film is like having someone who wants permission to go to a party where everyone is drinking and taking drugs... They wanted to protect me.'

Forgive this translation, it's mine and poor, all mistakes are mine and certainly not Jake's. 'Becoming famous early is dangerous. I have frequently seen actors who have had suuccessful lives come to a bad end. I'm lucky becaue I have a family that helped me to avoid making the wrong steps. The only people who can help you are those who are around you in difficult times.' But as the article concludes, aware of what has happened to Heath, sometimes this is not enough.


Elsewhere, Jake discusses the politics of acting and says that, although he admires George Clooney and Sean Penn, that's not for him: 'I would like to be considered for what I am, with my own thoughts and my own priorities.' Jake talks about how much he enjoyed philosphy at school and how having a Jewish mother and a Christian father made him open to the appeal of Buddhism, which he studied at Columbia. It allowed Jake to break free of a 'cage of rigid rules' and it opened his mind.

Having politely refused to discuss a relationship with Reese ('Are you trying to tell me that you're just friends?' asks the interviewer), Jake discusses love: 'Love is always fundamental to life and to me it's certainly at the heart of my career. But I'm speaking about love in general, not just about the love for one woman.'


'I think that Brokeback Mountain has been the most important experience of my career, which has opened many doors. And you know what's funny? Nobody ever asked me if I was frightened to play a CIA agent. I have taken on serious, controversial characters in my career but only when I played a gay guy was it suggested this might be 'risky', because the public might think I was really gay.'

Jake says that people may not want to speak out for fear of being made a meal of by the public, 'but I grew up in an environment where so many were gay and had no need to hide. Fortunately, the world is evolving: already, homosexuality is much more accepted in my generation. I hope that the prejudices will be overcome soon.'


Jake also discusses his appearance on SNL and the dedication of his opening number to the fans of Brokeback. Jake says that the song title was suggested by his press officer. Jake also enthuses about Italian food, a favourite amongst all his family, and jokes that cappuccino is served for Italian interviewers but the waiter has already lined up the beer for the waiting German interviewer.

As previously mentioned - please excuse all quotations which are the result of my poor Italian and my little better Latin... Thanks very much to a member of IHJ for scanning the cover and the interview.


Includes pictures from Vanity Fair and IHJ.