Heath Ledger Autopsy "Inconclusive"; Actor Possessed Six Prescription Drugs

In the wake of Heath Ledger's shocking death, the AP reports that an autopsy being conducted today is so far "inconclusive." Sources from the medical examiner's office say that more tests are needed, and it will be about 10 days before more details are known.

No illegal drugs were found in the actor's apartment, and a rolled-up $20 bill found near his body has tested negative for any trace of narcotics. Ledger, though, was in possession of six prescription medications, including pills to treat insomnia and anxiety, and an antihistamine, the AP reports. Three of the drugs were prescribed in Europe.

Ledger's passing has been described by his family as "accidental," police reported no obvious indications of suicide, and he was heard alive as late as 12:30 pm (three hours before he was found). Since his death, glowing remembrances of the 28-year-old actor have come to the fore. "He was really polite and nice," Paul Sevigny, the owner of a West Village club Ledger frequented, tells the New York Times, adding that amid a city of hard-partying troublemakers, Ledger "certainly wasn't one of them."

Within hours of the unsettling news, friends, onetime cast mates and other peers made statements fondly remembering Ledger. "I would give back all my awards to have him back," John Travolta told PageSix.com at a Tuesday event. "This whole evening has been really hard for me."

Director Ang Lee also spoke out about the loss, telling the AP, "Working with Heath was one of the purest joys of my life. He brought to the role of [Brokeback Mountain's] Ennis more than any of us could have imagined. His death is heartbreaking."

While Ledger's ex-fiancée, Michelle Williams, is en route to New York City from Sweden (where she was lensing a movie), Naomi Watts, who dated Ledger for 16 months (until April 2004), has canceled all her appearances at the Sundance Film Festival.

Until more details about the cause of Ledger's death emerge, friends and family can only speculate on what went wrong. Ledger's uncle, Neil Bell, tells the Times, "He was in good spirits and having a wonderful time on this Terry Gilliam movie," The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which Heath was filming for a 2009 release.

Ledger's rep hopes to quell any hypothesizing, saying, "This is an extremely difficult time for his loved ones and we are asking the media to please respect the family's privacy and avoid speculation until the facts are known." (via TVGuide)

Directors, Hollywood studios reach deal

Hollywood directors reached a tentative contract deal Thursday with studios, a development that could turn up the pressure on striking writers to settle their 2-month-old walkout that has crippled the entertainment industry.

"Two words describe this agreement — groundbreaking and substantial," said Gil Cates, chair of the Directors Guild of America's negotiations committee. "There are no rollbacks of any kind."

Among other things, the three-year agreement establishes key provisions involving compensation for programs offered on the Internet.

That issue has been a key sticking point between striking writers and the studios, which broke off talks on Dec. 7.

The writers walkout has halted work on dozens of TV shows, disrupted movie production, turned the glitzy Golden Globes show into a news conference and threatened the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony.

The deal between directors and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, was lauded by top executives from eight major companies, including Fox, Paramount Pictures Corp., The Walt Disney Co., CBS Corp., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros., MGM and NBC Universal.

In a joint statement, the executives said they hoped the agreement would signal the end of an "extremely difficult period for our industry."

They called on the writers guild to join in the kind of informal talks with industry leaders that preceded the directors' negotiations, and said the deal with directors established a precedent for the industry's creative talent to "participate financially in every emerging area of new media."

The Writers Guild of America said it would evaluate the terms of the directors' proposed contract. The guild also reiterated that it has been calling on the studios to resume negotiations.

"We've been making independent deals, so we're in a negotiating mood," said Writers Guild of America, West, President Patric Verrone, referring to interim agreements the guild has reached with companies such as United Artists and The Weinstein Co.

Verrone declined to comment on specifics of the deal by directors or compare it to what the writers are seeking until he saw a copy of the proposed contract, which he expected to receive from the directors guild.

Writers previously said directors do not represent their interests.

American Idol Video: Kristy Lee Cook

I like this girl.

'Survivor Micronesia' cast revealed!

Fans
1. MICHAEL BORTONE
2. TRACY HUGHES-WOLF
3. JOEL ANDERSON
4. KATHLEEN SLECKMAN
5. ERIK REICHENBACH
6. MARY SARTAIN
7. CHET WELCH
8. NATALIE BOLTON
9. JASON SISKA
10. ALEXIS JONES

Favorites
11. CIRIE FIELDS
12. JONATHAN PENNER
13. AMANDA KIMMEL
14. JAMES CLEMEN
15. OZZY LUSTH
16. YAU-MAN CHAN
17. ELIZA ORLINS
18. JONNY FAIRPLAY
19. PARVATI SHALLOW
20. AMI CUSACK

When producers initially began mapping out season 16 — yes, 16! — of Survivor, they considered making it their second All-Stars edition. But then they considered something else. ''None of us felt like a full-on All-Stars was the right choice, because we did it once and since then so many other shows have done it,'' says host Jeff Probst. ''It felt like we needed a twist.'' And when has this seminal reality show not embraced a twist? Enter the Fans vs. Favorites concept of Survivor: Micronesia (debuting Feb. 7 on CBS at 8 p.m.), featuring one tribe of former Survivor standouts, and another tribe of newbies who idolize the players they are about to compete against.



So who was lucky enough to make the cut? The Favorites tribe features contestants going all the way back to season 7, including two from the recently completed Survivor: China — gravedigger James Clement and the person who engineered his ouster, Amanda Kimmel. Survivor: Fiji sends its most popular player, 55-year-old Yau-Man Chan, while the Cook Islands season is responsible for three contestants: flirt-tastic Parvati Shallow, triple-crossing Jonathan Penner, and challenge dominator Ozzy Lusth. Rounding out the tribe is Survivor: Panama 's Cirie Fields, Vanuatu's Eliza Orlins and Ami Cusack, and Survivor's biggest villain ever: Pearl Islands ' Jon Dalton (a.k.a. Jonny Fairplay), who once famously faked his own grandmother's death to further himself in the game. ''You can't do the season and not invite your most notorious person,'' says Probst. ''And Fairplay delivered, I will say that.'' Does that mean he delivers a victory? Don't bet on it, laughs Probst. ''This guy is no threat to win this game — zero.''

No people from the highly regarded Palau or lowly regarded Guatemala seasons made the trip. That is in large part because two popular contestants — Stephenie LaGrossa and Bobby Jon Drinkard — already appeared in both those seasons, and Palau's winner, Tom Westman, declined to participate. (No other past winners were chosen.) Survivor: Micronesia was shot on many of the same beaches as the Palau season, and will also feature the return of Exile Island, which was absent from Survivor: China.



The Fans taking on the Survivor two-timers include a large-and-in-charge firefighter (Joel Anderson), a beauty pageant coach (Chet Welch), a golf course vendor (Kathleen Sleckman), and a man who scoops ice cream for a living in Hell…Michigan, that is (Erik Reichenbach). In contrast to recent seasons, where contestants were heavily recruited and largely unfamiliar with the program, the new players of Micronesia are all followers of the show. How they fare against their heroes remains to be seen.

via: EW

FOX Re-Works Midseason Schedule

Fox has tweaked its strike-affected midseason schedule, giving two troubled series, "New Amsterdam" and "The Return of Jezebel James," coveted previews behind ratings juggernaut "American Idol," which returns January 15.

Fox was the first network to rejigger its midseason lineup on November 7, the third day of the Hollywood writers strike, and has made the most dramatic strike-related scheduling move, keeping the incomplete season of "24" on the shelf until next season. Now that the work stoppage is shaping up to be a long one, Fox executives have taken another look at their lineup.

"As we have new information on our needs, we thought it was time to adjust the schedule," said scheduling chief Preston Beckman. "We want to make sure we give all new shows every opportunity to find an audience because we may need them."

The March 10 launch for the supernatural detective drama "New Amsterdam" will follow two previews after "Idol" Tuesday, March 4 and Thursday, March 6. The Parker Posey comedy "Jezebel James" will get sampling after "Idol" on Wednesday, March 12, two days ahead of its premiere. ("Idol" will expand to three nights a week for three weeks, beginning February 21.)

The strike has boosted both shows' chances, since fresh episodes of any shows are in strong demand. In October, Fox shut down production on "New Amsterdam" with seven episodes in the can, and cut the order on "Jezebel James" to 7 from 13.

"New Amsterdam" stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as a New York City homicide detective who happens to be immortal, while "Jezebel James" stars Posey as a successful book editor who learns that she is unable to conceive.

Twin brothers are The Biggest Losers

Twin brothers are pound-by-pound the biggest winners on NBC's "The Biggest Loser."

Bill Germanakos, a 41-year-old medical salesman from Lynbrook, N.Y., lost 164 pounds, slimming down from 334 pounds to 170 pounds over an eight-month period to win the televised weight-loss competition. He took home the $250,000 grand prize.

His brother, Jim, a police officer from Massapequa, N.Y., won the weigh-in among previously eliminated contestants, dropping 186 pounds. He went from 361 pounds to 175 pounds. He earned a $100,000 prize.

The season finale was held Tuesday night. The brothers, in an appearance Wednesday on the "Today" show, said their overweight father died at age 57.

"The Biggest Loser: Couples" will premiere Jan. 1, with teams of two competing rather than individuals, NBC said.

Britney's sister Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant at 16

Another Spears baby is reportedly on the way — and it's not Britney's. Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old "Zoey 101" star and sister of Britney, told OK! magazine that she's pregnant and that the father is her boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.

"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected," she said. "I was in complete and total shock and so was he."

Spears is 12 weeks along and initially kept the news to herself when she learned of the pregnancy from an at-home test and subsequent doctor visit, she told the celebrity magazine, which hits stands in New York on Wednesday and the rest of the country by Friday.

What message does she want to send to other teens about premarital sex? "I definitely don't think it's something you should do; it's better to wait," she told the magazine. "But I can't be judgmental because it's a position I put myself in."

After she found out from a doctor that she was pregnant, she said, "I took two weeks to myself where I didn't tell anybody."

"Only one of my friends knew because I needed to work out what I would do for myself before I let anyone's opinion affect my decision. Then I told my parents and my friends. I was scared, but I had to do what was right for me," she said.

Spears broke the news to her mother, Lynne, just before Thanksgiving, the magazine reported.

"She was very upset because it wasn't what she expected at all," Spears said. "A week after, she had time to cope with it and became very supportive."

Lynne Spears, already grandmother to Britney's young sons, told the magazine: "I didn't believe it because Jamie Lynn's always been so conscientious. She's never late for her curfew. I was in shock. I mean, this is my 16-year-old baby."

She said her actress daughter, the telegenic heroine of her popular Nickelodeon series, has known Aldridge for years and began dating him in high school.

But in a recent interview with The Associated Press, Spears said she had no steady boyfriend. "I kind of just keep my options open," she said. "I have a bunch of friends that I always hang out with, a bunch of guy friends." She declined to talk about her older sister.

Spears spoke to the AP shortly before Thanksgiving, the day she told OK! she informed her mother about the pregnancy.

Jamie Lynn plans to raise the baby in her home state of Louisiana — "so it can have a normal family life."

Nickelodeon released a statement: "We respect Jamie Lynn's decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right now is for Jamie Lynn's well being."

A publicist for the network did not immediately respond to phone and e-mail requests for additional comment.

"Zoey 101" is scheduled to conclude its third season Jan. 4 with a cliffhanger episode in which Spears' character must decide whether to leave her fictional Pacific Coast Academy boarding school in California to join her parents in London.

The show is scheduled to resume in February, and its producer, Dan Schneider, has said filming on the fourth season has already been completed.