Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger has been found dead in an Manhattan apartment. The 28-year-old Australian star of “Brokeback Mountain” was found turned face down in the bedroom of the suite with an assortment of sleeping pills around his body. Whether he committed suicide or had an accidental overdose is under investigation.

Ledger’s body was discovered at 3:26 PM local time by the apartment’s caretaker and a masseuse who had made a prearranged appointment with the star. Immediately after making the shocking discovery the pair called police and ambulance technicians. Soon after the news broke a crowd of curious onlookers had started to gather at the building’s entrance.

The man was nominated for his performance as a closeted gay cowboy in Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain”. He had most recently been seen playing rock icon Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There” and had just finished playing the role of the Joker in “The Dark Knight”. Born in 1979, Ledger fell in love with his “Brokeback” co-star Michelle Williams while making the film. The two have a two-year-old daughter, Matilda, but separated as a couple last year.

An autopsy is being planned to take place on Wednesday.

Lindsay Lohan is slated to spend part of her drunk driving conviction sentence working in a morque. The “Mean Girls” and “Georgia Rule” young actress pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence last year and as part of the sentence that the judge handed her she must carry out 10 days of community service. Lohan has already spent time volunteering for the American Red Cross and now must work two four-hour days in the Los Angeles morgue where she will see firsthand the aftermath of drunk driving. Once her time in the morgue is finished Lohan will then move on to working for two days in the emergency room of a hospital.

In the past year the 21-year-old former child actress has become better known for her run-ins with the law rather than her movie roles. It seems that the public knows Lindsay better for her multiple car crashes and DUIs rather than for her box office duds like “I Know Who Killed Me”. On New Years the actress was in the bad books once again for being secretly filmed drinking from a champagne bottle when she was supposed to be alcohol free. Lohan knew that she had made a mistake and shortly after the party called her rehab sponsor and said that she had slipped off the wagon. “There is no magic cure here. The most unfortunate part of this is that Lindsay has to share her ‘one day at a time’ with the entire world,” explained Lindsay’s lawyer Blair Berk.

With the publication of the seventh and final Harry Potter book fans around the world have been feeling the blues since there are to be no more adventures of the boy wizard. But there may be a condolence prize coming after the release of the sixth movie, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”. The Daily Mail is reporting that the crew of the movie have been told that the seventh book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, will be broken up into two parts and filmed as two separate movies.

“There’s so much to fit that the view is the last movie should be in two halves,” said the paper’s anonymous source. “There is a huge battle when Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, takes on Voldemort that needs to be done really well.”

The informant goes on to say that the producers of the series would like to commission someone like “Indiana Jones” director Steven Spielberg to make one of the “Deathly Hallows” pictures and send the series out with a big blast. “People are discussing all possibilities.”

“Lost” star Michelle Rodriguez has gotten another lucky break. The “Girlfight” and “Resident Evil” actress has been released from jail after serving just 17 days of a six month sentence for violating her driving probation and driving under the influence of alcohol. Rodriguez has had numerous encounters with driving while intoxicated including an arrest while she worked on the hit ABC adventure-mystery series last year. After breaking the conditions of her last arrest the 29-year-old checked herself into the Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, Los Angeles on the day before Christmas. After spending the holidays with the inmates Rodriguez was released early due to severe overcrowding even though the judge at her trial wanted her to spend the full duration in jail.

Just before the celebrity entered the correctional system she worked on Oscar-winner James Cameron’s “Avatar”. She will next be seen in Stuart Townsend’s “Battle in Seattle” next spring.

Heavyweight actor Michael Chiklis has joined the cast of “Eagle Eye”. Best known for his portrayal of corrupt cop Vic Mackey on “The Shield” and as superhero crimefighter Ben Grimm in the two “Fantastic Four” films, Chiklis will play the U.S. secretary of defense in the D.J. Caruso directed thriller.

The movie is about a slacker (“Transformers” Shia LaBeouf) and his single mother (“Mission: Impossible III” star Michelle Monaghan) who must infiltrate a cell of terrorists when they are framed as criminals. Together the two are the only hope of stopping the terrorists from carrying out a political assassination.

Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Azizi and Anthony Mackie also star in the DreamWorks picture. The movie had stopped filming over the holidays but has now resumed production. Work should be completed next month and it will be in theaters this coming August.

Is Tom Cruise the Church of Scientology’s second-in-command? According to a forthcoming unauthorized biography by Andrew Morton the 45-year-old actor is the most powerful member of the controversial religion right behind the Church’s leader, David Miscavige. Morton has a new book called “Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography” which comes out on January 15 where he makes the accusation that the A-list Hollywood celebrity is so involved in the business affairs of the Church that its many followers consider him almost as important as Miscavige. Morton’s book also claims that Cruise selected his new wife Kate Holmes and which roles he takes in movies according to the needs of the Church.

Bert Fields is a lawyer working for Tom Cruise and who has disavowed the claims mentioned in Morton’s book by calling them “a bunch of lies.” This isn’t the first time that one of Morton’s books has faced allegations of false statements. When “Diana: Her True Story” was first published when the Princess was still alive Morton fielded heated comments about the stories contained within the book’s pages.

In the Cruise book Morton even draws a comparison between Tom and Katie Holmes’ young infant daughter Suri to the demonic child from “Rosemary’s Baby”.

“It’s a boring, poorly researched book by a man who never talked to anyone involved in Tom Cruise’s life or anyone close to him,” Fields adds.

The newest Bond girl has finally been cast and it is 21-year-old Gemma Arterton. The lady is a newcomer to the world of film but has a new film out called “St Trinian’s” where she stars opposite fellow “Casino Royale” Bond woman Caterina Murino and Colin Firth. Arterton was rumored to have been cast in the untitled new Bond movie for weeks but the news was finally confirmed by EON Productions and Arterton’s agent yesterday. According to a representative for Danjaq Productions the brunette actress has a “a nice-sized role” in the movie.

Filming started on the 22^nd James Bond movie this week. Daniel Craig is returning for his second time playing the suave superspy. French actor Mathieu Amalric will play Bond’s nemesis in the movie. In it 007 will chase after the terrorist organization that he flushed out at the end of “Casino Royale”.

The newest issue of “Vanity Fair” features Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf on the cover promoting “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. Inside the prestigious magazine is an extensive article which features quotes from the stars of the movie as well as its director, Steven Spielberg, and producer George Lucas.

“There’s something about the character that I guess is a good fit for me, because the minute I put the costume on, I recognize the tone that we need, and I feel confident and clear about the character,” says Harrison Ford. He endured 97 degree temperatures while wearing Indy’s trademark leather jacket. The magazine reveals that “Transformers” star LaBeouf is rumored to play the illegitimate son of Indy and Marion Ravenwood, Karen Allen’s heroine from the classic 1981 movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Cate Blanchett is also in the film playing a Russian agent who is trying to capture Dr. Jones. The movie is set in the late 1950s and so will swap Nazis out in favor of using the Cold War Soviets as the movie’s bad guys.

The article also reveals that the world may never have met Indy had the producer of the movie series featuring a certain British secret agent said yes to a young Spielberg’s request. “I told him that I wanted to, for the second time, approach [film producer] Cubby Broccoli, who had turned me down the first time, to see if he would change his mind and hire me to do a James Bond movie,” told Steven Spielberg to the magazine. “And George said, ‘I’ve got something better than that. It’s called Raiders of the Lost Ark.’”

The new Indiana Jones movie will be in theaters this May.

After director Steven Spielberg finishes working on “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” he will turn his attention toward his next project and he’s already found the right actor. The Sunday Times is reporting that the “Schlinder’s List” and “E.T.” creator has approached none other than Ali G comedian Sacha Baron Cohen to star in “The Trial of the Chicago 7”. Cohen would play Abbie Hoffman, the 1960s hippie who became one of the principal architects of protest against the Vietnam War. During the height of Hoffman’s notoriety the activist and several other protestors disrupted the 1968 Democrat convention which then erupted into violence.

Cohen is making the transition to become more of a serious actor with his role opposite Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd”. His performance as “Borat” turned the 36-year-old into a worldwide star. Cohen followed his “Borat” show with memorable performances in “Telladega Nights” and “Madagascar”.

Actors Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn have announced that they will be divorcing. The Hollywood couple were together for 17 years since they first met while working on the set of “State of Grace” and then married for 11 years. They have two children, Dylan and Francis.

This is also the second marriage for both of them. Penn, who won an Academy Award for his performance in “Mystic River”, was married briefly to pop singer Madonna in the 1980s. Wright, who is possibly best known for her role as “The Princess Bride”, was married to actor Dane Witherspoon before meeting her second husband.

Another celebrity duo is also saying that their marriage is over. “Mummy” leading man Brendan Fraser and his wife of 9 years Afton are also divorcing. They have three children together. Fraser will appear in the third “Mummy” movie, “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”, which comes out next summer.