Tatum O'Neal Arrested For Drug Possession

Police say Academy Award-winning actress Tatum O'Neal has been arrested after buying crack cocaine near her home in Manhattan.
Police say the 44-year-old actress was seen making the illicit purchase at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. She is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.
O'Neal, daughter of actor Ryan O'Neal, appears regularly on the cable television series "Rescue Me" and was the youngest person to win an Oscar for her role in 1973's "Paper Moon."
She chronicled her struggles with addiction in her memoir, "A Paper Life."
Police could not say whether she had an attorney. Messages left for a publicist were not returned early Monday

Screenwriter sues Mel Gibson over 'Passion of the Christ' script

A screenwriter is suing Mel Gibson and his production company, claiming he was misled by the actor-director into accepting a small payment for writing "The Passion of the Christ," and was refused extra money when the film became a blockbuster.
Benedict Fitzgerald claimed that when he was asked to write a script about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Gibson told him the movie would cost between $4 million to $7 million, according to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court. Fitzgerald also alleged Gibson promised he wouldn't receive any money from the film and any profit would be distributed to people who worked on the movie.
Gibson stated he didn't want "money on the back of what he considered a personal gift to his (Roman Catholic) faith," the lawsuit said.
Fitzgerald, who shared screenwriting credits with Gibson, claimed he agreed to a salary substantially less than what he would have taken had he known the true budget for the film, which the lawsuit claimed had an estimated budget of $25 million to $50 million. The movie went on to gross several hundred million dollars.
The lawsuit doesn't specify how much Fitzgerald was paid for his services.
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Autopsy on Heath Ledger Inconclusive

An autopsy on Heath Ledger was inclusive, and more tests are needed, the medical examiner's office said this morning. It will take about 10 days to complete the investigation according to the medical examiner.
Earlier, police said the death was caused by a possible drug overdose and appeared to be accidental.
Fans left flowers and candles outside the apartment building in Manhattan's SoHo where the body of the Oscar-nominated star of "Brokeback Mountain" was found. Fans also left flowers outside the home in Brooklyn where Ledger and Michelle Williams once lived.
Ledger was known for grueling, intense roles that became his trademark after he got his start in teen movies like "10 Things I Hate About You."
The Australian-born actor was found dead Tuesday by his housekeeper and masseuse — lying naked and face-down at the foot of his bed, with prescription sleeping pills nearby, police said.
It was a shocking end to a career built on unpredictability. Ledger avoided the safe path in favor of roles that forced him to bury Australian accent and downplay his leading-man looks: a tormented gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain," a drug addict in "Candy," an incarnation of Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There."
In what may be his final finished performance, he took a rare role in a guaranteed summer blockbuster, playing Batman's nemesis, the Joker, in the upcoming "The Dark Knight." But the role was nothing he could phone in; it forced him to rebrand a character last played on the big screen by Jack Nicholson.

Heath Ledger found dead at 28

Heath Ledger was found dead today at a New York apartment, naked in bed with sleeping pills nearby, police said. The Australian-born actor was 28.

It wasn't immediately clear if Ledger had committed suicide. He had an appointment for a massage at a residence in SoHo, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. A housekeeper who went to let him know the massage therapist had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.

A large crowd of paparazzi and onlookers gathered outside the building on an upscale block. Ledger's body was still inside, and several police officers guarded the door.

The medical examiner's office planned an autopsy Wednesday, Ledger was a respected, award-winning actor who chose his roles carefully rather than cashing in on his heartthrob looks. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in ``Brokeback Mountain,'' where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

Ledger had finished filming his role as the Joker this year in ``The Dark Knight,'' a sequel to 2005's ``Batman Begins.''

Ledger was born in 1979 in Perth, in western Australia, to a mining engineer and a French teacher, and got his first acting role playing Peter Pan at age 10 at a local theater company. He began acting in independent films as a 16-year-old in Sydney and played a cyclist hoping to land a spot on an Olympic team in a 1996 television show, ``Seat.''

After several independent films, Ledger moved to Los Angeles at age 19 and co-starred opposite Julia Stiles in ``10 Things I Hate About You,'' a teen comedy reworking of ``The Taming of the Shrew.''

The website TMZ has stated that they learned that Ledger had been sick with pneumonia when he died.

Former O.C. Star Mischa Barton Arrested

Mischa Barton was arrested this morning for possible driving under the influence of alcohol and possessing marijuana.

Police saw the 21 year old actress in her vehicle straddling two lanes and failing to signal for a turn, according to a sheriff's press statement.

Police had also determined that she was an unlicensed driver and was driving while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage," the statement said.

Barton was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a license, possessing a controlled substance and possessing marijuana. She spent around seven hours in the West Hollywood jail before being released on $10,000 bail.

Her arrest was first reported by the Hollyscoop.com Web site