Last night we took the crew to see Iron Man. You can read James's and Scott's reviews of the film, but I'll just add that this movie ROCKS, and in case you're a parent debating whether to bring your kids to see it, I felt that what violence is in the film is mostly cartoonish, Indiana Jones-level stuff, so if your kids can handle those films, they'll be fine. All of my kids were engaged in the film from start to finish, and there was nothing in it that scared them as much and that damn sea lion in Happy Feet.

But I digress. Before the film, of course, they had the usual array of trailers (Speed Racer, Indy 4, Prince Caspian), and one of them was for The Dark Knight. Now, I've generally been avoiding seeing or reading too much about The Dark Knight, so this was the first time I'd seen the trailer. And my reaction to it was ... I don't know if I want to see this film. Much as I love Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart, I just found the scenes of Heath Ledger as the Joker oddly painful to watch.

What are the most anticipated movies at this year's Tribeca Film Festival? And has that (relatively) young festival in fact found a voice yet? And what does Tribeca's premiering Baby Mama and Speed Racer at this year's fest say about the uneasy relationship between high art and big headlines in New York's media world? Plus, what the end of New Line Cinema says about the state of the industry, and can Warner Brothers market The Dark Knight while still honoring Heath Ledger? Joining us this week on The Rocchi Review to talk about Tribeca and summer entertainment is film critic David Fear of Time Out New York as we discuss all of the above and more ... Cinematical's podcast content now has even better sound quality, and is now in iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

Unlike The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Heath Ledger completed his scenes for The Dark Knight before his shocking death. But one of the first questions to pop up in the aftermath was how this would affect the film -- could viewers stomach his portrayal in the same way? It's impossible to eradicate thoughts of his death from the mind as the news continues to grow and audiences finally break through the doors to see for themselves.

However, according to Cinema Blend, there have already been screenings, and they've presented problems for the dark and sure-to-be-awesome film. One scene in particular has been bothering audiences to the point that it might be completely removed from the film.

Hit the jump to find out more, but move on if you want no details about the brief scene.

Harvey Dent's viral campaign has ended with a rather disappointing announcement that Dent is running for D.A. But, no doubt, this political campaign has been leading up to something more.

I was one of the thousands who received a voice mail from Dent Sunday afternoon urging me to help him fight the Citizens for a Concerned Gotham, the latest viral site to be launched. They've been very busy slandering poor Dent in the press as a corrupt and media crazed inquisitor. (I have to say, when my cellphone announced it had a voice mail, I was super excited. And then let down when it turned out to be Aaron Eckhart and not someone I actually knew.)

He's holding a meeting on April 1st, 3pm -- presumably Eastern time -- to answer all the questions of concerned citizens. The problem is, the Joker has also launched a new site, Clown Travel Agency. A departure is announced for April 1st, 3pm. He's also told followers that they'll hear from him again on April Fool's Day.

More: Update on Dark Knight Viral Sites

More: The Joker's Gag is Complete -- April Fooled

After the shock of Heath Ledger's death, there were questions about his latest project, Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Then came rumors last month from AICN that Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell would ALL step in to replace the actor. Well, the site was right! Reuters reports that the filmmaker has confirmed the involvement of all three actors.

According to a statement from producers: "Since the format of the story allows for the preservation of his entire performance, at no point will Heath's work be modified or altered through the use of digital technology." They follow with: "Each of the parts played by Johnny, Colin, and Jude is representative of the many aspects of the character that Heath was playing."

For once, it seems like Gilliam's notorious bad luck will pay off into something special. In the words of the man himself: "I am delighted that Heath's brilliant performance can be shared with the world. We are looking forward to finishing the movie and, through the film, with a modicum of humility, being able to touch people's hearts and souls as Heath was able to do."

The pic above is a smaller, cropped look at the hi-res still that was just thrown up over at the official website for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Hearing about any of Terry Gilliam's films can make one ooh and ahh over the possibilities, but there's nothing quite like the first good look at what he's molding with those amazing filmmaker hands of his -- especially when it's a morality tale about selling precious things for selfish means.

I think what I've always loved about Gilliam isn't the creative worlds he creates (those are great, don't get me wrong), but rather some of the small moments within them. A lot of people didn't like Tideland, but there was something about Jodelle Ferland's Jeliza-Rose talking to those doll heads that instantly charmed me.

Anyway, after all the trouble recently with the passing of Heath Ledger, I'm really glad that the project lives on -- for Gilliam, for Ledger, and for us, the eager fans out there.

Jeff Wells has stirred up a sh*tstorm of controversy over on Hollywood Elsewhere with a post about the Heath Ledger autopsy report. In a post bluntly titled, "Heath did it to himself," Wells says, in part:

New York's medical examiner report was predictably dry and succinct and non-judgmental, but the implication is that Heath Ledger didn't care to calculate or remember which prescription drugs he'd taken, much less assess their combined effect upon his body. You can say "accident" over and over but the blunt answer is that Heath did it to himself. Like I wrote the day he died. A tree didn't fall on him. Actions have consequences.

The post has generated the predictable array of comments, from the sympathetic to the angry to the truly asinine. Which all goes to show, if nothing else, the impact the death of a celebrity can have on people who never even knew him. Of course, with the release of the autopsy report today, no matter which way it came down, people were going to make judgments and jump to conclusions they shouldn't be jumping to. It's easy to judge Ledger, even if his death by overdose was accidental, because he should have known better, right? It's easy to look at what we (think we) know of his life and say, hell, the guy had everything going for him, what the f*ck? That's what most everyone was saying around Park City on the afternoon of January 22, as we all got out of press screenings to the news of his death. Shock. Profound sadness. Disbelief. Vehement indignation and anger, even.

Despite the fact that nobody knows for sure how the film will be finished, the website for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus went live today. Sure, it only features the title, director and "Coming Soon," but at least it's a good sign that the film will go on ahead. Unless you've been living in a bubble, you likely know that production on Parnassus shut down a few weeks ago due to the sudden death of its star, Heath Ledger. As of yet, the film doesn't seem to have restarted shooting, but there have been rumors and hints about how Gilliam plans to continue a film without its principal actor. First, we heard that Johnny Depp would replace Ledger completely. Then, Parnassus co-star Christopher Plummer mentioned the use of CGI as a solution.

Now there's another option. According to Quick Stop Entertainment, the film is definitely going forward and is definitely going to keep Ledger's footage, as a tribute to the actor. According to Aint it Cool News, additionally, is word that another actor could actually replace Ledger for his unfilmed scenes, because Ledger's character actually transforms into another person once he enters some kind of magic mirror. So, Depp or some other star could be cast as Ledger's "'other side' personae" as AICN calls it. Anyway, now that we have that website to check in with, we might have a better source for updates as they come.

Long story short: A two-year-old video featuring Heath Ledger at a party where drugs were being consumed was purchased by Entertainment Tonight for a large sum of money (some are saying $200,000), and the show, as well as The Insider, planned to air the video in an attempt to "understand why Ledger died." Ledger's former PR firm sent out a mass email protesting the video, folks everywhere cried "poor taste" and ET ultimately decided not to air it. One imagines said video will arrive on YouTube within 24 hours, and at that time it will be everywhere; the secret video everyone will pretend they didn't watch.

Here's my question: Where do you draw the line? Almost everything these shows put on the air is in poor taste. So, instead of the Ledger video, they'll do 15 minutes on Britney Spears -- what she wore to the hospital, what she said to the doctor, how big her sh*t was that morning. This stuff -- this stalking of Britney Spears -- is okay. Airing a video showing Heath Ledger drinking a beer, while some dude snorts coke in the corner? Not okay. That's in poor taste. You should respect the Ledger family. What about the family of every other actor or actress who's caught doing something stupid? Where's the respect for them? There is no respect. You think the folks at ET respect Ledger or his family? They couldn't give two sh*ts about these people ... unless something they do is going to bring them more viewers. Hence, the video.

It's a pretty sick world we live in. I've watched this TMZ show on television, where the staff gets together and they write a bunch of stuff on a board. At the top of that board, it should read: How Will We Ruin Someone's Life Today? Isn't it sick to know that all of these people -- the shows, the websites, the magazines -- make all their money off humiliating other people? That that's a huge business; the business of humiliation. And then they go home at night to their wife, their significant other, their children -- and they attempt to be a good role model. " Help Jimmy with his math homework after you're done photo-shopping that pic of Britney's vagina, please."

As much as I hated Terry Gilliam's last film, Tideland, I still consider him my favorite living filmmaker (Tideland was the first to completely disappoint me) and was looking forward to his next feature, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus more than possibly any other film in the works. Unfortunately, Parnassus lost its star when Heath Ledger died suddenly last week, and there was lots of talk that Gilliam's latest would be scrapped. Anyone who has followed Gilliam's career knows that would be more than tragic, because Parnassus would be the second major work of Gilliam's to go unfinished after shooting had begun (see the depressing documentary Lost in La Mancha for the story on his shut-down project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote). Well, after rumors that Ledger would be replaced by Johnny Depp, who would come in and reshoot the late actor's scenes, there is a new claim that Gilliam is going to keep Ledger's footage and continue the shoot using special effects magic.

The claim comes from Parnassus co-star Christopher Plummer, who spoke to People magazine and had this to say: "Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way, perhaps, of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI..." Plummer, who plays the title character in the film, also mentioned that Gilliam wants to finish the film for his friend (Ledger) and dedicate it to him, too. Additionally Plummer spoke on the working conditions of the Parnassus shoot in London and on Ledger's health prior to his leaving the set, further providing for speculation that Ledger's death was of non-narcotic causes. Anyway, about the finishing with CGI Ledger, that is excellent news, and something I've been expecting to happen all along (if it was good enough for The Crow 14 years ago, it's good enough now). I absolutely loved Ledger in The Brothers Grimm (the first of Gilliam's films to somewhat disappoint me), and I can't wait to see him and his computerized clones in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

In my opinion, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were both coming into their own when Ledger passed away early last week. The day before Ledger's death, I had a chance to watch Williams absolutely kill in the Sundance flick Incendiary -- her greatest performance yet, in my opinion. Both actors (who were married engaged, but separated) were approaching super-stardom, however we're now left to track the future career of only one. And regarding her future career, People reports that Michelle Williams will put all her films on hold for an undetermined amount of time while she grieves the loss of Ledger.

The actress had just finished shooting her last scene for the film Mammuth in Sweden when she heard the bad news, and now production on Blue Valentine, her next flick, has been postponed (it was supposed to begin shooting on February 25). The film stars Williams and Ryan Gosling as a couple struggling with their marriage. A source close to the production told People, "We will hold off until she is ready. The production is in the process of sorting it out in respect to her. We're hoping she will still come back and do the film and are happy to wait. The film is tailor made for those two so of course we would want to wait. You can't get much better than them." We'll be sure to keep you updated; in the meantime, keep an eye out for Incendiary -- the gal is a powerhouse in that film.

• Russell Lloyd (1916-2008) - Oscar-nominated editor of John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King. He edited 11 of Huston's films in total, including Moby Dick, The MacKintosh Man, Reflections in a Golden Eye, The Unforgiven and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. He also edited Tinto Brass' Caligula, Anthony Page's The Lady Vanishes, Peter Sellers' final film, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu and Julien Duvivier's 1948 adaptation of Anna Karenina, on which he was also a second-unit director. He co-directed the 1949 melodrama The Last Days of Dolwyn, which starred Richard Burton, and was a location director for the 1950 Disney adaptation of Treasure Island. He died January 21 in Cranleigh, England. (Independent)

• Christopher Allport (1947-2008) - Character actor who starred in the 1979 slasher flick Savage Weekend. He also appears in To Live and Die in L.A., the '86 Invaders from Mars remake and the horror film Jack Frost and its direct-to-video sequel Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowmen. He died in an avalanche January 25, in Wrightwood, California. (Star-Telegram.com)
• Christian Brando (aka Gary Brown) (1958-2008) - Actor and son of Marlon Brando. He appears in the Barbara Streisand movie Yentl and the Peter Sellers movie I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! He died from pneumonia January 26, in Los Angeles. (Variety)
• Heath Ledger (1979-2008) - Oscar-nominated actor who starred in Brokeback Mountain, Cassanova, The Brothers Grimm, 10 Things I Hate About You, Monster's Ball, The Order, A Knight's Tale, Ned Kelly, I'm Not There and The Four Feathers. He will be seen this summer as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Read Monika's original breaking news post and my update and also check out the Cinematical tribute to Ledger here.
• Reverend Lynn Lemon (1911-2008) - Minister who played a minister in Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space and Denis Sanders' Invasion of the Bee Girls. He also appears as himself in the documentary The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr. He died of a heart attack January 15, in Bedford, Texas. (Fangoria)
• Gina Louise (1971-2008) - Hair stylist who worked on Playing Mona Lisa, which starred Alicia Witt and Harvey Fierstein, and Around the Fire, starring Tara Reid and Devon Sawa. She died January 1. (Entertainment Insiders)