Brokeback Mountain Star Heath Ledger Sprayed With Water At Sydney Premiere

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Rogue paparazzi will not be allowed to cover celebrity film events after three photographers sprayed actor Heath Ledger with water.
Film distributor Roadshow, which is releasing Ledger's movie Brokeback Mountain in Australia, has declared troublemakers will never be invited back.
"In terms of banning them, we would certainly never give them official accreditation again," Roadshow managing director Joel Pearlman said yesterday.
Ledger and his girlfriend Michelle Williams were sprayed with high-powered water pistols during the Sydney premiere of Brokeback Mountain at Fox Studios.
Photographers Peter Carrette, Pierre Smithdorf and Guy Finlay sprayed the A-list stars with water.
Other celebrities who attended the event reacted with outrage to the photographers' behaviour.
While fashion designer Collette Dinnigan did not see the incident, she said it was offensive behaviour.
"I think it would be quite insulting actually," she said.
Designer Peter Morrissey who was also at the event said the actions were "unnecessary", particularly after Ledger's recent moves to stem his bad-boy reputation.
"It's a bit out of line," Morrissey said. "If someone has acted bad and is now acting good they should not be reminded of the bad times."
Mr Pearlman said it was a credit to Ledger that he stayed calm throughout the incident. Soon after being sprayed Ledger introduced his film in two cinemas.
"I have to say Heath was incredibly dignified," Mr Pearlman said.
"That really is the measure of Heath: he got on with the job. It was sad to see such a silly and implausible act mar a premiere which was also a public event. It was just incredibly unfair and extremely disappointing."
Carrette sent a bunch of flowers to apologise to Williams yesterday, including Ledger on the note.
"I [gave] 12 roses to Michelle," Carrette said yesterday.
"She was just an innocent bystander."
He said he had had calls from London and New York about the episode.
The Ledger incident follows a similar act against US actor Tom Cruise and actor girlfriend Katie Holmes, who were sprayed at a premiere in London.
Ledger, who will attend the Golden Globes in Los Angeles on Tuesday (Australian time), was due to fly out of Sydney late yesterday.
Ledger and Russell Crowe face US actors Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Strathairn and Terrence Howard in the best actor category.
Despite being hot favourite in the US for his role in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger said he was not assuming he would win a Golden Globe.
"I'm certainly not expecting it or writing any speeches," he said. "I'm not really one to sit back and admit I would ever deserve something like that. I honestly feel the [nominated] actors around me this year are much better actors, with a broader range of work behind them, who deserve it."
from The Sydney Morning Herald