Yesterday as they were landing at LAX, the family of the late Heath Ledger was asked if daughter Matilda Ledger would get the Oscar for his inevitable win as supporting actor for his role of the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”
Per The Envelope:
“Oh, yeah, down the line. We’ll keep it for her forever!” Said Heaths’ father Kim.
Um… what? The academy requires that posthumously bestowed Oscars go to the late person’s spouse or a child of legal age. Therefore, that award technically will belong to Matilda, and her mother Michelle Williams should accept the award on her daughters behalf. Although, that would create a sticky situation given the fact that Williams and Ledger were estranged at the time of his death and the two never married. The only thing stopping little Matilda from going up there on stage to accept that award is the fact that she is only 3 years old. You can bet your bottom dollar if she was older, she’d proudly go up there and accept that award on behalf of her father. Keeping the award will break the agreement the Ledgers made with the academy.
Per The Envelope:
“It’s complicated, because there are two different questions that have to be answered. First, we have to decide who gets the job of accepting the award onstage on the night of the ceremony. And then there’s the question of the eventual disposition of the posthumous statuette, which may not stay with the person who accepts it.” says Bruce Davis, Academy Executive Director. “In the event that Heath Ledger should be selected as the supporting actor recipient, the statuette will be held in trust for his daughter by her mother, Michelle Williams, until Matilda reaches the age of 18. At that point, she may execute what we call an heir’s agreement and keep the statuette forever — or, if she chooses not to do that, it will return to us.”
So what about the actors Screen Actors Guild Award that was won not too long ago? According to SAG Awards producer Kathy Connell, they are still holding it until the proper paperwork can be filled out. And what about his Golden Globe award? The Hollywood Foreign Press Association says they shipped Heath’s Golden Globe over to the office of his publicist Mara Buxbaum. Or what about his Critics Choice award? Supposedly, it was shipped to Warner Bros. awards office. But when asked, they claimed they don’t have it, and to ask Ms. Buxbaum for an official statement. Hmmm… so all of Heath’s awards are nowhere to be found… Interesting.
So why is the Ledger family being so shady with his awards? His daughter is his sole heir, and therefore should have her father’s belongings. With the way Heath obviously loved his daughter, you can assume he’d want her to have them. Matilda lost her daddy at such a young age – shouldn’t she at least have things to remember him by?
[Keep Clicking Thumbnails for a Larger Image]
Images Via: Pacific Coast News
