Here are a few tributes and their stories that were posted on Findingbrokeback. Very moving.
http://www.findingbrokeback.com/Memoriam/HeathTribute.html
A cowboy hat worn by Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger sits on Table 25 in the Java Shop alongside roses sent by an admirer following the actor’s death. THE MACLEOD GAZETTEWednesday, February 6, 2008
Tribute to dead actor sent to Java Shop
FRANK MCTIGHE
MACLEOD GAZETTE EDITOR
The death of a Hollywood star touched Fort Macleod.
A rose was delivered every day for four days last week to Table 25 in the Java Shop, made famous by Heath Ledger in a scene from Brokeback Mountain.
“They have been delivering one flower a day,” Java Shop owner Vasant Patel said Friday.
Ledger, who starred as Ennis del Mar in the award-winning 2005 movie, died January 22 in an apartment he rented in the SoHo district of New York City.
Patel, who placed the cowboy hat Ledger wore in Brokeback Mountain on the table beside the roses, said Table 25 has been popular since the movie debuted.
“People want to see where he sat down and ate,” Patel said.
The groundbreaking movie about two gay cowboys gained fans world-wide, and they made pilgrimages to Fort Macleod to see first-hand scenes where the movie was shot.
“I had a lady from Japan,” Patel marveled.
Brokeback Mountain fans would often come to the Java Shop, determine which table was the one at which Ledger sat, and then order apple pie just as Ennis del Mar ate in the scene. “They come from all over the world,” Patel said.
People often made a day trip from Calgary to visit Table 25, while others came from as far away as Germany and Switzerland.
The scene filmed in the Java Shop was a pivotal one in which Ennis del Mar was confronted by his girlfriend Cassie and officially ended his relationship with her. People who sought out the real-life places in which the movie was shot found the Java Shop welcoming.
“You could go in and become a part of it for a short time,” said Lauren Gurney, who has done research for the Internet site
www.findingbrokeback.com.
“There was life there, life that was welcoming to fans of the movie. You could make a connection if you wanted to, or just sit there with your apple pie and coffee and replay the scene in your mind.”
In an e-mail interview, Gurney said it’s not surprising the movie is so popular. “It’s a tragic love story, first and foremost, and it resonates with people for different reasons, depending upon what baggage they bring to the theater with them,” Gurney explained.
“For many, this was their life playing out on the screen, and not only for homosexuals. Opportunities missed or not taken, feelings denied or covered up—these themes apply to everybody. For others it was about a certain part of their being that was lost somewhere while growing up, and they wanted to regain that. Whatever the personal reason, it packed a huge emotional punch for a great number of people.”
The daily roses were delivered to the Java Shop from Village Greenery and Gifts in Fort Macleod.
The actor’s death gained international attention on Internet discussion boards on Web sites dedicated to Brokeback Mountain, including
www.davecullen.com/brokeback and
www.bettermost.net.
http://www.findingbrokeback.com/Memoriam/Memoriam_Frame.html
As “Mouk” wrote:
“Here are a few words to explain the flowers in the snow [at Campsite #2]…
After a deeply moving visit of the filming sites in July with the Bettermost “Pilgrimage” [www.bettermost.net] I had planned to return to Alberta for my second BBM anniversary, on January 26th, to be “closer to Ennis and Jack” who have done so much for me and many of us. Little did I know that it would be in tears that I would walk down Ennis’s fight hill on my way to the Camp where they were once “flying in the euphoric, bitter air, ... suspended above ordinary affairs ...” [1]
It was a glorious afternoon, the snow was glittering, so pure, covering the bridge, the spot where they had embraced, the fire area, the mountains all around. The river was full of life, flowing fast between its icy banks. Close to where Ennis had set up the tent, I found a spot sheltered from the wind and from non Brokie eyes. There I put spring flowers for hope and also live flowers because Heath will live within us as long as we are alive. We owe him so much! The colours were among those he seemed to like: orange, yellow and red—those of a sunset. Or a sunrise. The bridge was visible in the distance as Heath would have seen it from the tent, the only sounds were the wind, the river and chirping birds. There was such peace and beauty, and something so special in the air and in the light, I would not be surprised if Heath was hovering, smiling over what he had done for us.
I spent a long time there with him, remembering what he had given us; remembering also the happy times spent in this Camp with fellow Brokies in the summer. And thanking Heath on behalf of all of us. As I was lost in my thoughts I suddenly had the eerie feeling that something was happening: the live flowers were slowly turning away from the light, towards the cut tulips and bending over them—the living taking care of the one whose life was cut too short.”
Heath Ledger Rememberedhttp://www.findingbrokeback.com/Memoriam/Memoriam_Frame.htmlDuring the course of our travels within southern Alberta, and our interviews with those who made Brokeback Mountain, we were told many things about Heath Ledger by those who had the rare privilege of working with him. He is fondly remembered by them as a deeply committed artist, a generous friend, and one who dearly loved this life. We are honored to share a few of their recollections here.
***
Ang Lee insisted on perfect lighting for the Basque Bridge scene. In the hours that the cast and crew waited patiently for the sun and clouds to cooperate, Ledger took off his shirt and hung from the underside of the bridge, clowning around, greatly amusing the crew.
Ken Zilka (Roughneck #1) said that Ledger was so determined to make the Thanksgiving street fight realistic that he accidentally broke Zilka’s nose. And, of course, Ledger insisted on doing his own stunt work for the cliff jump.
David Trimble (the Basque) remembers the experience of working with Ledger and Gyllenhaal as “amazing.”
“Massive auras, massive auras in terms of, well, they’re brilliant, they’re gorgeous. Let’s just call it for what it is—they’re gorgeous human beings. And that’s part of what the aura is. And so, you’ve got to work with them, so you’ve got to get inside that aura. And once you get in you realize that they’re just a couple of kids, having a good time, enjoying what they’re doing, and fun. Just as interested in me as I was in them. Had some great conversations, had some great laughs, and yeah, they’re just a couple of really good looking young guys. Super fun to work with and super relaxed.”
First Assistant Director Pierre Tremblay said Ledger accidentally landed on top of Michelle Williams while they were shooting the toboggan scene, injuring her knee. Tremblay recalls that Heath insisted on riding with her in the ambulance to the hospital in Canmore, presumably the first spark of their romance.
The proprietor of the Red Coat Motel in Fort Macleod, where a photo portrait of Ledger is proudly displayed, said Heath and Michelle shared a room while they stayed there, joking, “If only I’d saved the sheets!” To deter paparazzi, Ledger was registered as “Keith Fletcher.”
The bartender at the Blue Bar in Carseland (Signal Bar) said Ledger was “a bit of a [pain]” because he would not talk to anyone while he was preparing himself emotionally for that scene, so determined was he not to be “the one who fucked [the movie] up.”
The owner of the Lonesome Ranch said Ledger was very focused during his time there, working extensively with his diction coach, intently trying to sound “downtown Wyoming.”
Roberta Maxwell said that when her lines were to be shot, Ledger volunteered to be there, instead of a double. He was still in tears from doing his scene upstairs. She was touched by his gesture, an unusual professional courtesy, and has said it contributed greatly to her own performance.
In June 2004, while the production was based in Fort Macleod, Ledger visited the seedy Queen’s Hotel bar (Cassie’s Bar) and stayed up late, drinking with the locals. Some of the guys we met there remembered that. Unfamiliar with the Brokeback story line at the time, they jokingly offered to double for Heath in his movie’s sex scenes.
Larry Reese (Jolly Minister) mentioned to Heath that his daughter was a big fan of his earlier films. Without prompting, Ledger later presented Reese with a hand-written message of thanks to Reese’s daughter, an extraordinary kindness on the part of a celebrity who was mercilessly hounded for his autograph.
The owner of the Twist Ranch said that Heath waived union / guild work rules to allow the filmmakers to shoot late one day when they were trying to complete the critical scenes at that location.
During the shooting of the difficult fireworks scene in Fort Macleod, it rained very hard. The babies (twins were rotated to comply with child welfare regulations) were crying a lot. “Ledger held them like a father and calmed them down. He loved kids,” said a crowd extra who was positioned nearby.
A coincidence, Ledger’s sister gave birth to a set of twins while he was making the film. He is remembered as having been very frustrated that he could not be with her in Australia at the time.
Hannah Stewart (Alma, Jr., age 3) needed to have her hair darkened for the role. When she looked in the mirror after the dye job, she started to cry. Her father remembered that it was Heath who stepped up to calm her down and stop her from crying, saying that Ledger had a way with children that was “magical.”
And, as has been reported, it was Ledger’s inspiration to reverse the shirts for the final scene, never imagining that it was to become his own, enduring valediction. Yes, he really did get it, didn’t he?
A dedicated, loving, and vibrant presence has now passed on, but his legacy will endure, not simply in the form of a monumental work of art, but in the hearts and minds of those whose lives have been forever changed by it.
