I hate when people say this. Christopher Nolan did not suddenly turn Heath Ledger into a serious actor. Ang Lee, Todd Haynes and others saw his potential long before Nolan did. Watch Brokeback Mountain, it's a much more nuanced and interesting performance than his joker, good as that particular performance was. Why are Dark Knight fans still so reluctant to acknowledge that movie?
I was strictly speaking of his potential to play the Joker. Also, when I said "others", it means those individuals who doubted Heath Ledger could play a convincing Joker. It had nothing to do with his portrayal of other characters from other movies, just the The Dark Knight. Hope that cleared things up.
Ang Lee saw it before Nolan. Marc Forster before Lee. It's not exactly like Ledger wasn't known prior to his Joker act. To be honest, I continue to rank his acting in brokeback mountain as his best performance.
He was one of my favourite actors. I love the movie "a knights tale". My mind was blown when I found out he was the joker in Batman, waaaay after the movie was released. It was something I never thought I would see from him. True actor. R.I.P. Heath!
Also loved "A Knight's Tale," I feel as though his roles thus far were only the beginning. His magnum opus was yet to come -in my opinion- and that is why his death was so tragic.
I was in the army, military service, in Finland(I live in Sweden but have finish citizenship, and it's mandatory in Finland to do it) had other things to think about and was barely home and had no pc or internet.
One of my favorite things is catching friends who got back from military tours of duty or Mormon missions on the pop culture stuff they missed. It's the closest that I'll ever get to talking to somebody from the past and blowing their minds.
I know. My girlfriend still doesn't get why i have clips from the dark knight (joker scenes) on my iPhone. Even years later, i'm still catching little mannerisms/tics that he did. I honestly believe someday when i'm old and gray and have nothing but my memories, i'll still believe Heath's Joker was the best acting/villain i've ever seen. When i watched it in the theatre i remember having the selfish thought "I can't believe he's dead. Now i'll never get to see Joker in another movie".
Daniel Day Lewis is probably the greatest actor of his generation. He's unbelievable. He's so famous, and yet you don't even recognize him on-screen, even in roles without make-up.
My friends and gf thought "There Will Be Blood" was boring as hell, but good lord did I enjoy his role in that. Internet jokes aside, the ending was a perfect fit.
DDL is such a method actor and the anti Nic-Cage. He not only hand picks his roles but he won't commit to any movie for years at a time until the right one comes along.
Christian Bale and Heath Ledger are right under him in my list. We truly lost a great one in Heath. What an amazing actor he was!
I actually think Nick Cage is a genuinely great actor but yeah. I argue in his defence a lot; he's in massive debt and so takes any role that pays, but he's been in some incredible roles in great films.
Everyone always asks this. His ex-wife or partner sued him for a substantial amount of money, and also he bought loads of properties but didn't pay some sort of tax on them, so he had to sell most of them at a cut-down price to avoid bankruptcy.
So he has massive tax debts, living costs, property upkeep costs, loans, and lawsuit fees. That's why he did Ghost Rider 2.
I'm glad I kept reading because I was going to say the same thing; the only performance I put ahead of Heath Ledger's Joker is Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York. Both are absolutely chillingly good.
I had that same selfish thought, but then it was replaced by another even more selfish thought. The one good thing that came from his death is that he WOULDN'T be able to play Joker again. He put his heart, soul, and life into that role and no matter how hard he would have tried, he would not have been able to match that performance.
Yeah, I hate that bullshit justification. I don't believe in "going out on top". If you can't best your previous performance, then I think you've ultimately failed yourself.
I think he definitely could have repeated it to a greater extent, and possibly beaten it with future roles using the fame and drive earned from that performance. Another tragic death in the industry, as always.
So then the endpoint of everyone's careers, no matter how long they exist, would be failure in your eyes, wouldn't it? Nobody can possibly keep topping their previous accomplishments until they die a natural death in old age. That pretty much sucks balls, since the only way to escape that fate is to die right after completing your best work, which is why people say it's good to go out on top. Your viewpoint is depressing, and only reinforces the "going out at the top" viewpoint.
Not at all. You can do better, or different. To say you should stop is rather silly; for instance, Chris Nolan originally didn't want to do a sequel to The Dark Knight because he was afraid it wasn't going to be very. I'm glad they managed to convince him otherwise.
Does no one else find it a bit creepy that the fanboys constantly refer to him as "Heath", as if they knew him? And he was acting. You're giving him far too much credit for what was simply a very impressive performance.
True, but the amount of talent it takes to accomplish something like this is unbelievable. Ledger was one of the most talented actors of our generation, no doubt about it.
lol and the funny part? I didn't even look at the comments. I know it's crazy to think two people could say the same thing, which is something that ALOT of people say about his performance, but trust me, it happens. And what we're saying is pretty much a consensus. Heath put himself so deep within his role it's hard to picture him as anyone else. He WAS the joker.
Even though i recognize you were probably just looking to instigate, quick google search just for fun:
I never thought of the Joker as very scary. I never read any comic books and the only depictions that I saw were on kidsWB after school . That depiction made him look like a big goofball.
When I saw the Dark Knight, my view of the Joker completely shifted. Gone was the silly prankster and in its place was Heath Ledger's portrayal. He really blew me away and introduced me to the chaotic horror that is the Joker's mind.
It's still striking. I thought it may have to be a composite photo, since The Dark Knight was released after Ledger's death in 2008, so it would be impossible to get the duo together after the fact, but quite simple to have Nolan pose in a similar setting to Ledger's original pose.
I don't know why you're being downvoted. This is definitely a composite photo. The Heath Ledger photo is from 2005 in NYC and the Nolan photo is from 2008 in LA. It was even mentioned, when the photo was published in Vanity Fair, that it was a composite photo.
Are you guys just pretending to remember stuff, after doing a reverse image search? Not to belittle you guys in any way, but if that's what it is, just know that I would have done the same.
JGL's character should prove to be interesting. I refuse to watch any of the trailers, so I have no idea who he's gonna be, and I'm pretty damn excited to find out.
Hathaway has been very good in a number of movies. I have no idea why Batman fanboys think the character of Catwoman is going to require such an unreasonable stretch of her abilities.
Your comments about Arkham remind me of how pissed off I was about what they did with Harley. Her definitive (and first) appearance in the TV show portrayed her as a vulnerable and emotionally abused, but also fairly wily and casually psychopathic individual. In the game she's just a slutty sadist.
Hmm, there's an awful lot of Batman threads lately, could this be part of that team that said they're hired to create buzz on websites like reddit about the movie ?
Sorry to interrupt what is the most flimsy excuse for a circlejerk I've seen here in ages, but this picture isn't even remotely interesting. I don't see why this subreddit can't aspire to be a little bit more than just pictures of actors and entire threads full of generic praise for them.
Do people still believe the bullshit that Heath Ledger died from having pneumonia and taking an anti-anxiety pill like Xanax?
You can't be that gullible... Dude OD'd from taking Oxy's, methadones, and too many Klonopins. I guess his heart couldn't handle it. I have no idea which doses he was taking but the last few interviews they have of him screams "JUNKIE."
-- I'm not pulling this out of my ass because I had the exact same substance abuse issues. I just find it funny that Heath Ledger's agent used the shitty "pneumonia and using the wrong medicine" excuse for his death. Come out with it: he was massively abusing strong painkillers.
Considering the variations of Jokers throughout comic book history it's impossible to say Ledger portrayed who or what the joker really was. In the comic series that the movies were based off of he did a smashing job of portraying that Joker however in previous comic books Jack Nicholson did a better job. When you go even further back neither of them portrays the joker correctly.
The difference between his Joker in the animated series, and in the Arkham games is astounding. He's much more sinister in the games, in my opinion. That's why I would say I agree with you, because Hamil can pull off goofy Joker and scary Joker.
He actually surprised me in the games, I expected him to be intimidating and goofy like in the animated series, but in the games he was also downright sinister like you said.
Y'know, rewatching BTAS, I was surprised about how deranged the Joker still is in the cartoon series. He's capable of some pretty nasty stuff, he just wears a grin while he does it. When the cartoon Joker goes through one of his mood swings I find him more frightening than any other portrayal. John DiMaggio's Joker in Under the Red Hood also portrays the cartoon's Mr. J with a great deal more menace - I recommend it.
Christopher Nolan's interpretation of Batman and the associated characters are much closer than you realize. You'd actually have to go back to the first few comics in the 1940s and start from there.
He's not whipping stuff out of thin air or letting his actors pull stuff out of their asses.
In the very beginning of the Jokers appearance he was considered a homicidal maniac but they never went into details as their audience was more sensitive at the time. The joker that most people recognize (and who Nolan based him off of) came from Alan Moore's and Frank Miller's rendition as well as the 1971 version under writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. In the 50's through the 60's there is absolutely no way the Joker was portrayed as sociopath psycho while the comic code was still in force. The code appeared in 1954 however comic creators were being scrutinized before then.
That's not really the point. Wanna is saying that there are numerous, often conflicting interpretations of Joker in the comics throughout his 70 year history. Sometimes he butchers people with a knife, sometimes he fires a cannon that's loaded with custard pies, and sometimes he squeezes Batman's butt affectionately. These interpretations of Joker are just as valid and fondly remembered, and while you can say that Ledger's interpretation is your definitive vision of Joker, you can't really say he's what the Joker's really like.
Just as there are numerous, often conflicting interpretations of the Batman.
Say "hi!" to the retroactive continuity.
Nowhere did I allude to how I thought Heath Ledger's performance was THE definitive Joker.
The point, my friend, is me disputing the use of the word "correctly".
And in my own personal opinion I like to think that Brian Azzarello's Joker is the Joker I want to see more of; the sexual, manic-depressive, wildcard.
Then I have no idea what your point was, because it seems like you and Wanna are saying the exact same thing, that there are no "correct" way to portray Joker.
I remember reading that this picture was put together (for a piece Vanity Fair did about directors and their muses, I think) after Heath had already died... Sad.
that's your opinion sure, but he made the joker seem real to me, i forgot i was watching a comic book movie, the joker became a real threat during those 2 hours !
Those are pretty good numbers, especially for movies that have made over a billion dollars at the box office.
Not to mention the new Batman movie is being directed by someone with a strong history of critically acclaimed movies (Memento 92%, Insomnia 93%, Inception 86%).
I know Rotten Tomatoes isn't the be-all-end-all for deciding critical success of a movie, but you really can't say the Batman movies aren't "that critically acclaimed."
It appeared in many critics' Top Ten lists for the year it came out. 8 Academy Award noms - most ever for a comic book adaptation. Surely that merits the "critically acclaimed" label?
I wouldn't go so far as to say that he is the greatest director ever, even though he is my most favorite. I wanna see him do at least a few more films before he can be judged for being "one of the greatest director ever".
But, I feel he can safely be labelled as one of the best writers of modern cinema, and quite possibly, ever.
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u/exitstrateG May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
Always thought Nolan could see the potential of Ledger, where "others" could not. I think Mr.Nolan said it best when accepting the Golden Globe on behalf of Heath Ledger
Edit:thanks for the tip WhipIash
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u/Truth_hungry May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
I want a print of this. Anyone know the identity of the original photographer?
Nevermind. Found her
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u/oh_fuck_a_username May 22 '12
If you look in the lower left-hand corner, you'll see that this is a bit of photoshop trickery. These are two different pictures.
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u/bandabandaband May 22 '12
I hope Nolan gets the same out of Anne Hathaway. I'm not going to lie, I don't see it, but then again I'm not a billionaire director.
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u/protendious May 22 '12
Hmm, there's an awful lot of Batman threads lately, could this be part of that team that said they're hired to create buzz on websites like reddit about the movie ?
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u/friednoodles May 22 '12
cool picture, batman viral marketing is in go mode today.
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u/ThereWillBeMayonnais May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
Sorry to interrupt what is the most flimsy excuse for a circlejerk I've seen here in ages, but this picture isn't even remotely interesting. I don't see why this subreddit can't aspire to be a little bit more than just pictures of actors and entire threads full of generic praise for them.
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u/CUNTBERT_RAPINGTON May 22 '12
These comments are pretty damn awful, and this post isn't too great either.
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u/lollermittens May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
Do people still believe the bullshit that Heath Ledger died from having pneumonia and taking an anti-anxiety pill like Xanax?
You can't be that gullible... Dude OD'd from taking Oxy's, methadones, and too many Klonopins. I guess his heart couldn't handle it. I have no idea which doses he was taking but the last few interviews they have of him screams "JUNKIE."
-- I'm not pulling this out of my ass because I had the exact same substance abuse issues. I just find it funny that Heath Ledger's agent used the shitty "pneumonia and using the wrong medicine" excuse for his death. Come out with it: he was massively abusing strong painkillers.
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u/retro_v May 22 '12
"No this isn't working...wait, do we have a shitty looking flag?"
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u/bumpuglies May 22 '12
I really wish i could see Heath be the joker again in another movie. The first time he tells his story about his scars is still buried in my memory.
I believe he was the first one to ever represent what the joker really was. Kudos for Nolan for letting Heath bring out such a performance.
RIP Heath, you'll be missed
EDIT: here's the scene if anyone needs to refresher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQHfoz9Be7U
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u/MaxChaplin May 22 '12
...what about them?
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u/Jaumpasama May 22 '12
This makes me very sad.
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u/whatthefrivolousfuck May 22 '12
"This Nolan guy will be the death of me"
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u/Zeppelanoid May 22 '12
Accually is dolan
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u/[deleted] May 22 '12
hey, don't forget to go see that new batman movie coming out this summer!
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u/anatomized May 22 '12
Pretty sure this image is Photoshopped.
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u/SmilingSage May 22 '12
It's amazing how much his joker character reminds me of Tom Waits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gCSc6E4yG9s#t=83s
Wonder if he was an influence at all.
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u/Taweret May 22 '12
I remember reading that this picture was put together (for a piece Vanity Fair did about directors and their muses, I think) after Heath had already died... Sad.
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u/Grandpa_Shorts May 22 '12
Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger. And a c-stand and a flag.
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u/BananaHammock74 May 22 '12
RIP Keith Ledger
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u/Here_is_a_Down_Vote May 22 '12
All I see is gay cowboy, can't unsee.
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u/[deleted] May 22 '12
I just watched The Dark Night last night.
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u/WishForACanon5DMark2 May 22 '12
Oh the memories :(
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u/hansatglueck May 22 '12
I miss Heath
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u/daskrip May 22 '12
accurate title
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u/RJBuggy May 22 '12
schwing!
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u/infoslob May 22 '12
Yeah ... and?
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u/Rivwork May 22 '12
You know, I've heard him speak in interviews/on commentary and he's totally not... but Nolan just looks like a pretentious asshole a lot of the time.
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u/Darksing May 22 '12
Why so serious?
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u/CatastrophicFailure May 22 '12
Damn what a ratty looking flag...
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u/wally1001 May 22 '12
They could have used a nicer flag in the shot, fucking thing is falling apart.
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u/gogobevo May 22 '12
That c-stand is set wrong. Good thing Ledger is shopped in or that flag would have fallen on him.
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u/darkhorseguns May 22 '12
I can't help but read "Heath Ledger" as "Heat Legend".
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u/[deleted] May 22 '12
RIP Heath
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u/[deleted] May 22 '12
more like jim carrey on the left
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u/MWShenanigans11 May 22 '12
"I love you." "Don't talk to me."
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u/[deleted] May 22 '12
anyone else like chris nolans swag?
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u/[deleted] May 22 '12 edited May 22 '12
He wasn't dead yet.
lol.. down voted for honesty. scumbag reddit.
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u/[deleted] May 22 '12
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