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Heath Ledger: RIP (1 Viewer)

Chuck Mayer

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Sadly true, but I wanted him around to talk about what he had done, and to prepare for some work in the third film. It puts a real downer on a very strong sophomore effort.

Which is all secondary to the fact that he was a bright young talent with a child and a great future.
 

WillG

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Of course, I wouldn't expect any official marketing angle based on this. But surely as the release approaches, it will be a huge subject and from a purely financial standpoint, it's not going to hurt.
 

Brandon Conway

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Again, not to make light of the actual real life situation with his daughter and other family, etc., but wasn't there underlying "one of the greatest performances ever" buzz for his turn as the Joker? I mean, Michael Caine had nothing but great praise for him. There was even early (albeit VERY early) Oscar talk. I could see a James Dean situation arising out of this, where if he was alive serious consideration for such a performance could be argued away by genre, but now that he's dead, if the performance is all it's being hyped up to be, people may just say "screw that, I'm voting for him anyway".
 

Brandon Conway

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Puts this article in a new light, though it may very well be unrelated to the ultimate cause of his passing.

Link

Diary of a Madman
Heath Ledger on how to become a Joker.
by Stax

November 5, 2007 - Actor Heath Ledger has peeled back the veil of secrecy on his portrayal of The Joker in next summer's The Dark Knight, revealing a glimpse at his process for bringing the Clown Prince of Crime to the big screen in director Christopher Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins.

In an interview with The New York Times, Ledger called the Joker a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy." The role has been "physically and mentally draining" for Ledger, and he has not gotten much sleep during shooting. "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," he said, adding that his body may be tired but that his mind "was still going."

The most interesting revelation in the New York Times piece is that Ledger has been keeping a "Joker diary" to prepare for the role. Ledger began keeping the diary four months before shooting commenced. The Times describes the journal as "filled with images and thoughts helpful to the Joker back story, like a list of things the Joker would find funny. (AIDS is one of them.) Mr. Ledger seemed almost embarrassed that the book had been spotted, as if he had been caught trying to get extra credit in school."
 

Seth Paxton

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Boy, I don't know. I think Chuck is right, this is still a family film even if it's edgier, and that has to impact how this will affect the response to the film. More so if it's drugs (which seems to be true).

It might not be losing Mike Myers before a Shrek release, but it's not nearly as simple as Lee's situation.
 

Brandon Conway

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I wonder if there's a chance of this being a Bruce Lee situation? IIRC, Lee was given a prescription drug from a friend for a headache (not Lee's own prescription) and had a fatal reaction to it. This may be totally accidental.
 

Jason Harbaugh

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Wow this is truely sad. I've really enjoyed all of his performances that I've seen. He always had a likeable presense onscreen.
 

Dale MA

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What a tragedy. I really am in shock about this. My thoughts are with his family at this time.
 

Greg Layton

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Oh man, I heard this on the way home from work and hoped that it wasn't true. He had such a bright future ahead of him. :frowning:
 

PaulP

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Ron, rather the question is, what was filmed for the new Terry Gilliam film that was was in. Whether all his scenes were shot, or whether Gilliam will have to re-cast... As far as The Dark Night, it's in post.
 

Brad M

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My first thought was that I hope he had finished his work on TDK so that his final performance will be one that will be remembered for a long time. I never knew anything about his personal life, only his life on film. I couldn't help but think that way when I heard the news.

I hope this does not come across cold and heartless. I know he was a human and had a family and for that I am sad.
 

Adam Sanchez

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I'm really stunned by this. My brother left me a voice mail saying he heard it on the radio and I came online to check it out. Truly shocking and sad.

It scares me that wikipedia has already been updated. :frowning:
 

Ronald Epstein

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CNN is reporting a *possibility* of a drug overdose.

This is very, very sad!
 

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