Heath Ledger passed away tragically in January, the loss of this soul felt around the world. One of his last gifts to us, the movie-goer, was his role as the Joker in the upcoming movie, The Dark Knight.
What teasers we’ve seen, and previews seem to be confirming, is that Ledger put his all into the role and he literally delivered the best ever rendition of the Joker, as Kofi said over on his post about the latest Dark Knight trailer.
Christian Bale said that Ledger’s performance was incredibly intense, his portrayal of the Joker had an anarchistic aspect that made the role dirtier than anyone envisioned it. Director Christopher Nolan said “it’s going to just blow people away.”
The hype in the air is that Heath Ledger may be nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of the Joker and if the preview trailers are of any hint, I would not be surprised to see a posthumous nomination.
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In 2005, Heath Ledger was nominated for best-actor for his role in Brokeback Mountain, but did not win. It was an incredibly convincing role by Ledger of personal confusion and torment that drew you into the powerfully told story.
If Heath were to get the nod from the Academy, he’d join a very small contingent of actors. Peter Finch, James Dean, Spencer Tracy, and Massimo Troisi. Fellow Australian, Peter Finch is the only posthumous award winner, for best-actor, in the 1976 film, Network. James Dean was nominated twice but never won.
With the public pressure building, I can’t imagine that Heath Ledger won’t get the nod for either best-actor or supporting-actor. Never mind his sheer talent deserving of such.
If the nomination or the win happens, this would put us in the middle of entertainment history and it would be a popular and emotional win that would be felt around the world, no matter who you are. It would be an incredible tribute to the man so many loved.
Speaking of tributes: People.com is reporting that the movie’s closing credits will have a special posthumous tribute to Heath and special-effects man Conway Wickliffe who passed away in a stunt-car accident last September.
The tribute will simply say, “In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe“.
Ticket Sales Go Off The Charts: Looking forward to the latest rendition of Batman, combined with the anticipation of seeing Heath Ledger in his last role has led to a landslide of The Dark Knight presold tickets. This sales pace has put the movie in the same category of the Star Wars prequels, Sex and the City and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
We’re still three weeks away from opening day and theaters have started adding a 3:00 A.M. screening because the regular scheduled screenings have sold out.
At present, The Dark Knight has pre-sold eight times as many tickets as Spider-Man 3 did 21 days before the opening date at MovieTickets.com. Will this translate into a box office record-breaker or is it just fanboy mania to see it as soon as possible?
We’ll know soon enough.
If you’re hoping to get to opening day, you might want to think about snagging some tickets now!
Sources: LA Times, Wikipedia, Slashfilm
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17 Comments
I have not bought my tickets yet because i dont know if i will be able to go on opening weekend
If the film is as good as it looks,,,
I’m betting Heath will be nominated and win, not only for his performance but also because the Oscars needs the ratings bad.
I can see his wife and little girl on stage accepting to a standing ovation allready. It will be extreamly emotional.
He will also win a Golden Globe, People choice and Mtv award.
Its a safe bet that this will blow past 100 mil opening weekend. No prob.
The oscars are the biggest farse of the industry. But yes, Heath will easily win for best supporting actor.
From what the trailers show, its actually scary and freaky to the point of slight awkwardness watching him as Joker, and that kind of acting has never been done in movies.
Has anyone won an oscar for a movie like this - the superhero blockbuster types?
I remember talk of Viggo Mortenson getting in there with Return of the King, but sure it didn’t happen. These movies tend to get overlooked no matter how good the acting involved is.
Have to say, as much as the sentiment rings true, the idea of giving someone an oscar because they died gives it a bad taste. I just can’t shake the feeling that if he was alive, people would be wowed, but nothing like this.
All the award shows are a farse, especally the Teen Choice awards!
Actually Steven the Git, there was Oscar buzz on Ledger right before he died…
Ah that’s different then.
I suppose superheroes and villains have been played a little too quirky in the past for any serious recognition, which the new batman movies don’t have a problem with.
I agree on the awards too. Helen Mirren winning an oscar for imitating someone was beyond daft for me.
Its all very political and its a real possibilty that his death will nudge the Academy.
From what I can see, it looks like the combination of his performance and his death are selling tickets.
(Only on Earth does this happen folks)
I review from the New York Post said Ledger steals every second of screen time and leaves the audience drooling for the next Joker scene.
This is the Joker movie come on get real.
One thing if TDK becomes the biggest film of the year, Oscar might also nudge the win for ratings sake.
The Academy’s ratings have been dropping for the last few years and this film might be what they need to break that cycle.
Ask yourself, if Heaths nominated are you going to watch the Oscars? I’m betting yes. Maybe not the whole show but that dosnt matter, just that fact that 4 out of 10 more people will watch is money in their pockets.
Weird planet.
Well in many movies the villain can be more interesting than the good guy.
I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing this. All my buds who made it to the press junket this past weekend are absolutely RAVING about how awesome TDK was.
Vic
lets not forget presales were good for SATC and The Incredible Hulk but there was a drop on saturday for both.
You just cant judge how a movie is going to do by PRESALES.
I do wish them luck however,
It looks like a good film.
Gary, when was the last time a Batman movie got Oscar buzz in July.
I’m predicting 500mil opening weekend. Jk, but at least over 100.
Heath wouldn’t be the first actor to be nominated for playing a comic book/graphic novel villain. Al Pacino was nominated for his role as “Big Boy” Caprice in “Dick Tracy”. And let’s not forget that in the past 10 years, both Paul Newman and William Hurt were nominated for their turns in “Road to Perdition” and “A History of Violence” respectively, both of which were based upon popular graphic novels.
I cannot wait for this movie.
Never knew that about Pacino. That was a weird movie!
Forgot about Newman, although he could get nominated for anything. One of the greats.
To be honest, 790, nothing could get me to watch the Oscars. I couldn’t stomach the schmaltz.
This really could turn out to be one of those iconic movies though - tragic death with plenty of rumour about it, great story, great action, really dark but really popular.
Seems the good buzz is only getting better.
790, when was the last time the primary focus of that oscar buzz had DIED earlier in in the year ?
I am not saying it cant make 100 million in its first weekend ,
But BB was ssupposed to make 150 million in its first five days remember that?
all i am saying is that you just cant judge how a movie is going to do just by its presales.SATC and The Incredible Hulk are recent proof of that.
And Iron Man made it to 100 million with very little violence .
that wont be the case here .
with all the buzz the violence probably wont affect it in the first week.
but that and its two and a half hour length will probably affect it in the second week.
steven the git said,
June 30th, 2008
“Has anyone won an oscar for a movie like this - the superhero blockbuster types?”
Alec Guinness was nominated for his role in “Star Wars.”
The Dark Knight is going to be a very good movie. It’s Batman vs the Joker,
Two Icons, wouldn’t miss it for the world. I hope the Dark Knight is the highest grossing movie of 2008. I think this movie is going to be one hell of a ride. I know me and the girlfriend are going to see it two times at least. Hope Heath wins an Oscar award.
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