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The Joker to be played by Heath Ledger?

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jett said:
sogood.gif
:lol *thumbs up*
 
These doubters aren't being fed regular crows, they're being fed fucking demonic crows from the citadel of hell.

Anyway, I agree with SpeedingUp, there was nothing that could have even indicated that Ledger could do something like this. It only proves that you can never doubt Nolan and his brother's casting decisions (except for katie holmes, lol).
 

pestul

Member
Cool, I made page 1 as supporting him from the beginning, although my assessment of his smile was a little off since he really require it for the role.
 

Shinobi

Member
flintstryker said:
naw the greatest bum is the guy who bump the thread to own posters from 3 years ago regarding the new mortal kombat game.

:lol Winner...


armubaba said:
Insane amounts of crow-eating in this thread. Holy crap.

To be fair though, I don't think anybody saw a performance of this caliber coming from Heath. He really took the role and made it something amazing.

Agreed...I had faith that Nolan had made a good decision, but I didn't expect anything at this level. It's honestly one of the best performances I've ever seen...others have mentioned this, but I just don't see Heath Ledger at all when watching this movie, which is just astounding considering his tragic passing. He would've written his own ticket for the rest of his career on this performance. It's sad that he never got that chance.
 

Zeliard

Member
Lebron said:
it's amazing how totally off base all the Heath as Joker mock ups were before the big unveiling. Trust in Nolan indeed.

The Joker's grungy look and demeanor should be fully attributed to Heath Ledger. He's the one who came up with it.
 

jett

D-Member
Zeliard said:
The Joker's grungy look and demeanor should be fully attributed to Heath Ledger. He's the one who came up with it.

His demeanor yes, but the look itself? I doubt it.
 

Sleeker

Member
Who could have predicted that not only would Ledger fucking rock as the Joker, but that he wouldn't even be alive for the opening of the movie.
 
jett said:
His demeanor yes, but the look itself? I doubt it.
It was already said that Ledger walked in with a cheap make-up kit and showed everyone what he thought the Joker should look like, then TDK's make-up artists re-created it for shooting.
 

Zeliard

Member
jett said:
His demeanor yes, but the look itself? I doubt it.

I recall reading somewhere that it was originally Ledger's idea for the character to come across as some scruffy, unwashed vagrant-type, as he felt that's what would work best in Nolan's universe after he saw Batman Begins.
 

SSM25

Member
OMG!!..by reading the first pages I imagine nobody expected ledger to perform the way he did lol!!!

did this happened before?, I mean casting someone that truly surprises everybody....
 
Let me put it to you guys this way. Everyone won in the end. The people who believed got to see the others proven wrong. The people who didn't believe got one of the most amazing character performances put to film. Nolan proved he could be trusted. And Ledger proved that he was truly an actor who could portray any role, if Brokeback Mountain didn't prove that to you already.

It truly is disheartening, though, because it's true that he didn't have any experience in this realm before, so his turn in The Dark Knight would have given everyone pause to say, "Who cares if he hasn't had a role like this before, the guy can act, give him this script!" He would have had the pick of the litter when it came to roles. He could have been bigger than any of us would have imagined from the guy who played Mel Gibson's son in The Patriot (at least I would have imagined).

The fact that I have now gone a week since first seeing it and still can't get his performance out of my head is a testament to Heath. RIP.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
man I haven't even seen the film yet and I can't think of anything else but this dudes performance based off gaf hype.

I'm extremely interested to see that 'imaginarium of dr parnissius' or whatever the hell it's called now.
 

Sanjuro

Member
Skiptastic said:
Let me put it to you guys this way. Everyone won in the end. The people who believed got to see the others proven wrong. The people who didn't believe got one of the most amazing character performances put to film. Nolan proved he could be trusted. And Ledger proved that he was truly an actor who could portray any role, if Brokeback Mountain didn't prove that to you already.

It truly is disheartening, though, because it's true that he didn't have any experience in this realm before, so his turn in The Dark Knight would have given everyone pause to say, "Who cares if he hasn't had a role like this before, the guy can act, give him this script!" He would have had the pick of the litter when it came to roles. He could have been bigger than any of us would have imagined from the guy who played Mel Gibson's son in The Patriot (at least I would have imagined).

The fact that I have now gone a week since first seeing it and still can't get his performance out of my head is a testament to Heath. RIP.
I was a believer. Day one. The internet brings out that voice in many people that has to react in a "WTFOMGBBQ!#?" attitude to keep their "bro" points or something of that nature.
 
Why was everybody afraid he'd be effeminate? In Brokeback Mountain, he was as butch as they fucking come. And, as somebody who knows rednecks, he sounded damn close to a redneck.
 

OmniGamer

Member
Love To Love You Baby said:
Even though he was a "pretty boy" in Brokeback Mountain (I mean, who gives a fuck what he was a "pretty boy" in - not that I agree entirely with that term with his role in that movie), his role showed his ability to transform. I mean, I get it, people around here are more impressed with comic book films than gay cowboy films, but even if I had some issues with the film, it certainly showed his "true" ability as an actor.

^This is me...that film, and his role in that film, had a profound impact on me. If he is nominated(again) this year for best actor, and if he actually wins, in my head, i'll consider it a win for Brokeback Mountain(*Edit* i'd consider it a win for BM as well as for TDK, I meant to say)...he really did create such a haunting character in the deeply tortured soul that is Ennis Del Mar.
 
Shinobi said:
What's even funnier is how Nicholson's Joker has basically been turned into a footnote. :lol

I think maybe that depends on what kind of Batman Universe or more relevantly, what Joker Character you prefer... Campy or Dark? If you were a fan of the TV show, you could basically say that Nicholson bested Ceasar Romero's Joker and perfected the roll. If you were looking for a darker Batman, then you would definitely say that Heath owns the character.

My Mom hasn't yet seen TDK, but she has seen BB and still thinks that Batman 89 is the best Batman movie.


To be honest though, the mainstream never really knew Batman as a remotely dark character until Batman 89 or until Batman: TAS brought to the mainstream his origins and his dealing with his parents being dead. You never saw that in West's Batman.

But how could a character who is a vigilante because his parents were murdered in front of him not be dark? I prefer this realistic Nolanverse to any other Batman on TV, although, TAS comes closest and is a great show, probably the best representation of the character. If I didn't yearn to see it in live action, especially since they had to bring down the violence level in what would mainly be marketed as a kids show, the cartoon universe would be the best one.

That's my $0.02
 

Bursh

Member
I think no one could have predicted how amazing he would be as the Joker, but its a little bit ridiculous to think that he had no potential for it. If TDK was gonna come out in like, 2002, then we would have all been rightfully hesitant, but after Brokeback, Monster's Ball, and I'm Not There (doesn't get enough credit), I think that he had already proven himself to be an actor of great talent.
 
BootlegSnackz said:
I think maybe that depends on what kind of Batman Universe or more relevantly, what Joker Character you prefer... Campy or Dark? If you were a fan of the TV show, you could basically say that Nicholson bested Ceasar Romero's Joker and perfected the roll. If you were looking for a darker Batman, then you would definitely say that Heath owns the character.

My Mom hasn't yet seen TDK, but she has seen BB and still thinks that Batman 89 is the best Batman movie.


To be honest though, the mainstream never really knew Batman as a remotely dark character until Batman 89 or until Batman: TAS brought to the mainstream his origins and his dealing with his parents being dead. You never saw that in West's Batman.

But how could a character who is a vigilante because his parents were murdered in front of him not be dark? I prefer this realistic Nolanverse to any other Batman on TV, although, TAS comes closest and is a great show, probably the best representation of the character. If I didn't yearn to see it in live action, especially since they had to bring down the violence level in what would mainly be marketed as a kids show, the cartoon universe would be the best one.

That's my $0.02

I agree, I think Nicholson did a great job of playing Joker as he was written. He was the Joker everyone expected him to be. I like the creepier Heath-Joker more, but thats not necessarily a knock against Nicholson as an actor.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
I don't know how you can confuse tabs like this.

Anyway, I miss ya, Heath.
 
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