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Ledger fans demand the Joker be retired from film

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S

Slayven

Member
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ...kercampaign.screeningroom/index.html#soundoff

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A group of Heath Ledger fans have taken their reverence for the late "The Dark Knight" star to a whole new level.

Heath Ledger fans launched a petition calling for studios to remove the Joker from future Batman movies.

Followers of the actor, who electrified audiences with his chilling reinvention of the Joker in the second Batman blockbuster, are calling for the character to be retired from the movies permanently.

Ledger supporters at new Web site, The Ultimate Joker, launched a petition last week calling for studios to remove the Joker from any future Batman movies. The petition currently has 2,431 supporters.

"We think Heath deserves this honor," the site's team leader, Fer Barbella, told CNN from Buenos Aires, Argentina. "He is the ultimate Joker.

"We are Batman fans from the comics and from the movies," he said, "After we saw 'The Dark Knight,' we thought this Joker was really the best. It deserves to be withdrawn from any Batman sequels.

"When Michael Jordan retired, they withdrew the number 23 jersey as an honor. It's the same thing with Heath."

Barbella said he thinks any new performance just won't be able to top Ledger's.

The Web site is the brainchild of Barbella, 34; Nico Pimentel, 33; and Natalia Rodoni, 33, all advertising creatives in Buenos Aires.

The trio say that if they collect enough names, they may go to the studio to present their petition.

"As soon as we start seeing that we have more than 50,000 names on our Web site, perhaps we will go to the Warner Brothers gate and do a bit of activism," Pimentel said.

The huge buzz around Ledger's performance as the Joker last year stemmed from his update of the iconic character played by camp comedian Cesar Romero and as a hateful clown by Jack Nicholson.

Ledger's Joker was a very different proposition from those that had come before: In a ripped, stained suit, with clown makeup smeared across a scarred, twisted mouth, his Joker was a nihilistic, sociopathic prankster. "Why so serious?" he sneered in a performance that received rave reviews from critics globally. Do you agree that Heath Ledger's Joker should be the last one ever?

The actor was found dead after overdosing on prescription drugs at his apartment in New York on January 22, 2008, shortly after concluding work on "The Dark Knight."

Ledger has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Joker, having been awarded a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.

Barbella says that the Web site and petition are their award: "The Academy gives an Oscar," he said. "This is a new award from the people. A user-generated award."
Click to expand...
 
Cravis

Cravis

Member
If the Joker is retired from film due to Ledger's portrayal then they better reshoot the Chun Li movie. Bison needs to be retired from film too dammit! Raul Julia FTMFW! :p
 
M

mollipen

Member
viakado said:
ha, you got baited, son.
Click to expand...

Tyler Durden: Oh I get it, it's very clever.
Narrator: Thank you.
Tyler Durden: How's that working out for you?
Narrator: What?
Tyler Durden: Being clever.
 
D

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
shidoshi said:
You aren't by any chance be thinking that the "best" would be Jack Nicholson playing Jack Nicholson playing the Joker, would you?
Click to expand...

Cesar_Romero_Joker.png
 
H

Herpes Reasons

Banned
Insane Metal said:
YES HE WAS.

I don't even think that TDK is all that that ppl say, but Heath as the Joker is just amazing. Period.
Click to expand...
i'd like to think of it this way. those who played FF VI consider that the best FF ever. barnone.
people who started playing FF from VII onward, consider that to be the best FF ever.
who's right? the ones that know better.
i rest my case your honor.
 
D

Dupy

"it is in giving that we receive"
Damn this is a whole new level of geekdom. Thankfully WB will never oblige.
 
M

mollipen

Member
DrForester said:
Cesar_Romero_Joker.png
Click to expand...

And notice I didn't mention him. I wouldn't call him the best Joker, but the entire old Batman series isn't my thing, so you know. I also don't really count him in this since this is more directly toward movie versions of Batman, and those there was a movie for old TV series, it doesn't really count.
 
M

minor effort

Banned
By now these people have slightly ruined The Dark Knight for me. The shouted insistence that Heath Ledger be given an Academy Award, to the embarrassing amount of praise on his performance. Whatever, it's become a joke.

It was a good movie, but seriously now.
 
E

ezekial45

Banned
This is ridiculous. :lol

I loved Heath Ledger's take on The Joker, but it's NOT his character. The Joker has been around for about 60+ years and he is still very active in the comics. The character is still evolving in way (or not) that makes the character more compelling. Also, that comparison to the number 23 Jersey was a pretty lame.

I'm sure we'll see a new take on The Joker eventually. Will it surpass Heath's performance? Probably not, but it would still be a different take on the character. Which is exactly what Heath did. Hell, i'm sure a lot of those people who are supporting this initially thought Ledger was a terrible choice for the character and that no one would surpass Jack Nicholson.
 
D

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
shidoshi said:
And notice I didn't mention him. I wouldn't call him the best Joker, but the entire old Batman series isn't my thing, so you know. I also don't really count him in this since this is more directly toward movie versions of Batman, and those there was a movie for old TV series, it doesn't really count.
Click to expand...

I think it's fair because some part of Romero's performance has gone into future film versions of the Joker, even ledger.
 
J

JayDubya

Banned
I'm not sure they should even retire the character from Nolan Batman movies let alone any possible theoretical Batman movie ever.

20-30 years from now you can bet there's at least one post-Nolan Batman do-over.
 
Z

Zeliard

Member
minor effort said:
By now these people have slightly ruined The Dark Knight for me. The shouted insistence that Heath Ledger be given an Academy Award, to the embarrassing amount of praise on his performance. Whatever, it's become a joke.

It was a good movie, but seriously now.
Click to expand...

Ledger gave by far the greatest supporting performance of the year, so why shouldn't he get the Oscar? Nobody else in his category is even in the same ballpark, though it is a fairly weak overall year.
 
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