Heath Ledger Talks More Joker
Filed under: Action, Casting, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Not so very long ago, Heath Ledger angered a portion of the geek community by ... well, by being cast as the Joker in Nolan's Batman sequel The Dark Knight. Soon thereafter, he angered everyone else in the geek community by launching into a profanity laced burn of comic book movies and his utter disdain for them. We've now got further comments from Ledger regarding the role, and these ones sound a whole lot more positive. Here are the basics (click here for the full) delivered in classy bullet points:- Although Ledger, like everyone else alive, has been familiar with the Batman mythos for some time, he wasn't particularly keen on being in a Batman film at first. Nolan sold him on the idea.
- Ledger is excited for the chance to plan an "iconic" role, particularly one which is so far removed from anything he's done yet.
- He has been told the part will be like "watching a car wreck that won't stop." The role will also be exceptionally deep.
- Like all good actors, Ledger isn't bothered by fans who don't like him. If an actor was stopped by a handful of upset fans, he'd never work again. A rather good point, all things considered.
- Ledger knows better than to try and recreate the work of Nicholson. He is fully aware he can't recreate Nicholson's work, and he has a different director with a different vision.
- He's always figured he'd know he really "made it" when he was turned into an action figure.
While I still don't understand Ledger's anti-comic book rant, I continue to support his casting and expect he'll do well. I just wish he'd embrace the community he's working for. It is hard to get behind a guy who gleefully insults your hobbies.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-03-2006 @ 11:40AM
ak said...
I love comic books too but I feel no conviction in trying to make someone else buy into our passion and dedication for this underappreciated art form. Ledger is a terrific actor and if he said he "fucking hated" comics, well, I can understand his generalization. I don't wish he'd think different about comics as long as he gets the character right for the movie. ak
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10-03-2006 @ 11:58AM
Elliott said...
Actually Ledger never said he hated comics, he said he hated comic book movies. Over generalizing is a trap that many people fall into. In this case Ledger was using one expression that covered both the disaster that was Catwoman and the brilliance that was Batman Begins.
If Ledger did make an "anti-comic book rant", then I could not find it linked in this article or the previous one. Hopefully in the future Heath will try to be more specific when he describes the types of movies he does and does not like, in the mean time lets not become pessimistic over remarks that are taken out of context.
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10-03-2006 @ 1:26PM
Akbar Fazil said...
Elliott, the line in the interview is:
"I actually hate comic book movies, like fucking hate them, they just bore me shitless and they're just dumb"
Pretty damn insulting imo.
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10-03-2006 @ 2:12PM
Eric Trenkamp said...
Well, maybe films like Superman IV: The Quest For Piece, Batman & Robin, Men In Black 2, Daredevil, Elektra, Captain America, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nick Fury, Supergirl, Catwoman, and Barb Wire deserve to be insulted. I know they insulted me.
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10-03-2006 @ 2:28PM
dafnap said...
Dude, comic book movies DO suck, and I'm a huge comic fan. They are more insulting to comic books in their insistence in diluting every comic book property (at least, recognizable super hero ones, I doubt many know that "A History of Violence" or "Road to Perdition" were adaptations of comic books, if only many dismiss comic books as being incapable of producing something NOT in tights) to a thoughtless action movie.
Seriously, stop insisting that Heath Ledger hates the medium, he's saying the movies, and I can bet you can't find many people -comic fans or otherwise- who can claim that the latest flood of comic book movies are any good. They aren't. They can be fun, they can be entertaining, but they hardly anything other than that. That's not saying, of course, that they can't be good, they most definitely can. It depends on whether or not anyone will allow them to.
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