Open Forum Friday: Is the Heath Ledger Oscar Buzz Deserving or Just Hype?
As I’m sure we’re all aware, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight hits theatre this weekend, marking the culmination of over a year’s worth of hype and buzz. At the center of it all is the performance of Heath Ledger as The Joker, his final on-screen performance before he died back in January. The movie has been receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews, and you simply can’t talk to someone about it without broaching the topic of Heath Ledger’s chances for a post-humous Oscar. I still have yet to see The Dark Knight so I can’t comment on his performance, but from everything I’ve seen in the trailers, it looks fantastic. Is it good enough to win an Oscar though?
In a situation like this it’s so hard to cut through all the crap to make an objective call. Terry Gilliam recently came out and said that the Oscar buzz was all just a publicity stunt. On the other hand, maybe he really does deserve it, but he won’t get a chance because (a) it’s a comic book movie, and (b) because it will seem like the Academy is buying into the hype. One thing’s for sure… people love a happy ending, and if the Academy wants to boost ratings for the Oscars, they’ll at least give him a nomination. It may be a genre movie, but a lot of people were quick to point out that Johnny Depp was previously nominated for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow too. I guess it all depends on the competition. What do you think? Have you seen The Dark Knight? Is the Oscar buzz warranted or are you sick of hearing about it? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.
Comments (33)
I’ve already said this…I’ll say it again…the oscars are worthless now anyway. Eminem, an american idol contestant, 3-6 mafia, and queen latifah have them…they are worthless…just give one to ledger, who gives a fuck.
Posted by Bob the Slob on July 18th, 2008…and yes I’ve seen The Dark Knight, and yes he deserves it, even if he didnt die…and I didnt even think the movie was a masterpiece, but his acting was worthy of a REAL OSCAR, so yeah, it is especially worthy of a post-queen latifah FAKE OSCAR.
Posted by Bob the Slob on July 18th, 2008I saw The Dark Knight yesterday, and I thought it was indeed everything it was cracked up to be. While effects and directing were up there in the top line, I don’t think they were Oscar material. Heath Ledger however did an amazing job. If this movie were to win an award, it would have to be for his performance. I can think of no better way to remember him than the crazy malicious psychopath he played so well here…is that a good thing? Long story short, yes I say give him the Oscar.
Posted by thesharpcat on July 18th, 2008Hey Bob, why do you think that those people didn’t deserve oscars? Eminem and the 3-6 Mafia won them for what they do: make music. That’s what they do. Jennifer Hudseon won because she sings in a movie she’s supposed to sing. I don’t even know where you get Queen Latifah from. She was nominated for Chicago once, where she sang. Her acting was so-so. So because people you didn’t like won, you feel an oscar is completely worthless?
Posted by Matt on July 18th, 2008Matt…no I dont think they deserved oscars…that was music? Oscar worthy music? It is all voting and opinion, obviously, I just feel like the Oscars dont really stand for anything anymore, they have been cheapened by dolling out statues to hallow controversial media figures instead of talented artists…Didnt Latifah win a best supporting actress oscar? I thought she did. I am admitting its opinion, I wouldnt deny such, but if eminem can have an oscar statue, for whatever category, sitting on his mantel at home, then yes…to me personaly, they are meaningless, yet something interesting to watch once a year. thanks for responding.
Posted by Bob the Slob on July 18th, 2008To say that heath steals the show is criminal. While heath’s joker may be legendary, we can’t forget about aaron eckhart’s turn as two face was heartbreaking. I’d say that ledger and eckhart are both very capable of receiving oscars or at least nominations.
Posted by cronenfly on July 18th, 2008Yes! Ledger is great and nothing he’s done in his past prepared me for his performance in this film. Its almost like the guy was possessed. I also feel if the film was 20 minutes shorter by shaving some of its running time in the last half hour The Dark Knight would get nominated for best picture. Its that good for its first two hrs. Overall a terrific film!
Posted by entertainmenttodayandbeyond on July 18th, 2008I won’t deny that Ledger was great as the Joker, but I can’t help but feel that a lot of why people are saying “It was incredible! You couldn’t even tell that it was Heath Ledger!” comes from the fact that his make-up made him look nothing like the cutie from A Knight’s Tale. Put on the make-up and he is the living, breathing Joker. Take off the make-up and you’ve got Heath Ledger doing quirky voices and body movements. That said, once again, I’m not denying that he was really good in the film, and probably my favorite part of The Dark Knight, but I dare say that people may be overreacting a little bit. Bring on the verbal harassment; I knew what I was getting into when I dared to suggest that Heath may not deserve any posthumous awards.
Posted by Rian on July 18th, 2008To say Two-face steals the show is criminal in itself. I don’t know about you, but if Ledger hadn’t been in the film at all, I think it would have been a thousand times less incredible.
Posted by thesharpcat on July 18th, 2008Ledger was quite good. The buzz of his performance is accurate and deserved.
Posted by Greg on July 18th, 2008I was never a fan of Ledger before today, but holy *&@# was he incredible. I’m a fan now, and I’m worried that you really can’t have another Joker after that. Absolutely perfect. Brilliant. Take off the make up and he would have been just as brilliant. I just got back from the movie about 5 minutes ago, that was possibly the finest performance I have ever seen, period.
Posted by Wow on July 19th, 2008Yeah, it sucks this guy died because his performance was extremely good. It’s got to be a very tough role to play an over the top psycho (the question: “what’s my motivation for this action?” gets quite mirky when playing “crazy”) while not making it too over the top. Over at the futilepodcast we talked about Ledger and the whole darn movie. Man it’s nice to know that occasionally the hype is on the money.
http://futiletitle.blogspot.com/
Posted by Ian on July 19th, 2008I’ve been a Ledger fan personally since Brokeback Mountain when I thought he should have won the oscar for that. And here I think his performance rivals the one in Brokeback, so I think he absolutely deserves the nom. I can’t speak for the win until the rest of the movies come out, but so far this is the performance of the year.
Posted by Jay on July 19th, 2008I am not begging for an Oscar nomination, but I would certainly not mind. I’ll worry about what does and does not warrant a nomination when I know what else is out there in the fall.
Really enjoyed TDK. It’s one of those cases where I’d have to give it a 4/4 – I mean, there actually are things I could nitpick, however those things are overwhelmed by that is right that the complains are kind of drowned out. Anyways, those main complaints would be that Bat Sonar is kind of meh and that the final action sequence is a little confusing, and that even in a 2 and a half hour movie the Dent transformation is a bit rushed. I am a defender of Batman’s gruff voice – seeing as he has to hide it or else he’s screwed, but it still does sound funny sometimes.
Everyone would pretty much have to admit that TDK is filled with pretty iconic moments that are going to be parodied and ripped off for years to come. My particular favorite moment is not the much talked about pencil trick – it is the sight of Joker in a nurses uniform stumbling in daylight as a hospital collapses around him.
Posted by Good on July 19th, 2008Riddle me this who do you think will be the next villain?
Posted by Riddler on July 19th, 2008Indeed it is.
Posted by Cinexcellence on July 19th, 2008As wonderful and terrifying as Ledger’s performance was, why does everyone jump to the conclusion that he should win the Oscar. There’s still half a year left in movies, with most of the “Oscar-deserving” performances at the end of the year. Let the hype subside for a few weeks, and reevaluate our feelings, please
Posted by Yih on July 20th, 2008The thing that worried me was a lot of this buzz was going on before the movie even came out and I was worried that he would only get nominated as a pity nomination due to his tragic death. However, after seeing the movie I do believe he deserves at least a nomination. I even think the movie itself is worth of a Best Picture nod since other than Be Kind Rewind, it is the best film I’ve seen all year. The only problem is that it’s not often that a summer movie gets nominated for anything other than the lesser categories.
Posted by Jason on July 21st, 2008up
Posted by kolikovaa on July 21st, 2008foto and video sex
It’s well deserved, and it’s a shame he won’t get it because the academy doesn’t want anybody to think they’re buying into any sort of hype.
Posted by Mike on July 21st, 2008yo bob the slob eat a dick sounds more like a racial issue to you
Posted by porkin bobs mom on July 30th, 2008I don’t usually like to post on these things but this is just ridiculous. I saw the movie was a bit disappointed. It’s really incredible how mediocre the movie is given all of the GREAT actors (Bale, Freeman, Oldman, Caine, and Eckart).
What really troubles me is that this guy isn’t being considered for an oscar for his performance but due to his death. He didn’t die saving a life, he died using drugs. Not only that but he died abusing drugs. How is this tragic? His death is more appropriate for a video on “what not to do” rather than being awarded.
Now let’s get to the movie. He was a great villain, an excellent villain but a horrible Joker. Where were the jokes? I can remember a single joke in the entire movie from him and even he didn’t laugh at that. There are at least 10 to 20 jokes in the average movie that is not a comedy.
So to recap:
1. He didn’t die tragically, he died of drug abuse
2. He was a terrible JOKEr because he told no JOKES
Sometimes I think that people are paid to write these posts. Jack Nicholson can rest assured that his portrayal of the Joker is still the best. Even the Joker in the original Batman told jokes. Even the Riddler in (the god-aweful) Batman Forever told riddles.
Posted by Batman Fan on July 31st, 2008Yea I hope the last post itself was a joke. Because if not, oh, Batman Fan, you have no idea what you just did. You better prepare to be ripped to shreds by legions of TDK fans. I, for one, disagree with everything that you said except that Jack Nicholson did a great Joker. There is nobody that is praising Heath Ledger for using drugs and dying, they’re praising him for his groundbreaking, gritty, and terrifying performance. Do you think he deserved to die?
Posted by Matt on July 31st, 2008On second thought, I’m sorry. I don’t even know why I’m responding. It’s obvious you missed what the movie is all about. Go watch the 60s TV show to find what you know you’re looking for.
Batman fan….. if you really believe what you have just wrote is true, you are more stupid than you sound. Bassed on the film, everyone has said he is brilliant, which is true. You are moaning because he doesnt tell many jokes, get yourself a joke book. He was brilliant, being serious and funny when he needed to be, one of the best films i have ever been to see.
Posted by Chris Strouther on August 1st, 2008What are all of these replies?
“Everyone has said he is brilliant?”
Who is everyone? Am I not included in EVERYONE?
“Get yourself a joke book?”
His name is the JOKER and I’m stupid for expecting jokes?
“It’s obvious you missed what the movie is all about.”
Why don’t you tell me then? I’m posting this not to make people angry but to honestly understand some other points of view.
Chris and Matt I really wanted replies to why people like this movie so much. I even wrote that I thought he was a great villain but the Joker had no jokes. That’s like a martial artist without arms or legs. Can somebody please give me a real reason why this movie is so great other than using a guy’s DRUG ABUSE death as a reason to canonize him?
The Joker in this movie is no different than the average madman in every action movie. He’s just an anarchist with a little paint on his face, not a super-villain.
Please give some real reasons if you disagree. Calling me stupid in an internet post really has no effect. Make me feel stupid, and you really win. Make me feel stupid by making me recognize what is so great about this movie and that drug abuser’s performance and then you really win.
Posted by Batman Fan on August 1st, 2008You do realise he did not die from drug abuse. He died from a misprescription incident while working away. Research why he died and look at the proper facts. Also, the film is so good because he plays the role of a psychotic joker and nails it. Look at every persons review and a huge amount will be saying he is the better joker, say what you may, that was the best batman film and alot of it is down to the way he played the charactor.
Posted by Chris Strouther on August 1st, 2008So the joker needs to tell jokes? Man, you are dumb
Posted by brokeback mount him on August 4th, 2008Just to make sure… I looked at several sources Chris.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Ledger
“Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine.†It also states definitively: “We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications.â€Â
Six different drugs at the age of 28? My grandmother takes less than six and she’s 88 years old. The doctor can call it drug abuse but I can’t? Come on guys. No one has provided me any reasons why this DRUG ABUSER needs to get an oscar.
By the way, you ask if I think that he deserved to die. The answer is an emphatic yes. This retard received everything life had to offer without doing any real work and definitely no work with merit (just watch his movies and see) and he’s a drug abuser? That’s totally pathetic. His death actually leads me to believe that there is some sense of balance in the universe.
Also, I love the comment from brokeback. He only further proves my point. I guess he typed J-O-K-E two times in the post without noticing that the words are similar.
I wanted to share something also. When I found out he died. I didn’t know that the Dark Knight had finished filming so I was overjoyed thinking that he wouldn’t destroy the movie. Sadly, I was wrong.
Posted by Batman Fan on August 5th, 2008You will never know weather he meant to take hes life, as wont i, but ill keep my opinion and believe he didnt. Also you shouldnt be so pleased that he is dead, your sick. He was brilliant in this film as the moajority are saying, you are the strangest person to walk the earth.
Posted by Chris Strouther on August 13th, 2008To Chris,
I never mentioned that he intended to die or not. I was just sad that he completed that movie before he died. I gave reasons why this movie was not so great, you keep saying it’s brilliant. That’s pretty pathetic. Reasons please. I am still begging for someone to give me reasons why he was so great and no one will oblige me.
Posted by Batman Fan on August 15th, 2008I agree with Batman Fan. I think, like Jack Nicholson, that anyone who plays the Joker role should be able to do what Heath Ledger did. He didn’t really have to act with the script all writen out for him and makeup on. I think all this hype about the Dark Knight is kind of like pop music: People only like it because it’s popular. Now call me an idiot for saying an oxymoron, but if a small group of popular people like the movie, they can very quickly impose on others. Also, I hadn’t noticed before, but the Joker SHOULD tell jokes, as the role intended. However, that’s not Ledger’s fault, it’s the fault of the writers. And he did die from abuse, there are infinite sources out there saying that. The point is, Dark Knight would have had the same appeal with Hillary Duff as the Joker as it did with Heath Ledger.
Posted by Ryan on August 20th, 2008The Joker, in the original comic incarnation, was a serial killer who is named after the playing card “jokers” not any comedic character. He’s a sociopath, not a comedian.
Also, if doing drugs somehow disqualifies someone from Oscar consideration, no one would be nominated… EVER. James Dean was a heavy drinker and drug user and, though it probably didn’t contribute directly to his death, Dean was still awarded a posthumous Academy Award.
Posted by Danny on October 13th, 2008Leave a Reply