A voice artist to loop Ledger?

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How will Warner Bros. and the Dark Knight team handle Heath Ledger's unrecorded looping sessions? Slate's Kim Masters is reporting that "it would be unusual for director Chris Nolan to have all the sound that he wants at this early stage [for a film coming out in July], and that on a big-budget franchise picture like The Dark Knight, a producer opines, "looping would be the norm."

The obvious solution would be to use a voice artist "and there are rumors that the studio will do that," Masters writes. "If so, the studio's denials would be understandable: Warner wouldn't want the public to be listening for variations in the voice when the movie is released. But the producer assures: 'With a good voice artist, you would never know the difference.'"

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 31, 2008 at 11:34 AM

comment #1

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

AICN reported that all his looping was complete.

Now, sure, AICN aren't always right. But if both they and Masters are just reporting "rumors," who's to say?

Posted by Luke Y. Thompson at January 31, 2008 11:54 AM

comment #2

corey3rd says ...

Rich Little will do it

Posted by corey3rd at January 31, 2008 12:19 PM

comment #3

Stephe96 says ...

Get Jack Nicholson; he knows the role.

Posted by Stephe96 at January 31, 2008 12:29 PM

comment #4

storymark says ...

The Batman on Film site, which has been correct on pretty much every single call they've made concerning this and the last movie, have also been saying Ledger was completely done with all work, including looping.

Posted by storymark at January 31, 2008 12:31 PM

comment #5

Sean says ...

Ledger deliberately completed all the dubbing in order to be completely free to do 'Imaginarium', and Nolan accomodated him out of respect for him and Gilliam both.

However, I do think the question remains... given the nature of editing, how could Nolan possibly know all of the dubbing he would need done? He does strike me as the type of guy who doesn't continue re-writing in post, but I may just be saying that because his movies always seem more intellectual than emotional, and not particularly human or organic.

Posted by Sean at January 31, 2008 1:07 PM

comment #6

Mark says ...

Mark Hamill will always be the true voice of the joker. And I'm sure his schedule isn't filled.

Posted by Mark at January 31, 2008 1:09 PM

comment #7

Mikey Filmmaker says ...

I wonder how much ADR Chris Nolan still needs for The Joker? I also thought Ledger was completely done with his work on The Dark Knight.

Posted by Mikey Filmmaker at January 31, 2008 1:26 PM

comment #8

Devin Faraci says ...

Kim Masters: doing no research.

Posted by Devin Faraci at January 31, 2008 1:35 PM

comment #9

storymark says ...

Given that Nolan shoots meticulously enough that he doesn't do reshoots, I don't think it's much of a stretch to assume he knew fairly early in the editing process which lines he'd need. They have been editing since September or so.

Posted by storymark at January 31, 2008 1:43 PM

comment #10

Sean says ...

"Given that Nolan shoots meticulously enough that he doesn't do reshoots,"

I disagree with the premise that it is possible to shoot meticulously enough that reshoots wouldn't neccessary. To me, it speaks to a mentality I saw often in film school, that once the script is written, that's it. It creates products that don't feel organic, because everything was decided before the actors showed up. It's the same sort of control freak behavior you would expect from somebody who prides himself on not allowing anything to be shot second unit. (At this level of filmmaking, that's such an extreme waste of money that he ought to be ashamed of himself.)

When you get to the editing room, if you don't find at least one thing that can be improved from your initial vision, you aren't looking hard enough. However, that said...

"I don't think it's much of a stretch to assume he knew fairly early in the editing process which lines he'd need."

I agree with you that, given Nolan's limited view as an editor, he probably was able to get all the looping he needed.

Posted by Sean at January 31, 2008 1:59 PM

comment #11

jackfly11 says ...

Jack Nicholson to Rich Little: "I warned him."

Posted by jackfly11 at January 31, 2008 4:56 PM

comment #12

jeffmcm says ...

Substitute voice actors are hired all the time when the original actor isn't available.

Posted by jeffmcm at January 31, 2008 6:27 PM

comment #13

cute4u23 says ...

Hope Heath rest in peace. I saw his profile on millionaire dating site called http://WealthyRomance.com last week. I will ask that webmaster to delete his profile right away.

Posted by cute4u23 at February 1, 2008 2:03 AM

comment #14

PerfectTommy says ...

Gee, I thought cute4u23 was just a spammer; but now I see that he/she/it really cares. "Hope Heath rest in peace" - a wonderful sentiment not cluttered with correct grammer. And on Feb. 1 he/she/it saw Heath at website - but now he/she/it will get it deleted "right away". Maybe cute4u23 didn't know last week, because it takes time for news to get under rocks.

Posted by PerfectTommy at February 1, 2008 6:44 AM

comment #15

Edward Champion says ...

You can decry Manners doing no research on this question (and I agree; surprised that gossip slipped past the editors). But I don't see anybody here making calls. Are you folks so determined to cling to conjecture and third-hand gossip when you can readily pick up the phone and try and figure out what's going on? What is the point of discussing whether a voice actor has been hired if you don't know for sure if Ledger completed his loops?

Posted by Edward Champion at February 2, 2008 10:06 PM

comment #16

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comment #17