Bobsled

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In tribute to the late Heath Ledger and his ridiculous death -- easily the saddest, dumbest and most infuriating act by a gifted artist in the year 2008 -- here's a clip I never saw until this morning. In taping this silly bit with Ellen DeGeneres, I love that Ledger went right to work at conveying the unreality of it -- mock fear, reading a book, juggling balls, going to sleep, etc.

Given the miraculous nature of Ledger's Joker performance in The Dark Knight, his winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar two months from now is all but assured. But if it goes to someone else it will be over the revulsion some feel (myself included) over the circumstances of Ledger's passing and the appalling waste incurred.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 28, 2008 at 7:34 AM

comment #1

byanyother says ...

No one should ever fall into the mistaken notion that winning an Oscar in any way validates Ledger or anyone. It is a stupid, silly prize, a fun game and nothing more. Sure, it would be a great thing for Heath fans - but it most certainly isn't everything.

Posted by byanyother at December 28, 2008 9:14 AM

comment #2

Tim says ...

all you can do is shake your head.

Posted by Tim at December 28, 2008 9:27 AM

comment #3

p.Vice says ...

No death = no Oscar. Period.

Posted by p.Vice at December 28, 2008 9:50 AM

comment #4

Edward says ...

What a great way to remember someone; no platitudes just sillyness and laughter.

Posted by Edward at December 28, 2008 9:51 AM

comment #5

MindlessObamaton says ...

"easily the saddest, dumbest and most infuriating act by a gifted artist in the year 2008"

If you mean self medicating oneself until you overdose, then yeah, that wasn't the smartest thing. It wasn't done on purpose.

Posted by MindlessObamaton at December 28, 2008 10:04 AM

comment #6

EDouglasCS says ...

I don't know about "miraculous"... Heath Ledger was an actor and a damn good one but just because he had bad taste in movies/roles over the years, that doesn't mean that the performance would have gotten nearly as much attention if he hadn't died earlier in the year. People were raving about Nicholson's performance as the Joker 20 years ago and that barely stood the test of time.

Posted by EDouglasCS at December 28, 2008 10:22 AM

comment #7

Jeremy Fassler says ...

Ledger would still win even if he was alive. Not that the other potential nominees for supporting are bad (in my opinion the category will be filled out by Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr., Philip Seymour Hoffman and Dev Patel), but it's a fairly weak year for this category. Ledger gives the strongest performance, by far . It's also a way to reward the movie without giving it best picture, because let's face it, the Academy 9 times out of 10 thumbs their nose at action movies.

Posted by Jeremy Fassler at December 28, 2008 10:34 AM

comment #8

MindlessObamaton says ...

Also, he was robbed for BROKEBACK, which I knew was a towering performance before the man passed. If he had never been The Joker, he still would've been aces in my book.

Posted by MindlessObamaton at December 28, 2008 10:45 AM

comment #9

Jonah says ...

"No death = no Oscar. Period."

I disagree. He gave the performance of the year. You'll try, but your point can't be proven.

Posted by Jonah at December 28, 2008 11:25 AM

comment #10

Hallick says ...

"No death = no Oscar. Period."

I think Heath Ledger's chances of winning actually got hurt by his death merely by dint of his not being around to receive or appreciate the award. Then add to that the undercurrent of disgust over the manner of his demise, and the resentment that exists in certain circles because people think he's only been feted for this performance because he died in the first place. Not to mention that seeing him go to the stage for winning Best Supporting Actor would've been a pleasure for people in other circles who wished he'd won for Brokeback Mountain earlier.

Posted by Hallick at December 28, 2008 11:50 AM

comment #11

Hallick says ...

"People were raving about Nicholson's performance as the Joker 20 years ago and that barely stood the test of time."

Fair enough. But before The Dark Knight came out, I was getting in some in-depth discussions with die-hard Nicholson lovers who were saying that Ledger is probably good and all, but they couldn't conceive of him topping Jack's work. As soon as they saw TDK though, they were levelled. I'm not saying this would be the case for EVERY old school Batman fan, but in these examples, Heath Ledger blew away one of their heroes and they LIKED it.

Posted by Hallick at December 28, 2008 11:58 AM

comment #12

Hallick says ...

That's a cool video. Thank you Jeff.

Posted by Hallick at December 28, 2008 12:04 PM

comment #13

Abbey Normal says ...

DeGeneres is a goofball, but she also has tremendous class. Thanks for posting.

Posted by Abbey Normal at December 28, 2008 1:26 PM

comment #14

Sabina E says ...

Heath really should have won for Brokeback Mountain.

I can't believe it's almost been a year since he died... oh Heath.

Posted by Sabina E at December 28, 2008 5:13 PM

comment #15

p.Vice says ...

Performance of the year? Your stand-up comedy career is about to take off Jonah. Big time.

It's not completely Heath's fault. The Joker, as written, has no motives, no history, nothing to say but lies and nothing interesting to do except stand around waiting for Batman to kick his ass. He's just as much of a two-bit punk masquerading as a big-shot as Nicholson's was, but instead of at least having the panache to set his holocaust to a Prince soundtrack, luring his victims with the promise of free money (which, twenty years later, couldn't be considered, like, topical or anything, could it?), his so-called diabolical plans have the benefit of being as boring as it is stupid. Heath's shortcoming is that he never rises above the character as written to suggest anything beyond the pale cliches and superficial psycho-babble.

Which, given his ouvre as an actor, is no surprise. I know you've fighting an uphill battle when your teeth are cut on Brian Helgeland movies, but I think it's safe to say that James Dean has nothing to worry about.

Posted by p.Vice at December 28, 2008 9:34 PM

comment #16

Ky says ...

Not surprised by your comments p Vice. This is what you had to say about ledger the day he died:

"Who wants to start placing bets? Here's the line on the suicide note:

Didn't get nominated for I'm Not There: 12-1
Just learned Jason Reitman somehow got nominated as Best Director: 10-1
Obama lost Nevada primary: 7-1
Got bitch-slapped: 5-1
Michelle won't take his ass back: 2-1
Just watched rough cut of The Dark Knight: 1-2"

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2008/01/heath_ledger_is.php

Stay classy!

Posted by Ky at December 29, 2008 12:03 AM

comment #17