Jack Nicholson's Joker was a blast. Heath Ledger's Joker is a dark and anarchic figure and there are some fans who are already comparing which Joker is the best. Some of them think that Ledger's Joker is even much better than Nicholson just judging it from the trailers only. How good? Well Ledger's performance in the Batman tale "The Dark Knight" is so remarkable that next January 22, the one-year anniversary of his death, he could become just the seventh actor in Oscar history to earn a posthumous nomination.
Superhero flicks usually are not the stuff Oscar dreams are made of. Yet Ledger delivered so far beyond anyone's expectations that he could end up as the second performer to win Hollywood's top honor after his death. Only one acting Oscar has ever been bestowed posthumously and that person is Peter Finch, who earned the best-actor prize for 1976's "Network" two months after he died. Along with Finch, past posthumous Oscar contenders include James Dean, who was nominated for best actor twice after his death, with 1955's "East of Eden" and 1956's "Giant" but lost both. With nothing remotely like the maniacal Joker among his credits beforehand, Ledger had been a surprising choice to fans, some feeling he was too young, others sensing he would not live up to the campy but earnest performance Nicholson gave in 1989's "Batman." Now Nicholson didn't reap a bid from the academy, but he was nominated in the supporting race at BAFTA and a different category at the Golden Globes. Ledger's performance though is surpassing even the sky-high expectations hardcore fans have going in.
Oscar voters tend to hand out the trophies for heroic or sympathetic roles, so Ledger's supremely evil characterization could prove a drawback along with the action-genre stigma. Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are profuse in their praise of Ledger but have been diplomatic about the Oscar talk. Awards publicity generally pads a movie's box-office and DVD receipts, and the studio has cautiously avoided any appearance of profiting from the added attention Ledger's death has brought to the film. "The Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan sidestepped the Oscar question, saying that he was simply happy that early viewers were responding to the performance the way Ledger would have liked. Whether he will be nominated or not, we will have to wait but one thing is for sure, Ledger's performance in "The Dark Knight" should be a great one judging by early reviews. It is due in theaters on July 17 here in Singapore. [End of report]
As a batman fan for a very long time, I am unable to make a decision on whether Ledger's Joker is much better than Nicholson's Joker because I dont think it is fair to judge based on what I have seen in The Dark Knight trailer. It certainly looks good but I have to watch the entire movie to judge so I wont say anything regarding who is the best Joker for now. But as far as awarding an Oscar nomination is concern, I certainly think he has a good chance and if his performance is just as good as what I have been hearing so far, then I think he stands a very good chance of winning it not because it is done to honor him but because of his acting skills. To be honest, I dont know much about Heath Ledger before he was selected to play the role of the Joker, in fact I have never heard of him before. I do want to point out though that he has receieved an Oscar nomination before for the lead-actor category back in 2005 when he was acting in the movie 'Brokeback Mountain' but he didnt win though. I think that it would be better if The Dark Knight movie itself is being nominated rather than the actor or actress. But as you probably know in any Oscar, superhero movies is not the type of movie that usually get nominated, maybe in shows like the MTV Movie Awards, but not the Oscar.
When I heard about the death of Ledger, I was completely shocked along with everyone else. If I didnt know he was going to be the new Joker, I probably wont be showing too much interest in the news but that wasnt the case. It was a huge loss so I would definitely be having mix feelings when I watch the movie later. From what I have seen so far from the movie trailer, Heath Ledger looks amazing, and like I have said earlier, worthy of an Oscar nomination. I think it is important that when you are playing such an iconic role, it should be remembered by everyone for the next 10 or 20 years. When I watch the batman movie where Jack Nicholson was playing as Joker, I was probably 8 or 9 years old and I can still remember vividly how the entire movie went and how evil yet funny the Joker was. If I hear Nicholson name, the first thing that comes to my mind is the Joker. It doesnt matter if you are gone or is still living, you should still honor the performance and give the credit that is due and if it means giving a nomination or a posthumous award to Ledger, then so be it. I doubt it will happen, but if it did, I would be really happy not just for Ledger but as a batman fan. It would be a great feeling to be honored at the Oscar in someway.
I think The Joker is one of the toughest supervillian to be playing as and Nicholson did well last time so Im hoping the same this time or even a better performance. I have been waiting for the movie since for a very long time so I definitely can't wait for it.As you can see, I have put a counting down clock on the top right side of my blog to remind me of the remaining days I have to wait for the movie. It is about 2 more weeks to go, so remember to note it down on your diary, July 17, the movie of the year premiere, "The Dark Knight". Before I end, I would like to take a quote from the movie, 'Let's put a smile on that face!' =)
*The report was taken from Associated Press.
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