Ledger voted top movie villain
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Chilling: Heath Ledger as the Joker (www.dogmaticblog.com)
Heath Ledger's chilling portrayal of the Joker in Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight easily surpassed rivals to be named the American summer's best movie villain in a new poll.
Australian actor Ledger, 28, who died of an accidental drug overdose six months before the July release of The Dark Knight, won 95 per cent of votes in a poll by AOL's Moviefone website.
The Batman sequel, which has taken $US505 million at the US and Canadian box office alone, also won every category in which it was nominated for the end of summer season poll, including best sequel, best superhero movie, best action sequence and "movie most worth your cash."
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had all the hype going into the summer but when people saw The Dark Knight, they really responded in 'Titanic'-like proportions," said Moviefone editor Scott Robson.
Indiana Jones - the much-anticipated fourth movie in the lucrative franchise - got only 5 per cent of votes for best movie in the Moviefone end of summer movie poll. The poll got a total of 646,917 online votes.
Sex and the City edged out Mamma Mia! as best chick flick, while Tropic Thunder beat Pineapple Express 32 per cent to 24 per cent as the funniest comedy.
- Reuters
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Comments (32)
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RuAlright:
04 Sep 2008 7:45:57am
And rightfully so !
Kudos to Heath Ledger (R.I.P)
His portrayal of the Joker will never be matched let alone beaten !Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Rekija:
04 Sep 2008 8:09:31am
Just for the summer? That's not even a contest. No wonder he got 95 percent. I'ld like to see a poll of all-time movie villians. Maybe we need more time in order to be objective but it wouldn't surprise me if he is regarded as one of, if not the best movie villian of all time.
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Neal:
04 Sep 2008 9:36:53am
Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter beats him hands down.
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bjh:
04 Sep 2008 11:39:50am
Daniel Day Lewis as Daniel Plainview in There will be blood
or
Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No country for old menAgree (0) Alert moderator
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dragon:
04 Sep 2008 9:42:09am
The best villain ever ?
I think everyone's judgement is clouded by sympathy for the deceased !
Let's not forget .......
- Darth Vader
- Norman Bates
- Apollo Creed
- Michael Corleone
- Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining' .................... etc etcAgree (0) Alert moderator
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Brad:
04 Sep 2008 11:04:08am
Numerous villains played by Boris Karloff and Bla Lugosi.
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Julian:
04 Sep 2008 11:38:58am
RuAlright,
A typical pedestrian comment to make. Look at things objectively and don't get caught up in populism. Yes, it was very sad that Heath passed away; however, the comments you make are naive. Heath was a very good actor, but you go too far in your praise.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Jim:
04 Sep 2008 7:54:56am
Who cares.
The cult of the celebrity will probably outlast religion.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Jeremy:
04 Sep 2008 9:54:51am
Agreed. How is this even news? An unscientific straw poll declares something. Can we expect news stories every time there are poll results about anything.
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Tony:
04 Sep 2008 7:58:33am
It's amazing how much of a 'talent' or 'performing genius' you become once you're dead. Not that I don't feel for his family, but there is just the ridiculous amount of carry-on about 'how great' someone was once they're dead. Not a dot about some of the 'ugly' lifestyle habits that lead to his death.
What are we saying: better to be dead and famous?Agree (0) Alert moderator
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RuAlright:
04 Sep 2008 8:11:52am
He would have won awards regardless.
Do you celebrate the ugly facts of someones life after they're dead ??? Thought not.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Richo:
04 Sep 2008 8:41:40am
exactly right. nobody was singin his praises until he died and became the best actor of our time. fair enough he may have been good but it seems once you die you become more than you were.
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Rekija:
04 Sep 2008 11:12:47am
Nobody was singin his praises until he died? He was getting a lot of praise for Brokeback Mountain. There was a LOT of hype around his role of the Joker before he died it just got more widespread after his death.
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DeepFritz:
04 Sep 2008 8:45:38am
It's unfortunate that he doesn't have a huge back catalogue of material in the can...
2 Pac, Jeff Buckley, etc all had their careers benefit from dying!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Raymond:
04 Sep 2008 8:46:25am
>It's amazing how much of a 'talent' or 'performing genius' you >become once you're dead.
Amazing how everyone carrying on with this response seems to have forgotten the hype surrounding Heath's portrayal of this character (judging from previews) BEFORE he died...
Normally I would agree with you, but fact is, he did do a damn legendary job as the Joker; although as far as best villains go I still think that award goes to Jason Isaacs... damn that man can be creepy!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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NT boy:
04 Sep 2008 9:20:41am
UUmm guys, his portrail in Brokeback mountain.. his comedic touch in Knights tale... - come on he didn't do just 1 movie.. he was praised as a great actor before the Dark Knight was even started.. and movie mulgals even defied the US gov when they tried to have him blackbanned for speaking out against Iraq war... he was one of the better leading men in Hollywood.
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Akroc:
04 Sep 2008 8:50:09am
Of course. Ledger is the new Kurt Cobain!
Dead or alive, he did a much better job of the Joker than I anticipated. Given his past 'credentials', I originally thought he would butcher the role.
Oh yeah, and in terms of this 'villain poll', did you really think Cate Blanchett in 'Indiana Jones' was going to win? HA!Agree (0) Alert moderator
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dragon:
04 Sep 2008 10:15:18am
" ..did you really think Cate Blanchett in 'Indiana Jones' was going to win?.."
So true !
She had the same screen presence as the caterers ... LOLAgree (0) Alert moderator
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tom:
04 Sep 2008 8:55:55am
You're making a logical fallacy there.
Its a correlation not causation.
Had Mr Ledger not died chances are the same amount of praise would have been executed, however we cannot be certain. By virtue of this fact it is inappropriate to say that only because he died is he being praised for his work.
Keeping in mind his other oscar winning performances i would be more inclined to say that his performance was brilliant on its own, and as a seperate issue the tragedy of losing such a brilliant actor has compounded the praise.
Don't mix facts and don't be bitter. Last check even dead the man has done more in his 28 years than most people have, which includes you :)Agree (0) Alert moderator
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DrPump:
04 Sep 2008 9:08:02am
Regardless of Ledger's unfortunate death, his performance as The Joker was brilliant and deserves the kudos it is receiving. Go see the movie.
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Pen Pal:
04 Sep 2008 9:15:09am
Let's for God sake praise the living - God will look after the dead.
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Felix:
04 Sep 2008 9:37:27am
Or the Devil - if that's the fantasy creation story you would like to believe.
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Phumducker:
04 Sep 2008 10:37:29am
Aahh!! The Devil - now there's a real villain. Just can't remember what movie I saw her in.
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Winston:
04 Sep 2008 7:59:07am
It seems individuals and their work are only valued when they are gone. The art and literature world is replete with household names who, when they were alive, were not only relatively unknown but also impoverished from lack of interest in their work. The irony continues...
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Jarrett:
04 Sep 2008 8:51:45am
Uh Winston you do realise Ledger was considered a great actor BEFORE he died ?
Christopher Nolan especially thought he was a brilliant actor which is why he cast him as Joker. Plus 2 of his performances are on the AFI top 100 all time performances list.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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krazychrisp:
04 Sep 2008 8:16:47am
Its worth noting that had this movie been made else where, other than in the USA where their penchant for prescription drugs is not only encouraged but visually force-fed to you (the nightly news is wall to wall drug comapany ads) Heath Ledger may not have had such a manic cocktail to imbude.
His villian is good, but lets not forget that he has essentially taken all the best bits from other actors who came befor him and used - mimicked their technique. Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, that dude who played the Riddler in the the Batman t.v series, even Jabba the Hutt with the incesant wet tongue around the side of the mouth bit.
And anyway - what Jim said, cult of personality to distract the proles whilst the rats take everything for them selves.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Arod:
04 Sep 2008 8:23:58am
The article mention tropic thunder as the summer's best comedy i think people who voted for it must have something wrong with them. It was woeful. I could not understand a word robert downey said, I understand this was a deliberate accent but who wants to sit there for 90 minutes and not under the supporting actor.
Tropic Thunder was up with 'behind enemy lines 2' as being one of the worst films of recent times.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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qwerty:
04 Sep 2008 9:02:05am
It is so odd that people assume this result is due entirely (or even significantly) to his death. Have people commenting here even seen the movie?
This film and this portrayal would have been widely celebrated had Ledger not died. It is true that his death brought attention but to credit the film's entire success to it is facile.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Peter:
04 Sep 2008 9:39:44am
If this really is the "movie most worth your cash" then cultural capital is really dead in this country. Since when is the box ofice an indication of a quality film?
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Billie:
04 Sep 2008 10:31:31am
I went to see this movie prepared to be disappointed, to accept that the hype was just that, hype because the poor man was dead.
All I can say is that Heath Ledger was utterly believeable as The Joker. Utterly. To the point where I forgot that it was an actor playing a role (which doesn't usually happen to me). For that, I say his performance was brilliant.
Best of all time? Genius actor? No idea, but I have high praise for his performance as The Joker.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Phumducker:
04 Sep 2008 10:45:14am
I agree with you Billie. I'm a 53 year old documentary lover who was asked by my 16 year old son to go with him. I attended reluctantly because that genre of film is not normally my thing.
But I walked out of the theatre convinced that I had seen one of the all time great acting performances. The film itself probably rated a 7/10 for me but I would definitely watch it again just for Heath Ledger's performance.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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Trevor:
04 Sep 2008 11:49:20am
Also agree. I went to the movie with interest because of the strong reviews, but was prepared to assume there was a level of hype about Ledger's performance.
On the contrary, the performance is well and truly worth the accolades. If he wins an Oscar, it will be thoroughly deserved.Agree (0) Alert moderator
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