Good Night, Sweet Prince: Heath Ledger 1979-2008

[Lunchebox]

Heath Ledger found dead in NYC apartment
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22788914/

Breaking news
MSNBC News Services
updated 2 minutes ago
NEW YORK - A New York Police Department spokesman says the actor Heath Ledger has been found dead at a downtown Manhattan residence.

According to TMZ.com, Ledger, 28, was found dead in his bed in one of his residences in Soho by his housekeeper at 3:35 p.m. ET Tuesday.

The actor has a two-year-old daughter with former fiancee Michelle Williams. Ledger was set to play the Joker in the upcoming Batman film "The Dark Knight." He received an Academy Award nomination for his work in "Brokeback Mountain."

© 2008 MSNBC Interactive

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22788914/


 

At least The Dark Knight finished filming before he kicked the bucket.

But let have a moment of silence, and take solice that his last performance was as the Joker.

More info here: http://independentcomicssite.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=347&Itemid=1


More stuff:

"He tends to do that. He is here in London filming the latest episode of the “Batman” franchise, “The Dark Knight.” (Mr. Bale, as it happens, plays Batman; Mr. Ledger plays the Joker.) It is a physically and mentally draining role — his Joker is a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy” he said cheerfully — and, as often happens when he throws himself into a part, he is not sleeping much.

“Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,” he said. “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” One night he took an Ambien, which failed to work. He took a second one and fell into a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing.

Even as he spoke, Mr. Ledger was hard-pressed to keep still. He got up and poured more coffee. He stepped outside into the courtyard and smoked a cigarette. He shook his hair out from under its hood, put a rubber band around it, took out the rubber band, put on a hat, took off the hat, put the hood back up. He went outside and had another cigarette. Polite and charming, he nonetheless gave off the sense that the last thing he wanted to do was delve deep into himself for public consumption. “It can be a little distressing to have to overintellectualize yourself,” is how he put it, a little apologetically."

"Here too was his Joker diary, which he began compiling four months before filming began. It is filled with images and thoughts helpful to the Joker back story, like a list of things the Joker would find funny. (AIDS is one of them.) Mr. Ledger seemed almost embarrassed that the book had been spotted, as if he had been caught trying to get extra credit in school.
"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04lyal.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&ref=arts

Hmm, maybe he threw himself too deeply in this one, considering the pills that they found around were over the counter sleeping pills.

Maybe it was an accidental over dose.


Also, video of them hauling his body away, courtesy of the #####ing vultures at TMZ.

http://www.tmz.com/tmz_main_video?titleid=1387531726

[Captain Sanoguchi]

Did he drop good loot?

[Jakey]

Wow, that's incredible.  I can't believe he's dead.

[Lunchebox]

Did he drop good loot?

Not funny, Sano.

[Speed Racer]

This really, really sucks. He was such a promising actor, and the buzz was huge about his performance in The Dark Knight.

[Captain Sanoguchi]

Did he drop good loot?

Not funny, Sano.

Sorry, but you didn't sound too sad about it either, using euphemisms such as 'kicked the bucket' and saying things like 'at least he died after the movie was done'.

[Voulnet]

I feel sorry for his daughter.

[Lunchebox]

Did he drop good loot?

Not funny, Sano.

Sorry, but you didn't sound too sad about it either, using euphemisms such as 'kicked the bucket' and saying things like 'at least he died after the movie was done'.

I guess I should be clearer.

I meant the joke itself just isn't funny, not having to do with the dead actor.

He didn't even PLAY WoW.

This really, really sucks. He was such a promising actor, and the buzz was huge about his performance in The Dark Knight.

The dude spent a month alone in a hotel room, reading nothing but Joker source material. Man was DEDICATED to doing that part justice.

I feel sorry for his daughter.

Yeah, it's too bad for her.

[ASR]

That really sucks. I would never expected this. I just heard about it from someone else.

[Lunchebox]

Added more to the first post.

[preventerWIND]

Can't remember a movie where he was in it honestly, but it's tragic either way. I only know he's in the new Dark Night movie. They'll probably dedicate the movie to him.

[Lunchebox]

He was in Broke Back Mountain and a Knight's Tale, two of his more notable films. He was also in a few other things as well.

[preventerWIND]

Ah, a Knight's Tale was pretty awesome.

[ASR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIW7WXPb-dc

DOES NOBODY REMEMBER THIS?

THAT WAS HIS CAREER RIGHT THERE

MORE LIKE "10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HEATH"

EDIT: URL fixed. Oh god.

[Lunchebox]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWM5eL_oYRY

DOES NOBODY REMEMBER THIS?

THAT WAS HIS CAREER RIGHT THERE

MORE LIKE "10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT HEATH"

... Why... Why did you post a video of some jerk doing a crappy cover of a crappy song?

We're talking about Heath Ledger.

[Mikero]

Because he probably had both windows open and copied the wrong YouTube address. Why he had that video open though is a whole other can of worms I don't want to know about.


Anyway my best friend texted me as I was leaving class today with this and then they had a thing about it on MTV Live later.

Sucks. Totally sucks ass. Sucks it hard. I was thinking about making a topic, so good job Lunche.

[ASR]

Oh, god, I'm so sorry. Like, ugh.  Mike's exactly correct, or rather, I just pasted the wrong URL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIW7WXPb-dc

THERE we go.

[Mikero]

Yeah that was a great movie. I'm pretty sure Dark Knight is going to be/is the best movie of his career though. 'Cause I love A Knight's Tale and 10 Things but it's not they're epic or totally amazing or anything. I never saw Brokeback but apparently it's good.

[Edgecrusher]

When I first saw the publicity pics of him as the Joker I thought, "he looks like the Crow." Now, just like Brandon Lee, he's gone too soon.

The Dark Knight is currently in post-production. My hope is that, like The Crow, it will not only succeed in its own right but also stand as a memorial.

[Mikero]

Probably will.

[ASR]

I came really close to watching Brokeback, but my mom returned the rental a day early because she didn't think I'd be interested.

It's going to be so weird to watch The Dark Knight now... there's just going to be this horrible feeling hanging overhead.

Though, yeah, a memorial is much better word for it.

[Mikero]

It's not going to be weird to watch it at all because he's an ACTOR who can actually ACT so you're going to be watching The Joker, not Heath Ledger.

[ASR]

Actually, that's a great point. Thank you.

[Speed Racer]

AICN has word that Heath finished all of his work for The Dark Knight, including post-production work, so he won't be dubbed or doubled at all.

[Mikero]

It's been known to be in post production for a while.

[Lunchebox]

They've BEEN done with Post for a while, they're just waiting for the Summer movie rush.

Also, ha ha, that was a pretty good clip, ASR.

But given how in depth he went into studying the character, I think he'll probably make a good Joker (That 6 minute preview didn't hurt either).

But... I doubt he'll replace BTAS Joker from my heart.

[ASR]

A few friends and I are going to have a Heath Ledger marathon this weekend. Granted, we'll probably just hang out in the basement like normal and leave the movies running in the background, but it's out of respect.

[Lunchebox]

Ha ha, some of my anonymous friends, over at a certain board (you know the one) proposed a brilliant idea.

That Heath ledger is NOT dead, and this is a big publicity stunt for the movie.

At the movie premier, they'll be starting to shuffle in for the movie, then, suddenly, an explosion on the roof of the theater, and you hear a Joker-esque voice, saying "WHY SO SERIOUS?!" and the laughing begins. When the smoke settles, there he is... Heath Ledger!

[ASR]

If only.

[Mikero]

That's not funny.... yet.

[Johncarllos]

It would make every person on Earth go see that movie.

It's just that cool.

[ASR]

I don't know if it would hurt his career or make it holy.