Heath Ledger found dead in apartment...

[bassman]

In a round about kind of way, the role of The Joker my have played a part of Ledger's death. I'm a pretty big batman fan and have been following the production of The Dark Knight since it started last spring. In many different interviews Ledger would state that he got so mentally and physically into the role of The Joker that he developed insomnia and lack of apetite. That could explain the sleeping pills that were found near his body. And if you look at recent photos of him he had really lost a bunch of wait. He didn't look too healthy. I wonder how this will effect the future of Nolan's Batman trilogy. The marketing campaign around The Dark Knight has focused exclusively on The Joker up until this point. Nolan has stated that The Joker would not be killed off like in Burton's 1989 film......so how now is Nolan going to continue the series? Surely it would be extremely hard to recast Ledger in the role that many people are saying could be the first comic book adaptation to receive an Oscar nomination. I'm going to try and find one of the few signed Joker photographs on Ebay. There can't be that many... Anyway....my Batman geekness aside, he was a great actor. I think he was only beginning to rise up in the acting chain of command, so to speak.

[vissionaerie]

....WOW!!!...i just found out abut it this morning listening to my sirius radio...i actually got teary eyed...I thught he was a great actor...it's ashame about his little girl...now she's going to grow up not knowing him....but only by his movies...i feel bad for her....

[Neil]

Things aren't as simple as that, it could've been completely accidental. Low metabolism combined with a couple of pills that wouldn't ordinarily kill a person. I guess we'll have to wait and see later today when the post mortem results are in. Yes, you are right of course!

[MinionZombie]

I came down from playing some STALKER last night and came in about 15 minutes after the news had been broken. Really took me by surprise cos you don't associate Ledger with drugs, or any kind of socialite living. He'll be a huge loss to the world of acting. He was great in Lords of Dogtown, and Brokeback Mountain was an absolutely superb film in which Ledger was jaw droppingly good. A real shame and an actual loss. Was it someone on here saying why couldn't it be one of these wasters who just flash their knickers and drink a lot - while I don't feel comfortable with wishing harm on people - I know what you mean, this is a real loss of a talented young actor. It's gonna be really weird now with The Dark Knight, a dark film is now even darker. Maybe the 3rd film won't have the Joker at all ... right now it's hard to see it re-cast, but there's a long time to wait until the third Nolan Batman flick, so... Anyway, point being, a sad loss.

[Chic Freak]

I heard he killed himself because his wife was leaving him... will make the story of the Joker losing his family and going mad more poignant I guess RIP.

[CornishCorpse]

Damn poor guy, sorry to hear about his death. Its going to be creepy watching the joker now..I always thought heath ledger was a light hearted sorta guy ( watching his choice of roles whoops ) but now wow..

[bassman]

His autopsy was inconclusive. It will be about 10 days before they get all the results. I read that when told of Ledger's death, Jack Nicholson said "I warned him".

[capncnut]

Yes, you are right of course! You know what gets me all angry? Lowlife f**kholes like Pete Druggerty and Amy Winebinge doing drugs 24/7 and the folks that don't deserve death die before their prime! I read that when told of Ledger's death, Jack Nicholson said "I warned him". Sheesh! With all the photos that's been taken of him with coke dregs up his nose, he's in no position to talk.

[Kaos]

Threads merged.

[Neil]

Spotted this comment by someone on the BBC website:- Hopefully Warner Brothers will see sense and shelve The Dark Knight permanently, since to release a film featuring Heath in such a demonic role (and a role in which, as villain, he presumably dies) would be insensitive in the extreme. I think maybe he should see some sense first

[bassman]

Spotted this comment by someone on the BBC website:- I think maybe he should see some sense first The Producer of The Dark Knight, Charles Roven, has already stated that they're continuing with post production and the release date will remain the same. Why would they put the film off entirely??? With a role that Ledger supposedly put so much thought and time into, do you honestly think he wouldn't want it released? Not to mention that someone had already died DURING the production of the film when testing a stunt... And as if Warner Brothers would shelve a 150-200 million dollar COMPLETED film.

[Neil]

The Producer of The Dark Knight, Charles Roven, has already stated that they're continuing with post production and the release date will remain the same. Why would they put the film off entirely??? With a role that Ledger supposedly put so much thought and time into, do you honestly think he wouldn't want it released? Not to mention that someone had already died DURING the production of the film when testing a stunt... And as if Warner Brothers would shelve a 150-200 million dollar COMPLETED film. Exactly...!

[Mike70]

to add a bit - the dark knight isn't coming out until july 18th (bassman is that right?) so these comments about deep sixing it are even more non-sensical. there will be plenty of time for folks to get used to the idea he is gone and i think that people will want very much to see his last bit of completed film work. brandon lee and vic morrow were both killed on set and those movies were both released. to shelve this movie not only wouldn't make financial sense, it would be a huge insult to this guys memory. the dark knight ought to be viewed as an elegy.

[bassman]

to add a bit - the dark knight isn't coming out until july 18th (bassman is that right?) so these comments about deep sixing it are even more non-sensical. there will be plenty of time for folks to get used to the idea he is gone and i think that people will want very much to see his last bit of completed film work. brandon lee and vic morrow were both killed on set and those movies were both released. to shelve this movie not only wouldn't make financial sense, it would be a huge insult to this guys memory. the dark knight ought to be viewed as an elegy. Yeah, that's right. It's kind of a shame for the film, really. Now instead of making it's profit and standing on it's own merits, many people will probably see it because it was Ledger's last film. Not that this is a bad thing, but the film already looked to be one hell of a ride. Hopefully there won't be alot of school girls that are obsessed with "10 Things I Hate About You" sitting next to me crying when I see it. Surely Nolan and Co. will have some sort of quick behind the scenes thing with Ledger, as well as the stuntman that died. If not that, AT LEAST an "In Memory Of...." at the end. I suspect there will be a documentary focused on them on the DVD, as well.

[Danny]

granted the dude was a great actor, but i was at the pub yesterday at around... 11pm , drinking coke of course , and a freind of mine got talking about the dark knight and i mentioned heath ledger dying and he didnt know, so i told him the story on the news and a woman in the booth behind us left crying and her chav boyfreind said "how could you bring that up you insensitive bastard". no.joke.