Heath Ledger Found Dead

I don’t get why he’d kill himself. But oh well, that’s a rather deep thought and can be saved for another topic I presume.

Not to be vain, but I’m really glad he finished filming for The Dark Knight. From what I’ve read, he really devoted himself to the role. I read the Wikipedia article on the movie (specifically, The Joker and Ledger’s preparation), and part of me feels like his deep, devoted preparation maybe could have been a contributing factor to this tragic event.

[quote]Padilla7921 wrote:
I don’t get why he’d kill himself. But oh well, that’s a rather deep thought and can be saved for another topic I presume.

Not to be vain, but I’m really glad he finished filming for The Dark Knight. From what I’ve read, he really devoted himself to the role. I read the Wikipedia article on the movie (specifically, The Joker and Ledger’s preparation), and part of me feels like his deep, devoted preparation maybe could have been a contributing factor to this tragic event.[/quote]

             Again, I don't believe he killed himself purposefully, and his family is adamant about this as well. These actors often have trouble sleeping with working crazy hours like 6:00pm to 12 noon the next day etc, throwing their sleep cycles way off. I think it's just a tragic accident, though we will find out and it could have been depression etc from who knows what, seperation from his wife, the role, who knows.  And I believe you're right about the role having some impact on his mind. He interviewed about it and admitted just a month or two ago that he was having trouble getting back on track from the deeply psychotic nature and zero empathy of the character he played and it's effects  on him since he really gets inside the roles he plays etc. 

         He admitted to taking one, then two ambien, and even then only sleeping for an hour before waking up again. Truly a sad day, as I'm sure there was a wealth of great performances to yet be performed by this great actor of his generation.

                  ToneBone

[quote]From Wikipedia

Ledger was found dead in his fourth floor apartment at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City on January 22, 2008. His body was found at 3:26 p.m. EST by a housekeeper and a massage therapist, who entered the bedroom to find him face down, naked, and unconscious at the foot of his bed with sleeping pills on a nearby night table. Police said that they also found prescription medication in the bathroom and that there were “no obvious signs” of suicide, nor did they suspect foul play.[/quote]

Enough with the suicide. Tabloids are always out to make money. You lot need to learn some patience instead of reading the ‘breaking news’.

[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:

As far as actors go, he was alright.

He didn’t take the heart-throb, pretty boy road, but took his work seriously and went for meatier roles.

He didn’t preach to the masses about the environment or some other celebrity cause, while driving a fucking SUV himself.

Granted, better people die everyday without much fanfare, but he was alright.[/quote]

Yeah, I think that’s about right.
He always came off decent - in terms of chracter and artist’s integrity.

I don’t know if many people ever watched this one, but I thought he was excellent in the Ned Kelly film.

This IS sad news…

From wikipedia:

When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work in that film’s tone,[11] and Nolan agreed upon his anarchic interpretation.[10] To prepare, he lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character’s posture, voice and psychology.[8] While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice which did not sound like Jack Nicholson’s take on the character in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film.[12] He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker’s thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance.[9] He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to read, which he “really tried to read […] and put it down”.[11] Ledger also cited inspiration in A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious.[13] Ultimately, “there�??s nothing that [is] consistent”, as his main objective was to frighten the audience.[13] The challenge of the role put a strain on Ledger’s sleep patterns, finding himself unable to rest for more than a few hours each night.[9]

Perhaps a little too much dedication?

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
From wikipedia:

When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work in that film’s tone,[11] and Nolan agreed upon his anarchic interpretation.[10] To prepare, he lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character’s posture, voice and psychology.[8] While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice which did not sound like Jack Nicholson’s take on the character in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film.[12] He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker’s thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance.[9] He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to read, which he “really tried to read […] and put it down”.[11] Ledger also cited inspiration in A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious.[13] Ultimately, “there�??s nothing that [is] consistent”, as his main objective was to frighten the audience.[13] The challenge of the role put a strain on Ledger’s sleep patterns, finding himself unable to rest for more than a few hours each night.[9]

Perhaps a little too much dedication?[/quote]

I said something along those lines to my wife. She told me I was crazy.

It is sad. I dont think he was the “great actor” that everyone is portraying him as. I think he was on his way, steadily working up to more difficult roles. I think he eventually would of been the actor thats allways working. Gets to do bits of everything. A real actor. Its sad that his potential was cut short. We could all wonder how far he would go.

It will make batman a little more creepy when i see it. As for “not being quirky, and political” he was a little. But then we would all look like that if we voiced our thoughts to the camera.

One of the real losses is for the aussie film industry. All of our films lately have been stereotypical and just plain crap. But when they had a decent actor willing to work the industry managed to make some good films. It may or may not be hollywoods loss. But it is ours.

Anyone who studies A Clockwork Orange is good people in my book.

I think it was a pretty good actor and he wasn’t the typical ass hat that most of Hollywood is these days.

I guess he did get one bad habit though from Hollywood, the drugs.

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Anyone who studies A Clockwork Orange is good people in my book.

I think it was a pretty good actor and he wasn’t the typical ass hat that most of Hollywood is these days.

I guess he did get one bad habit though from Hollywood, the drugs.[/quote]

It might just be OTC sleeping pills. Too early to determine if it was related to illegal drugs or a drug addiction. It might just be depression and they were the easiest available method.

I didn’t know he had a kid. That just amplifies the tragedy.

Based on what I have been hearing it seems to depression. A true silent killer.

The first news I saw of this yesterday was an online article from the Sydney Morning Herald.
It mentioned that he may have been ill with pneumonia at the time of his death (unconfirmed). Perhaps, if that turns out to be true, it contributed to the effect of the sleeping pills, and overwhelmed his system? (maybe it wasn’t an intentional OD.)

Another article this morning mentions the pneumonia, again.

Bottles of the generic forms of Xanax and Valium, both anti-anxiety drugs prescribed in his name, were found in the house, according to law-enforcement sources. The sleeping drug Ambien was also found near his body, sources said. The maid said she last heard the star snoring around noon.

STEROIDS MADE HIM DO IT.

His family has verified that he was battling pneumonia. As we all know…pneumonia can be very deadly when not treated properly. Also…alcohol and drug abuse can put you at greater risk for pneumonia…as many other things can,too.

So it remains to be seen how he died until they have autopsy/toxicology report. Sad…so sad.

I have a feeling The Dark Knight will have a cult following like The Crow did after Brandon Lee’s death.

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
From wikipedia:

When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work in that film’s tone,[11] and Nolan agreed upon his anarchic interpretation.[10] To prepare, he lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character’s posture, voice and psychology.[8] While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice which did not sound like Jack Nicholson’s take on the character in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film.[12] He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker’s thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance.[9] He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to read, which he “really tried to read […] and put it down”.[11] Ledger also cited inspiration in A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious.[13] Ultimately, “there�??s nothing that [is] consistent”, as his main objective was to frighten the audience.[13] The challenge of the role put a strain on Ledger’s sleep patterns, finding himself unable to rest for more than a few hours each night.[9]

Perhaps a little too much dedication?[/quote]
not considering how much he gets paid. it’s good to see an actor take his job seriously (which is why i like christian bale, the definitive batman), that level of dedication is why i think he will be a great joker, probably better than jack nicholson.

I personally thought it was sad, more for his daughter than anything.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing him in DK ever since they released the first screen shot of him as the Joker.

I don’t really see the point in getting upset over the fact that the media is reporting it. Do other people who are worthy of media attention die every day? Sure. That doesn’t make his death any less sad or mean that I should feel any less bad for him and his family, however, at least in my mind.

Like someone else said before me, I hope he found peace.

It’s a shame when anyone that young dies.

The only good that can come out of this is we may have the first thread since Sean Taylor’s death that won’t get hijacked by Renton, B-3, Football061, Limousine, et al.

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
CrewPierce wrote:
Anyone who studies A Clockwork Orange is good people in my book.

I think it was a pretty good actor and he wasn’t the typical ass hat that most of Hollywood is these days.

I guess he did get one bad habit though from Hollywood, the drugs.

It might just be OTC sleeping pills. Too early to determine if it was related to illegal drugs or a drug addiction. It might just be depression and they were the easiest available method.

I didn’t know he had a kid. That just amplifies the tragedy.

Based on what I have been hearing it seems to depression. A true silent killer. [/quote]

I agree with you, Zap.
An experienced drug user knows the dose differential between “taking the edge off”, “getting fucked up”, and “I just want to pass out and sleep”. I think he was pushing the sleep dose into the realm of “comatose” and because of his pneumonia, it went over the line into death.

Only the coroner knows for sure.

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
From wikipedia:

When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work in that film’s tone,[11] and Nolan agreed upon his anarchic interpretation.[10] To prepare, he lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character’s posture, voice and psychology.[8] While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice which did not sound like Jack Nicholson’s take on the character in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film.[12] He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker’s thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance.[9] He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to read, which he “really tried to read […] and put it down”.[11] Ledger also cited inspiration in A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious.[13] Ultimately, “there�??s nothing that [is] consistent”, as his main objective was to frighten the audience.[13] The challenge of the role put a strain on Ledger’s sleep patterns, finding himself unable to rest for more than a few hours each night.[9]

Perhaps a little too much dedication?[/quote]

fuck me dead

R.I.P Heath. All I can say is he seemed like a very cool down to earth guy who was dedicated to his art.
Dark Knight looks awesome Bale and Ledger are sure to have outstanding performances, definitely one of the stand out films of the year which is sure to become a cult classic.

ShadoW