Ledger went from doctor to doctor to get drugs. He knowingly withheld the fact he was getting drugs from other doctors to these new doctors. This makes him a druggie.
If I went from pusher to pusher on a street corner or a park I’d be called a druggie, just because Ledger could afford to go doctor and doctor doesn’t make him any different. It was NOT legal. If Ledger had told all his doctors about his medical history he would have been denied drugs.
If Ledger had not died no one would care about this Batman movies.
It’s ironic we live in culture that will glorify and cover up for a man who is openly and willingly abusing drugs, the same way if he was buying them off a street corner.
Unlike Elvis and Judy Garland, who had drugs pushed on them or at least thought “Well it must be OK cause the doctors know,” Ledgers doctors DIDN’T know because HE lied to them.
We’ll shortly find out how replaceable Kirk, Spock. Bones, et al are. I suspect at least a few of them (like Simon Pegg as Scotty) will hit the bll out of the park.
Also, the Addams Family movies replaced the TV show as the definitive representation of the New Yorker cartoon characters, especially for Gomez and Wednesday. It’s interesting that the M&Ms commercial picks and chooses between the two for its cartoon version.
I had hoped Nasruddin Singh would have replaced James Mason as the definitive Captain Nemo, through the LOEG movie. Alas, there is at present no definitive Captain Nemo.
No definitive D’artagnan either, although Michael York remains a sentimental favorite.
Oh, and BTW, anybody could play the Joker (yet again) in (yet) another Batman movie remake. Just slap some make-up on their face and tell them what to say and what to do.
Now then, a role that made The Riddler seem dark and scary, well that would be something.
As the OP, I respectfully ask that we drop the cause of Ledger’s death. I understand that his death is very much a part of the discussion of TDK, but I’d rather we not lay blame one way or another or debate the causes thereof here in this thread.
But isn’t accusation of thread hijack just another form of hijack? Possibly commentary about commentary on thread hijack being thread hijack is also thread hijack.
Laurence Olivier was Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice for 46 years until Colin Firth came along. To this day, I’m amazed that a role so iconic and associated with one actor could be almost instantly forgotten.
I’ve read several articles on Ledger’s death, and unless I am very much mistaken, there is no proof- or at least nothing that’s been released to the public- that Ledger doctor shopped. There’s lot of speculation on how he got the drugs, if they were all prescribed by the same doc, and whether it was truly an accident, but speculation is just that. It is unfair to label him as a druggie when you don’t have all the facts. Do you have a cite that backs up your statement re Ledger doctor shopping and lying about his medical history? If so, I’ll retract what I’ve said, but I’ve seen nothing of the sort.
I’ll say no more about it in this thread as to not continue the hijack. KRSOradio, feel free to PM me or perhaps start a new thread if you want to discuss this issue further?
Somewhat on topic, I highly disagree that no one would care about The Dark Knight had Ledger lived. It was an overall well done movie, and Heath kicked the shit out of his role. His death resonates with people because he died young, and turned out to be a remarkably talented actor. A waste of life and of talent. Had he lived, I find it hard to believe his performance would be considered anything other than great.
Apologies, Sir Rhosis. As I said above, I will not hijack this thread beyond this post, but that needed to be said.
These two both resembled the previous ‘icon’ enough to allow audiences to accept them, while they put their own stamp on the character.
It seems to me that actors who take on a role ‘owned’ by a previous actor do so by either sneaking in through the back door, by resembling the Icon and allowing the force of their own interpretation to build, or by flagrantly challenging the audience’s expectations.
I think Michael Keaton did both in his Batman. That will always be my favorite.
I grew up watching Ian Carmichael play Bertie Wooster. Nobody remembers him now, especially since the new adaptations featuring Hugh Laurie as Bertie and Stephen Fry as Jeeves…