Will the Death of Actor Heath Ledger Propel the Movie Dark Knight to Greater Box Office Success?
A morbid thought? Perhaps. Then again, the movie may serve a fitting tribute to the young Hollywood actor who had a penchant for taking on challenging roles often time bypassing the more mainstream roles he was offered. Ledger called "extremely original and edgy," by "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan may just have been the right actor to take on this darker version of the Joker, and while few may go on record as saying so this close to the 28year old actor's death, the recent tragedy will probably bring out a legion of moviegoers that might have otherwise skipped the movie altogether.
"Dark Knight," picks up the legendary franchise where "Batman Beginnings," leaves off, with Christian Bale reprising his leading role as the cape crusader. Schedule for release in the United States on July 18th, 2008, the movie offered Nolan a chance to work with Ledger for the first time, an actor that Nolan said had the same vision of the villain as he did. Ledger he said, liked the idea of taking on the challenging role from the start. It now remains to be seen if the death of the actor will help the sequel sail past the $371 million take of "Batman Beginnings."
Though just how Ledger died will probably remain a mystery for at least a while longer, since toxicology report will not be available anytime soon. What is known is that the Australian born actor was found dead yesterday after an apparent prescription drug overdose. The naked unconscious body of Ledger was found by his massage therapist and a housekeeper in the late afternoon. Though the two tried to revive the actor, it was too late, Ledger was already dead.
News of the tragedy traveled quickly throughout the popular actor's upscale Manhattan neighborhood, drawing a large crowd of onlookers which prompted police to put up barricades.
Ledger, who appears to have had bouts with insomnia for which he may have been on medication for, is survived by his 2-year-old daughter Matilda, a child he had with his former girlfriend, the actress Michelle Williams, who he met on the set of "Brokeback Mountain." Before Williams, the star actor had been linked to fellow actresses Naomi Watts and Heather Graham.
Sources:
"IGN interviews Christopher Nolan", www.movies.ign.com
"Batman Beginnings," en.wikipedia.org
"Dark Knight," en.wikipedia.org
"Heath Ledger found dead in NYC at age 28," www.news.yahoo.com
Published by Rolando Cruz
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2 Comments
Post a CommentI agree with Lucius' comment. Heath's acting was so good that it would've attracted just as much audience as his tragic death. There was so much anticipation about The Dark Knight even before the actor's passing that I really feel his death made a minimal impact on the box-office success. Everyone knew this would be THE movie of the summer, and it lived up to its hype.
Just a few days before this happened, I made a comment praising how Ledger's Joker was gonna be completly different from Jack Nicholson's. I think the biggest impact is gonna be in marketing- they were plastering the Joker all over theaters and trailers just last month.