Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Heath Ledger: 1979-2008

So, I saw it in the subject line on a message board I frequent, and my first thought was to hit up Snopes, to find out that it was just another of the biweekly "celebrity dies in car crash" hoax-scares.

Ten seconds and a Wikipedia headline later, and I find out that Heath Ledger died.

I've always liked Mr. Ledger's work. I dug "10 Things I Hate About You," I liked "A Knight's Tale" (though I've never cared for the soundtrack)--heck, I was a fan of "Roar" in its first run. I haven't yet seen "Brokeback Mountain," but I probably will soon, given recent events.

When the newest "Dark Knight" trailer hit, I said excitedly that any fears I'd had about Ledger as the Joker had been totally assuaged. While I'm still excited to see his performance, I wish it would be under less morbid circumstances. Finding out that he was working on a project with Terry Gilliam only adds to the tragedy of his untimely demise.

My condolences go out to Mr. Ledger's family and friends.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I dug some of his films (even my hardened, cynical, twentysomething self still has a soft spot for 10 Things I Hate About You), but I honestly never felt as though he really came into his own as an actor - he never really got that part that showed the world that he was either really talented or just another pretty face.

Honestly, I think that The Dark Knight was going to be that "make or break" film for him...which I suppose will make it all the more tragic if he turned out a brilliant performance.

-M

Anonymous said...

Brothers Grimm was good, too.