Wednesday
16Jul
Terry Gilliam Blasts 'Dark Knight' Oscar Push for Ledger as Studio Gimmick
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 10:23AM
Perspective is everything, I guess. If you're a cast or
crew member of
The Dark Knight - or if you have seen and loved
or will see and love the film - you probably believe
Heath Ledger deserves at least an Oscar
nomination. Yes,
Gary Oldman,
Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Christian Bale, and
Michael Caine have all said they believe their
late co-star is worthy, and a lot of early reviews indicate the same thing.
"That's what Warner Brothers are saying, but they'll do anything to publicise their film...That's just what they do and you can't get upset because it's bullshit. They're like a great white shark which devours whatever it can."Gilliam told London's Telegraph that he intends to dedicate Parnassus to Ledger, and the film, which hired Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law to finish what Ledger had begun, is now in post-production and will be released in 2009. Is Gilliam right about all of this talk being a cynical marketing gimmick? No, but he's not entirely off-base, either. It's not as if Warner Bros. isn't playing up the fact that Heath Ledger is in the movie, but they'd be doing that if he were still alive. Likewise, it's certainly not improper for his co-stars to wish that Ledger's performance gets the sort of recognition they feel it deserves. They'd be doing that if he were still alive, as well. There is, though, a morbid curiosity in this country, and I think a role like this in a movie like this under circumstances like this take The Dark Knight from a $250 - $275 million movie (remember, the last one barely broke $200 million) and make it a potential $350 million movie or more. I don't blame Warner Bros., because I really haven't picked up on anything extra in their push of the film that I would deem distasteful, and I don't blame Gilliam because he's clearly still stung by the loss of his friend and collaborator, and I can't even blame the public, because they go crazy for a couple movies a year anyway for one silly reason or another. To get worked up over them wanting to see a great performance...I thought that's the sort of thing we wanted audiences to do.
Reader Comments (19)
Long ago, when I first saw that Heath would be cast as the Joker, I realised that it was a brilliant choice. Ledger would be able to play from the vulnerability which he had shown in various ways in his different roles. And what is psychosis if not the mind's reaction to vulnerability? Already before his death there were reports of an extraordinary performance from Ledger. The hype surrounding the film has certainly been magnified by his death. I don't think the studio has done much to encourage it but by the same token it would surprise me if they didn't welcome it. Ultimately, I believe that Gilliam may be frsutrated that evereone is talking about The Dark Knight and that nobody is talking about his Imaginarium. But being a significant but quirky film-maker he must realise that he'll never have the mainstream success of Batman. For better or worse.
I believe the people at WB are hyping up Ledger's final performance for profit, sure, but Gilliam's comments are infinitely more distasteful. To say that the possibility of an Oscar nod is bullshit is extremely disrespectful to Ledger.
I don't think that's what he's saying. If I read it correctly, he believes the whole publicity cycle for movies is bullshit, this one more so, in his opinion.
So you are posting your review of the movie tomorrow right? Since so many are going to see it Thursday night.
Sometime tomorrow, I think, yeah. I'm actually seeing it again tonight.
I must say I am quite jealous. I have had my fair share of sneak screenings last week with Hellboy 2 and Tropic Thunder, the first we got into and the second one we didn't. I hate waiting in those lines outside for that long in the late afternoon. So Sunday morning is when my friends can all see it and the 5 dollar tickets before noon really makes it worth it.
Gilliam may be right in a way, but I don't think anyone is actually exploiting Ledger's death. He has been nominated for an Oscar before. It's not that far-fetched to think he'd be capable of another nomination. Sure, WB stands to be a big winner here but they did nothing wrong. Are they supposed to be saying Ledger was awful and urge people to stay away?
I agree with you. I think it's sad that it's the thing everyone's talking about it in large part because he's dead, but it's not something I would blame the studio for. I am surprised, though, that they never curtailed the Joker posters right after his death. I thought the first "Why So Serious?" poster would be gone for sure.
Terry Gilliam, you are a disrespectful JACKA$$! MORON! That is all that I have to say.
Gilliam has never been very tactful...it's why he doesn't work very often. My guess is that the only reason he has been able to make ANY movie since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the success of directors like Tim Burton. Wierdness is in demand, and that's a product Mr. Gilliam has delivered with moderate successes (12 Monkeys, Brazil) over the years.
Isn't Gilliam in essence doing the same thing by dedicating his film to Ledger?
There are a few things to think about here that have not been mentioned that Colin hints towards. The first is that Terry might be upset about the way Warner Bros. handled the advertising after Ledger's death, or in other words didn't do anything such as stop the "why so serious?" posters.
The other is that if its not the first reason for being upset then what is it really? I would take a guess that probably he felt that Heath would have really have won a Oscar for his performance in 'his' movie instead of one produced by a major studio. I am sure its just not one of those things but all that makes him bitter about the whole situation.
Personally, I with reading all the news and movies stuff. I have never felt that his death is playing up expectations for the movie, I have not at all felt like Warner Bros. is using his death to create hype. I think things are just about right in how they are being played out. Everything so far seems natural even for a movie with this big of expectations, its natural for the actors to feel he deserves an award for his role in the movie and the media does not seem to be hyping Ledgers death.
So point being, Terry has is own personal agenda he is drumming and probably for good reasons that may seem a bit selfish if anything.
I think Gilliam's comments are absolutely disgusting and so direspectful to Heath and all who are a fan of his work.
How dare he suggest this when it is so obviously Ledger's fantastic, emotive and definately oscar-winning performance that is the reason people are talkng!
This is one of the most stupid comments I have ever read.
It's actually Terry Gilliam who keeps mentioning the death of Heath Ledger everytime he talks about his film. That probably makes him guilty of what he's accusing WB of. It's quite a shame because I actually like Terry Gilliam's films ... quite a lot.
I guess the lack of recognition is finally getting to him. He didn't manage to make a hit out of The Brothers Grimm despite having Heath Ledger for the whole of the film. So Heath Ledger is not really the issue here, is it?
Guys...Heath was a friend and colleague of Terry Gilliam. When he suddenly dropped dead, it threw Gilliam for a loop. He's shocked, he's tired, he's pissed - and when you're all three at once, you'll occassionally make mistakes, if you could even call this a "mistake". Cut him some slack already.
WB didn't start advertising the Joker as the premiere character in this movie after Ledger died.The joker was the center piece of this movie before Ledger was cast! He was always going to be the star, always.
This is a very hypocritical thing for Gilliam to do. The main reason people know of his movie is because of Ledger's death. THAT MOVIE people didn't speak of until after he had passed. Batman is Batman.
This is just jealousy and bitterness, Unbecoming of such an able film maker.
The only thing that matters is that this was the best joker EVER!! That's sayin' a lot seein' how Jack (a legend) once played that role!! Forget the death...forget the jealousy...just accept the fact that Ledger is bringin' home an Oscar (or so I feel he should)!! P.S. Batman is Batman...but this Batman was Joker. Many people weren't dressin' up as the Dark Knight...they were dressin' as Ledger!!
Well, we heard that Heath delivered an extraordinary performance here and everyone is really excited about the dark knight and so on - but what will happen when he does NOT get an Oscar? Maybe the academy still sees the movie for the genre it represents which is simply an adaption of a comicbook.. I think that Gilliam does care very much about the way his late friend is remembered and it should not be as the guy who didn't win the Oscar. Unfortunately that is exactly what he will be measured by now, thanks to the hype..
It's like the saying, "You don't know what you had till it's gone." And it's entirely true with Heath, Terry Gilliam is wrong. I read qoutes from actors and critics, not corporate execs.