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Entries in Heath Ledger (32)

New 'Dark Knight' Book Shows Warped Joker Makeup Concepts

darkknightbook.jpgKudos to Peter at Slashfilm for flipping through the new book The Dark Knight: Featuring Production Art and Full Shooting Script and finding these early makeup concepts for The Joker.

I disagree with Peter that what we see in The Dark Knight is "a lot tamer" than these early depictions, particularly in the shot that looks like Elijah Wood went as the Joker for Halloween. The closely-cropped hair seems too managed, given what we know now. Also, Heath Ledger's clown makeup was so garish and always in such disarray, playing into the chaos of the character much more than what we see in these photos. The one in the suit looks more like that punk who got arrested for ripping down movie posters in a theater a couple weeks ago.

Still, it's interesting to see the progression, and apparently that famous Joker smile was in Christopher Nolan's mind all along. I wonder which version of The Joker's story he was using for his inspiration, the wife or the father?

One thing is clear throughout all of these pictures, culminating in the performance we saw in the film, and that's how Nolan always wanted to make the Joker more fearsome than comical. Mission accomplished.

You can pick up The Dark Knight: Featuring Production Art and Full Shooting Script at Amazon for about 25 bones.

Posted on Friday, August 8, 2008 at 05:38PM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in , , , , , | Comments4 Comments

Investigation into Ledger's Death Officially Closed

ledgerbw2.jpgProsecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan and the DEA had been investigating whether or not the painkillers found in Heath Ledger's system when he died were legally obtained. Late Wednesday afternoon, the prosecutors closed their investigation into the death of the Dark Knight star because "they don't believe there's a viable target," according to an anonymous official within the attorney's office.

Opting not to pursue a criminal case into how Ledger came into possession of the oxycodone and hydrocodone (OxyContin and Vicodin), which DEA officials believe were proffered with fake prescriptions or possibly other illegal means, lets Mary-Kate Olsen off the hook as a witness.

Earlier this week, Olsen said she would testify only under the condition of immunity from prosecution herself, but had been served with a subpoena, meaning she could have been forced to testify anyway, and may still be legally obligated to take the stand should new evidence emerge and the case is re-opened.

Her attorney, Michael C. Miller, said that Olsen had already cooperated in the investigation, telling the government that she "does not know the source of the drugs Mr. Ledger consumed."

The whole Mary-Kate angle is bizarre, to say the least. According to investigators, when Ledger's masseuse found his body in his New York apartment, Olsen was called three times over the course of nine minutes before the masseuse dialed 911. Olsen was contacted again after paramedics arrived. At some point during this period, Olsen called her personal security detail in New York and requested they head to Ledger's apartment.

As for the now-closed case, other potential witnesses did not demand immunity, including visitors to his apartment, doctors, and his ex-fiancée Michelle Williams, all of whom answered questions voluntarily.

An autopsy revealed that Ledger died from a dangerous cocktail of multiple drugs, including legally prescribed anti-anxiety medication and sleeping pills. His death was ruled an accidental overdose.

Posted on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 11:51PM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in , , , | Comments3 Comments

'Dark Knight' Passes $400 Million, We Crunch More Numbers

whysoserious2.jpg Slashfilm consulted Media By Numbers for the latest Dark Knight box office, and solely because we've covered every theatrical heartbeat of that film, we wanted to pass along that it has reportedly cleared $400 million, and has done so in nearly 30 days faster than the previous record.

In 18 days, The Dark Knight has done what it took Shrek 2 over 40 days to accomplish. The Media By Numbers estimate also gives a presumed Monday total of $6.3 million or so, good enough for a domestic gross of $400,031,000. Now, because it's an unofficial estimate and that number is so close to not being $400 million, there's as good a chance that today's box office will actually be the one that puts it over. Then again, that estimate might be a touch low, as well.

The point is: Less than three weeks versus six weeks and a day for Shrek 2.

We raised some peoples' ire last week with our math projecting where The Dark Knight would eventually end up. In case you missed it, we used a fairly standard 40% drop for every week Monday-Thursday and for the weekends we took the exact percentages from Pirates 2. That movie, like Dark Knight, zoomed out of the gates and set a opening weekend record, it opened in July, and it had a lot of competition. So its weekly performance seemed to be the best fit. And we took the numbers out 13 weeks, adding a little more pop on Labor Day and Halloween (when I think Warner Bros. would be wise to briefly expand the run of the film once again).

Even without the spikes on the holidays, using only the 40% drop per week and the Pirates box office numbers as our guides, we arrived at about $545 million. I don't believe it will continue to perform at this level for the next nine or ten weeks, though, so I personally don't even believe my own experiment. However, up to a point - and we'll choose Labor Day weekend as that point - the numbers should be fairly consistent with Pirates, within probably $10 million or so of our original projections.

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Posted on Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 12:08PM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in , , , , , , , , | Comments20 Comments

Box Office - 'Dark Knight' Rallies, Wins Again

If anything speaks to the staying power of The Dark Knight, it's the impressive rally it displayed on Saturday and Sunday, which according to the latest estimates released by Box Office Mojo, will be enough to give the film its third straight victory at the U.S. box office.

That didn't seem likely when we learned Friday's numbers, which indicated that The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor had staked out a $3 million lead. But the new release was unable to sustain that momentum, slipping behind The Dark Knight on both Saturday and Sunday. Remember, though, that these numbers are estimates, and the distance between the films is around a million dollars, so it's possible that The Mummy could still be crowned the weekend's champ when the actual amounts are released Monday.

Step Brothers performed well for audiences wanting something other than heroes and villains, finishing third and already doubled the output of Ferrell's previous comedy, Semi-Pro. Mamma Mia! is now with $15 million of $100 million and is destined to hit around $120 million or more before it's all said and done, although it's really counting on international box office, where it has already made $140 million. Kevin Costner's Swing Vote finished out of the top five, managing only $6.3 million.

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Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 10:54AM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in , , , , , , , , , , | Comments1 Comment

Angelina Jolie as Catwoman?

In the considerable wake of The Dark Knight, Batman casting was a big topic here last week; we received a couple hundred comments on what villains should and shouldn't be in the third Batman movie. If they can't make a Two-Face story stick, then I vote for Black Mask, a terrific, sinister bad guy who fits the current look and concept of Gotham City. He's not the biggest name in town, true, but then again, Ra's al Guhl?

It didn't take long for the rumors to start flying about possible villains and possible casting choices. Here's one rumor that, much like Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter, has that feeling of being too good to be true: Angelina Jolie as Catwoman.

For a number of reasons, I don't think we'll see Catwoman in a Christopher Nolan Batman movie and I don't buy that there's much to this rumor. To begin with, does Bruce Wayne need a love interest at this point? I mean, they had to make one up out of thin air for the first two movies; Rachel Dawes doesn't exist before these movies. And it's not like that storyline stole the show in either film. So I don't buy the love interest thing, particularly for the most isolated, poorly-adjusted Bruce Wayne in the movies.

As a villain, Catwoman is OK. But It seems a fairly obvious choice, especially if the franchise will only be a trilogy. She's just not threatening enough to the rest of Gotham City as she is to Bruce Wayne. Plus, it's a lot heavier on the camp than anything we've seen in the new series of films. It just feels incongruent.

Having said that, if you're going to get a Catwoman, you may as well see if Angelina Jolie is interested, and according to the rumor mill, into which IGN dipped its cup, she is. She's probably too big a name and too much of a tabloid attraction, given the fervor over TomKat with Batman Begins and the unending Heath Ledger stories this year. But physically, psychologically, and acting..ling...ly, Jolie is a natural fit: 5'8", looks amazing in a catsuit, seductive as hell, and she's the best female action movie star in the world. Plus, I'm a Julie Newmar guy when it comes to Catwoman, and Jolie could do that in her sleep.

I wouldn't pick her because it's so obvious, but she could definitely take the character to places a Michelle Pfeiffer or a Halle Berry could not.

Now last week, people were making all sorts of picks for the role, Angelina among them. But when I heard stuff like Alyssa Milano it kind of made me laugh, because she's less an actor and more a hockey groupie who's been on TV for years. If you're seriously thinking about Catwoman, and you examine the acting chops of the four villains to the point (and while you're at it, the monumental accomplishments of Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman), there aren't too many women who could fill that role as instinctively or as dangerously as Angelina Jolie.

So, leaving out the Milanos and Cuthberts of the world for the sake of discussion, who's a better pick for Catwoman than Angelina Jolie?

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 02:57PM by Registered CommenterColin Boyd in , , , , , , , , | Comments79 Comments
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