It's hard to believe this species is not extinct, but this past week, I talked to someone who claims to have avoided all trailers and clips for The Dark Knight. He's seen photos and he's heard the buzz, of course, but he wants to take it all in at once, presumably on July 18th.

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Says Christian Bale, who, of course, shares significant screen time with Ledger in the film, "A lot of people talk about awards all the time, and it's early days. But if anybody deserves it, of course, it is Heath in this."

"I do think that Heath has created an iconic villain that will stand for the ages, and of course, I would love to see him get an award," Bale continued. "But you know, to me, you can witness his talent, celebrate his talent within this movie. Anything else is gravy."

"He hit it in the entire performance. It's so difficult to do that in a huge movie like this and much easier to do in the tiny movies. That's why those are always the people who win Academy Awards. Heath was (amazing); it's so unusual, and it happens really rarely even for the best actors, that you just hit this stride in a role and you're totally free. And when that happens, you can do no wrong. It's incredible to be around, and that's what it was like with him."