Zed’s Dead

Actor and Academy Award nominee, Heath Ledger was found dead at his Manhattan home Tuesday morning. Details are sketchy thus far and no cause of death has been announced, but drugs are believed to be a factor.

He was found dead in his bed in one of his residences in Soho by his housekeeper at 3:35 PM ET today. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe it was not a crime, adding that prescription pills were found near his body.

According to NYPD a masseuse arrived at Ledger’s apartment and was let in by a housekeeper. When Ledger didn’t answer his bedroom door, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened it and found him unconscious. They attempted to wake him; when they couldn’t, they called 911. (source)

Leger had recently filmed The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, in which he played the Joker. Initially he had trouble with the role and worked with director Christopher Nolan to achieve the psychopathic mentality of the frenetic Joker. (From Wikipedi so take it as you will)

To prepare for the role he lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character’s posture, voice and psychology. While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice which did not sound like Jack Nicholson’s take on the character in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film.He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker’s thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance. He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to read, which he “really tried to read and put it down”.Ledger also cited inspiration in A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious. Ultimately, “there’s nothing that [is] consistent”, as his main objective was to frighten the audience.The challenge of the role put a strain on Ledger’s sleep patterns, finding himself unable to rest for more than a few hours each night.(source)

There is no word yet on how this will effect the release of The Dark Knight. Updates will be posted in this article as they come available. Heath Ledger, RIP.

Buzz from the first Dark Knight trailer has been all about Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker, quite possibly the greatest arch-villain in comic history. For years, many have hailed Jack Nicholson’s performance in the 1989 Tim Burton film as the defining realization of The Joker, but now that school of thought is rapidly changing. Guillermo Del Toro, director of Cronos and Pan’s Labryinth, said:

“I love it”…”Every time I see more of Heath Ledger’s Joker, I like it more. That’s a good sign because if something is going the wrong way, the more you see about it, the less you ingratiate yourself with it.”

Paul Dini, the writer/producer of the Emmy award winning Batman: The Animated Series, agrees:

“Heath Ledger’s Joker seems perfectly suited to the dark Gotham City created by Christopher Nolan,” Dini asserted. “He seems more street than any other version of the Joker, with his clownish visage recalling hastily applied graffiti paint rather than chemically dyed skin.” “His attitude is mordant and sardonic as opposed to manic,” Dini reflected. “No goofy gags or puns for him. This Joker doesn’t split sides … he splits skulls.”

Although he kinda sounds like Snarf, Heath Ledger has already turned in an iconic performance in the trailer. I just didn’t get Jack Nicholson, sorry. He’s a great actor and all, but if I’m supposed to be scared, you’re gonna have to do a lot better than a old fat guy in a scarf.

MTV has posted a shot-by-shot analysis of the first trailer for The Dark Knight (see it here). Why? Who knows. But it answers questions that have haunted man since Sunday night. Questions like, “Why does The Joker look queer when firing the bazooka?” Mystery solved:

-0:57: The Joker fires a bazooka into the city. A brief moment, this is yet another deft character touch from Nolan and Ledger. Notice how clumsily the Joker handles the weapon. This is because the character, at heart, is something of a gentleman criminal. The most “personal” way to kill someone, after all, is by stabbing them. That doesn’t mean that he won’t use whatever’s most readily available and likely to cause the most damage.

That’s a good theory. Another good theory is that bazookas are really heavy, man. When I supplied bazookas to that Haitian child army that one time, we could barely lift them off the truck. I mean, we laugh about it now, but Haitian kids are weak little bastards.

The trailer for the much anticipated sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, has finally hit online and, um, wow. Sorry Jack Nicholson fans, but in two minutes Heath Ledger has already proved he’s the best Joker ever seen on film. Seriously. If your rampage of death and destruction somehow involves a Prince CD, somebody needs to take your psychopath privileges away. (You can check out the HD version here)