The Dark Knight He Who Laughed Last: Selling The Joker, New Article.

The-Dark-Knight

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New Article from Action-figure.com

http://www.action-figure.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22575

Thought it deserved its own thread.



In the face of shocking news on the death of Heath Ledger, we take a look at how Warner Brothers and the public at large are now receiving a man called The Joker...




Batman: The Dark Knight is the long anticipated sequel to Batman Begins, released in 2005. A meager two years ago but for die hard Bat-Fans, it seems like a lifetime, especially when the first film ended with a major teaser in the Joker mention. This reveal was so powerful, it was practically a cliffhanger.

Now we are still six months off from the July 18th
scheduled release date and sadly, there has been a death in the family. Heath Ledger is found dead in his New York apartment with prescription drugs scattered around him. Instantly, news agencies began probing the life of this loving father, hoping to dig up some corpses in his various closets. The pills surrounding him, no doubt, speak of suicide. We at Action-figure would like to think it was an accident, as he never seemed selfish and had so much to live for….but that doesn’t make for thrilling news, so the “reporters” will continue their probing, seemingly only finding the devastated faces of the people who loved him as they pass.

As blogs and TV shows run out of sensational speculation, we are left with a building rumor, not without some merit. Ledger’s last role would be as The Joker, a deeply disturbing character as iconic as Batman himself in pop culture history. The Joker is a killer without morals, driven by his insanity and bolstered by a genius level intellect to commit acts a normal person would never even dream in their most horrible nightmares. Some actors, in their process, absorb a character fully to “become” them for a time to heighten reality and answer any questions that may come up. How might the character respond to this situation…how would he sound? Ledger’s Batman co-stars have all been quoted as saying his portrayal as The Joker is the real show stopper, describing Ledger as “extraordinary” and “chilling”. Hollywood insiders have seen close to 10 minutes of footage and say Ledger’s Joker is “very menacing and scary.” At the end of the day, how do you divest yourself of so much darkness? This is the new question being asked, with little story left to write. Could taking on a role so dark and twisted send a man into such a state of being that it is painful to continue living? Could The Joker kill his portrayer?

I could see the sensational headlines now in bold 2 inch high print. THE JOKER DID IT! While it is an interesting thought and, no doubt, would make an excellent movie script, the idea is a bit comical. The same actors who utilize this process of absorbing a character also have a method of shedding it at shooting’s end. A sort of detoxification, if you will. Knowing that, it is incredibly hard to believe a man who loved his child and the work he is in so completely would fall victim to an all encompassing depression that would drive him to end his life. We’d like to believe Ledger was stronger than that. This may be our conclusion, but Warner Brothers has heard these rumors as well and is now in a bit of a panic.

At the recent UK Toyfair, all Joker imagery was pulled from the floor, including product from companies like DC Direct, leaving little name tags behind announcing said product, sitting in front of empty shelving (AS SEEN HERE). That is what we would call “putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole”, since out in the world, the Dark Knight ad campaign is in full swing with teaser posters starring Ledger’s Joker slated to dominate until March. The issue has also become one of sensitivity. A man has died and soon, the global market place will be flooded with action figures, statues, posters, t shirts and so on, all with that man’s face on it. Reports came in that Warner had been considering re-shooting all of Ledger’s scenes (which we’ve learned has been nixed). So the question remains, with an army of companies set to launch product based on Batman: The Dark Knight, how do you diminish the importance of the film’s main villain?

I’d had this very discussion in a small screening house in New York with managing editor of Fangoria magazine, Mike Gingold. He wondered how Warner, and to a larger degree, companies with licenses would respond to Heath Ledger’s death. I said that some companies, who may not already be in production, might cut The Joker out of their product line. The rest will carry on. The fact of the matter is, Batman is not a cheap license. It never has been and never will be. Companies are paying top dollar to merchandise this film and they will move forward with their plans in the face of such sad developments. Does this seem like a cold stance to you? Perhaps, if you are extremely sensitive. The simple fact is Batman: The Dark Knight is Heath Ledger’s last film. Do we sweep this performance under the proverbial rug or do we honor the man by celebrating what is said to be an outstanding performance? I, for one, feel the latter. This is the Batman film we’ve been buzzing across the internet about. Though Ledger’s passing is profoundly sad, I’d rather clap at the end of the film, honoring the man, than leave with a little dark cloud hanging over my head… and I’m positive Ledger wouldn't want it any other way. This is set to be an amazing film. Let’s continue to enjoy its arrival and celebrate a man and his achievements at the same time.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Heath Ledger…and July can’t get here fast enough for me.
 
Pills weren't "scattered around him." Stopped reading after that. :down:
 
OK, tried reading it again and reached this statement:

"The pills surrounding him, no doubt, speak of suicide."

...ummm...WTF?
 
OK, tried reading it again and reached this statement:

"The pills surrounding him, no doubt, speak of suicide."

...ummm...WTF?

Yeah i thought that too. Same with Batman: The Dark Knight, Thats like naming the film Batman:Batman. But thought i'd share the article anyway.
 
I dislike that article. All it does is spread inaccurate information and heavily imply that Heath committed suicide (while passive-aggressively taking the "higher ground" by saying they chose to believe it was an accident.)

Bad article. Horribly inaccurate.
 
Yeah i thought that too. Same with Batman: The Dark Knight, Thats like naming the film Batman:Batman. But thought i'd share the article anyway.

Hehe. That's what I always say when people say to me that it should've been called Batman: TDK.
 
I stopped reading after "Batman: The Dark Knight." :down:
Word. That did give me pause. At first, I thought Batman was saying something. Then I was like, "Oooooh...They're idiots."
 
In the link the article gives, there is a picture of TDK Batman with white lenses...


Didn't read it, just looked at the pics. You're right, in one of the pics Batman's eyes are all white but I couldn't say if it's something used from the film or not. You know how they are with action figures.

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Yeah i thought that too. Same with Batman: The Dark Knight, Thats like naming the film Batman:Batman. But thought i'd share the article anyway.


No, it's not. That's more like naming a film, Superman: The Man of Steel. It's a nickname so if it were titled Batman: TDK, it wouldn't be incorrect or anything like "Batman: Batman". But I digress, you're right, they simply got the title wrong.
 
Yeah that wasn't exactly a "good read". Horrible.
 
Meh, they had respect for Ledger in this article but they make it seem that they were considering reshooting. LOL yea right, that would be a waste, and the fan base of TDK and even Nolan would bolt giving the middle finger as they left.

I'm getting tired of these so called "news" articles that are nothing more then blogs, personal opinion with hardly any back ground.

I just go by what Garth said at DH: Ledger was done with the film ADR and all, and nothing will change.
 
Total nonsense. :down

I totally agree.

This whole thing is getting out of hand.

There is moviemaking and then there is real life.

WB made their movie so now they just need to move forward and promote it like they normally would and I think this is the way Ledger would want it.

In real life, Ledger died like people do. Its tragic and people need to mourn and say their goodbyes. By the time this movie is released people will want to see it for many reasons one being to pay tribute to Ledger's work.

Again, I don't understand the problem here. WB will make their money back and then some.
 
No one really knows what Ledger would have wanted, but he is clearly beyond caring now, anyway. He knew that he was signing on for a commercial juggernaut of a movie when he agreed to play The Joker, and it would be silly not to get on with hyping Heath's last role in that spirit. You would have to be an obsessive to be seriously upset by this. It's not like anyone is suggesting that WB had Heath killed in order to stoke the flames of public hysteria.
 
No one really knows what Ledger would have wanted, but he is clearly beyond caring now, anyway. He knew that he was signing on for a commercial juggernaut of a movie when he agreed to play The Joker, and it would be silly not to get on with hyping Heath's last role in that spirit. You would have to be an obsessive to be seriously upset by this. It's not like anyone is suggesting that WB had Heath killed in order to stoke the flames of public hysteria.

Well we of course could never know what Heath would really want. But like you said, he knew what he was getting into, he acts and does what he does for us. It's just like if you live in a building, and the guy that built it died, does everyone stop using what his talent created? No.

So yea Heath knew what this was going to be, Joker is Batman's most famed villain, and one of the most famous villains *maybe the most* of all comic books. So to not promote the Joker would be a unwise move.

But yea I'm tired of these people trying to get "hits" after Ledger's death, just making up stuff to start a rustle, like E tried to do. But the esteemed website tell the truth no speculation. Oh well.

But yea I agree regwec, Heath knew what he was getting into, so I doubt he would want it any differently. If he were alive it would still be the same, as sadly enough he died.

But I think in respect to Ledger, don't change the marketing.
 
Yeah that wasn't exactly a "good read". Horrible.

You guys are so right! By giving Heath respect in saying "Yeah, we believe it was an accident," they were horrible people. Oh, and mistaking the name of the new Batman movie was really the last straw! Man, these guys are horrible people! I hate them! I'm going to sue! :whatever:
 
lol i think all you guys taking this ledger stuff way to personally. he wasnt related to you and h wasnt your best friend, so you guys need to stop moaning about articles "putting ledger down" cuz hes not, hes just stateing what everyone else is stateing, nothing new. chill out ppl. i agree, we should enjoy this movie and **** everyone else who is still "scarred" by ledgers passing. hes in a better place now, so lets all get on with our lives and just enjoy the film.
 
lol i think all you guys taking this ledger stuff way to personally. he wasnt related to you and h wasnt your best friend, so you guys need to stop moaning about articles "putting ledger down" cuz hes not, hes just stateing what everyone else is stateing, nothing new. chill out ppl. i agree, we should enjoy this movie and **** everyone else who is still "scarred" by ledgers passing. hes in a better place now, so lets all get on with our lives and just enjoy the film.

Even though I don't like replying to you, to me they were not putting Ledger down personally. Just they were claiming things like re-shooting, and changing the movie just because of this. Actually this article is the other side to what you think.

These are the people saying that Ledger's death should change TDK and they should remove things.

THAT is what this article is about. Though I differ on your views on how people can feel close to Ledger through his work. I do agree with you that this should not change TDK one Iota. So I agree with you on that front.
 
The Props were cool. That Two-Face coin with 12 Joker Cards sounds awesome...I want it :(
 
You people seem to have missed the point of the article, the mis-information is not their fault nor is it the focus of what they're trying to get across.
 

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