The Dark Knight "Heath has created something quite terrifying" - Empire Magazine interview

First off: Keyser: Awesome post.

Second: I think Crook's argument is the crux of the issue. We liked Nicholson. We'll feel guilty about liking Ledger. Nicholson racked up an impressive death toll, and of course he was a psycho, but during B '89 never did I say, "What a vicious bastard." He was charismatic, as will Ledger be, but I think Ledger might attract some less savory individuals. I mean, if Ledger's Joker throws a parade, who's going to go? Anyway, I'm rambling. I think Nicholson and Joker will share a lot of the same traits, only Ledger will put a more malicious spin on things. Rather than poisoning cosmetics in some farfetched scheme, Ledger's Joker likes to get up nice and close to his victims. He's still vain, but his vanity is imbued with a sardonic, morbid humor. Look to his first e-mail for an example of what I mean, where he talks about his boyish good looks and his charming smile or something to that effect. Things like that.
 
Whenever I tell people it's possible that nolan and bale may not return for a third. (which probably means most of the supporting cast as well) people jump me and say

"hey noobtard everyone knows they're signed on for three durrrrrr"


Okay well how about at wizard world when nolan said he was burned out creatively on batman?

I think two movies is enough for nolan. He clearly wanted to do only one, and a second is a blessing.

True, it could be something like The Godfather, which was intended to be a saga of two films. Well, before Part III came along, anyways.
 
Well plain and simple, Jack's Joker was charismatic and enthralled audiences. We LOVED him.

I think it's clear that Heath's take will involve us LOATHING Joker.

I'd prefer if he was violently gruesome while still retaining that alluring nature, but I guess we'll have another take to look forward to whenever another live-action Joker pops up.

This is a bit of what has me worried. I mean, I dont know about most people, but in almost (if not every) Batman story I have read, I have LOVED the Joker - even through is evilness.
 
I'm confused by them saying they didn't plan on doing The Dark Knight right away. I always thought it was a planned trilogy.

I think that comment was one of two things:

1 - He was blowing smoke up our asses to sound like a pretentious artist and say he didn't want to limit himself to just Batman for years to come.

2 - Or the more likely scenario. He was talking about way back in the production phase of Begins, and being that Nolan comes of as humble a little insecure (which I like about him) he was doubting his vision of Batman would be successful enough that they'd ask him to return for a sequel.
 
When Jack killed people, we laughed. That's the point the magazine is making, IMO. I still love the joy buzzer scene "Antoine got a little hot under the collar."


Admittedly, I cheered for the Joker in B'89, and I still do every time I watch it. :joker:
 
I'll be cheering for The Joker during TDK dammit.
 
thanks a TON man. lot of work to do a transcription like that. we ALL appreciate it :)
 
great article.

But for jack's joker, I never saw anyone OTHER than jack nicholson. He never really plays a different person, and so I never saw it as the joker. :joker: Plus he was never terrifying. This is a guy who gets a kick out of killing masses of people, he should be damn scary. But between the fact that he convinced me about as much as the actors in transformers, and the really gay goons, I never really dug his performance. I am not saying this because I love heath ledger, or anything like that, I've never seen him as the joker, but I've never really liked him in that movie.
 
honestly I never liked Jack as Joker.

he was my least favorite of the old batman movie villains.

I'd take batman and robin's freeze ivy and bane over him.
 
honestly I never liked Jack as Joker.

he was my least favorite of the old batman movie villains.

I'd take batman and robin's freeze ivy and bane over him.


IVY AND BANE?

You admit to watching 'Batman and Robin'?

That movie put me in therapy for a year.
 
Batman and robin is my second favorite next to returns. That's the old movies though.

Begins is my all time favorite and TDK is shaping up wonderfully.
 
And just what exactly do you think it explains?
 
When Jack killed people, we laughed. That's the point the magazine is making, IMO. I still love the joy buzzer scene "Antoine got a little hot under the collar."

I'm pretty sure when Heath kills people, I'll be laughing.
 
I have to speak up, too. I've said it before a few times on these boards but here I ago again: it never ceases to amaze me when I see people trying to call Jack's Joker "campy."

I mean my God, has anybody counted up the death toll lately?

1.) Thomas and Martha Wayne
2.) Lt. Eckhardt
3.) Carl Grissom
4.) Antoine Brutali
5.) Vinny
6.) The people he killed with the cosmetics stuff, all over the city
7.) ALL of the patrons of the Flugelheim Museum, excluding Vicki Vale
8.) Alicia, indirectly (he scarred her and she killed herself)
9.) All the people he gassed at the parade
10.) Bob the Goon

Not to mention the fact that he felt the need to "improve" all the art at the museum - except the more macabre stuff. He loved Vicki's photography of the Corto-Maltese War, hated all the glamor stuff.

Are we keeping track? Jack's Joker was a nihilistic bastard who believed that everything was one big joke. He had always appreciated beauty and the finer things until his own looks were spoiled - then he chose to celebrate ugliness - or rather to celebrate the fleeting, temporary nature of beauty. To show that the things we all hold dear can be taken from us. That the more valuable something is to you, the more fragile it also is.

Which is, let's be honest - Joker in a nutshell. It's a flawless representation of the character.

I see Ledger's Joker, thus far, being an equally brilliant performance - but I feel no need to tear down Jack's work in order to build up Ledger.

In fact the thrust of what Caine said (excluding the rubbish about campiness) was correct: you wouldn't want to follow Jack anywhere unless it's a night club. I've been saying all along that whatever Joker they cooked up for TDK would have to be unlike Jack's Joker. Not because there was anything wrong with Jack's Joker, but because there was NOTHING wrong with Jack's Joker - and it's not worth telling a Joker story again if you can't come up with something different.

So TDK Joker will be different from Jack's. It looks like we're getting a less refined, less foppish version of Joker (yet Joker has always been refined and foppish, no?) but the concept of Joker as a nihilistic bastard who sees everything as one big joke - who is not intimidated by anything - who just wants to make everybody else as miserable as he is... well, that concept seems to be as true of Heath's Joker as it was of Jack's.

So why make comparisons? Why not just sit back and enjoy the show?

Well said my friend, well said. :up::up::up:
 
I'm pretty sure when Heath kills people, I'll be laughing.

The Joker character has always been defined as a character able to make you enjoy his ways. Killing, for example. :up:
 
while i agree with most of what normin and keyser said anyone who doesnt think jack's joker is a little silly or campy at times needs to watch the movie again. seriously, he's over the top! not a bad thing but rarely was jack's joker

A. not jack nicholson
B. scary

just because he killed alot of people doesnt make him feel dangerous or scary. destroying artwork and gassing dinner guests kinda loses its edge when "partyman" is blaring and people are taking slapstick dives into their souffle. burton's obviously had a different tone than nolan's and jack's performance reflected this. i expect ledger's take to at least approach menace which jack's joker did not. i think caine said it best when he described jack's joker as "a nasty old uncle".
 
sorry that this is off topic but can anybody who has read a copy of this empire mag tell me if it is true that it says sony is going to release both ghostbusters on blu ray in 2008???
 
honestly I never liked Jack as Joker.

he was my least favorite of the old batman movie villains.

I'd take batman and robin's freeze ivy and bane over him.

Dude that is absolute crazy talk.:wow: EVERYTHING In that horrible godforsaken movie sucked. If you were kidding, you got me good. If you werent take yer meds so you dont say something that crazy again.
 

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