The Dark Knight "Heath Ledger Fans Call for Joker's Retirement From Film"

[nickyg641]

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2009/02/heath-ledger-nu.html

Heath Ledger's flawless acting, and tragic passing, immortalized his portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight. But should Ledger's killer clown be the last Joker to grace the big screen?
That's what the fanboys over at a new site called The Ultimate Joker are arguing. They've launched a petition calling for studios to withdraw the character for good from any future Batman movies, a somewhat strange request given all the actors who have stepped into the Joker's murderous shoes on screens large and small.
"We truly believe Ledger's performance as Joker is the best an actor could ever do," the site's team leader, Fer Barbella, told Wired.com in an e-mail interview.
"Any other performance will be below expectations for sure, so we want to forever keep Ledger's Joker as the one," added Barbella, who launched The Ultimate Joker site last week with his colleague Nico Pimentel.
From Jack Nicholson and Cesar Romero to Larry Storch, Mark Hamill and the underrated Kevin Michael Richardson, Batman's nemesis has been brought to life by some serious talent. Banning Joker from the silver screen might seem like an unreasonable request on its garish face, but the team at The Ultimate Joker is standing by it, and no doubt will be aided if Ledger takes home a posthumous Oscar later this month for his portrayal.
In addition to the online petition, The Ultimate Joker site operators have fired up an Ultimate Joker Flickr pool and posted downloadable web graphics to let others show their support.
Barbella says his crew is only interested in film portrayals, though.
"Television and animation is off our radar," he says. "And we like Jokers like Cesar Romero or Jack Nicholson, and even the voice of Mark Hamill. But we think this psycho in scarred whiteface is the best ever. No one can improve it. So please, Hollywood, use other enemies in the sequels to come."
It is perhaps a plea that Hollywood will ignore in pursuit of profit. After all, the buzz created by the conundrum of who will follow in Ledger's footsteps could be worth hundreds of millions on its own.
But it's a fair question: Should Hollywood retire the Joker from film? Was Heath Ledger the greatest Joker of all time? Why so serious? Shoot us your thoughts in the comment section below.

 

[JaD]

McG! You ****in' got something you want to say to these pricks!?!

 

[up2nogood316]

Fer Barbella, what a total moron. Someone needs to get through to these stupid little puny brained people that just because THEY think that, other people may not share their view. COME BACK TO THE REAL WORLD.. or better yet, just disappear.

Of course ledger was awesome, but i for one would love to see what comes next with the Joker.

 

[Mister J]

Bloody hell. :facepalm

 

[batman11]

"We want to forever keep Ledger's Joker as the one."

OOOOHHHHH GOOOOOD FOR YOOOOOUUUUU!

You inspired me Ace. t:

Seriously though. at those UltimateJoker guys. That's why fanboys get a bad name...among several other reasons.

 

[Symbiotic]

"So let me get this straight. You think this version of this character, one of the darkest, and most praised of all time, should be the last one to ever be done, and your plan is to start an online petition in hopes that no version of the character shall ever be used again in any Batman movie? Good luck."

 

[VenomVsSpidey]

Bloody hell. :facepalm

lol

 

[Saint]

Asinine.

 

[Franklin Richards]

I also move that the role of Dracula never be used again. Gary Oldman cannot be topped.


I'd also like to remove any performance of James Bond that isn't Sean Connery.


Thank you.

 

[Two-Face]

"So let me get this straight. You think this version of this character, one of the darkest, and most praised of all time, should be the last one to ever be done, and your plan is to start an online petition in hopes that no version of the character shall ever be used again in any Batman movie? Good luck."

Ledger was great as The Joker, with due respect Ledger didn't create Joker.

 

[Mutagen]

This makes me angry on a new level. To even think for one moment that they would try is so infuriating...

The stupidity is unrelenting. I swear they are all smoking crack.

 

[Doctor Jones]

God... why?

Idiots. That's all I have to say.

 

[Mister J]

"So let me get this straight. You think this version of this character, one of the darkest, and most praised of all time, should be the last one to ever be done, and your plan is to start an online petition in hopes that no version of the character shall ever be used again in any Batman movie? Good luck."

This went right over my head until I saw the laughing response to it.

Well played, sir.

 

[BlueLightning]

I still say that Ledgers representation of the Joker is the best at this point. In my opinion it would be hard to top his performance. But that doesn´t mean that they should take out the Joker from any movie. The show must go on. That´s the right thing to do and what Heath would have wanted.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Someone once said that about a guy... maybe you've heard of him? Jack Nick something.

 

[usmcrice0311]

i also move that the role of dracula never be used again. Gary oldman cannot be topped.


I'd also like to remove any performance of james bond that isn't sean connery.


Thank you.

qft

 

[The Joker]

 

[Travesty]

While Heath played a good Joker, that doesn't mean he was The Joker, or should even be considered the definitive version of The Joker. Making a poll like this is a disservice to the character in general.

Should there be no more Batman comics because Bob Kane is dead?

I'm just glad that this will go nowhere.

 

[deathfromabove]

you know who would have a huge problem with this?

heath ledger



what a bunch of fools.

having said that i do feel that whoever takes on the role next should bring something completely different to the character. but i have no doubt that would be the case anyway.

 

[Arsh]

That's just... stupid.

 

[ChrisB]

And I thought MY jokes were bad...

 

[Boom]

Absolutely laughable.

 

[Gilpesh]

"so we want to forever keep Ledger's Joker as the one"

[YT]kq4SqgxIKM0[/YT]

There can be only one?

[YT]6WZKa7cMKhg[/YT]

Or The One?

 

[Bat-Mite]

Lame as all hell. Ledger's performance was amazing and downright iconic. Just like every live action (though let's not forget Hamill) Joker performance before it. But as much as I love the performance, the character is bigger than Ledger. There has been this kind of talk before.. about how a certain actor could never be topped and it shouldn't even be attempted. And those people were talking about Jack Nicholson. Heath shut them up fast, and I strongly believe that even Heath's performance can be equalled if not surpassed.

 

[deathfromabove]

i wrote 'em a letter

i have been a huge fan of the joker my entire life. i was also a huge fan of heath ledger's work even before he was cast in the role. and like you folks i was completely blown away by his portrayal this summer. i wore white makeup and full costume no less than a dozen times this past year. i think heath brought us the definitive portrayal of the character.
but i believe what you are suggesting is an insult to heath ledger's memory. he would want the character to live on and he certainly wouldnt want to be responsible for retiring such a beloved icon.

while i believe your hearts may be in the right place i feel you are expressing the same mindset that would have prevented heath from taking from the role in the first place. see, after jack's great turn in 1989 there were legions of fans who suggested no one could ever top his take on the clown prince. when heath was cast there were collective cries of "wtf?" and brokebat mountain jokes in spades. now, i don't know about you but im glad no one listened to them.

i believe that by making this request you are actually doing a disservice to mr. ledger's memory.

now do i think the joker should factor heavily in the next instalment of nolan's francise? of course not. do i want to see someone pantomiming heath's voice and affectations? never. but not at the very least mentioning the character in the third movie does a dissservice to the real threat that ledger brought to the joker. what? he just goes away to arkham and is never heard from again? that doesnt sound like ledger's agent of chaos to me. not. one. bit.

but i think that some of what heath brought to the joker will rub off on other interpretations. and thats ok. these characters have survived for as long as they have because they are maleable. you can tweak and redefine them for every generation, (or sometimes even every graphic novel) now imagine if christopher nolan was not allowed to touch the joker? what if heath was never offered that chance? now why would you want to take away the possibility of another great performance of the greatest villain in the modern era from another creative team at some point in the future?

for shame i say.

like i said before, that is the last thing heath would want. do not make this great performance a gravestone for a great talent and a great character. you would not be doing justice to either.

send 'em a message