The Dark Knight "Heath Ledger tried to sabotoge his performance"

[maveholic31]

This is in the new Vanity Fair magazine with a article titled "Heath Ledger tried to sabotage his performance in "The Dark Knight"

... I smell HUGE bulls*it, and very low class of VFair to make claims after the guy is long gone. Anyways, here's the lowdown.

http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=14071

A Vanity Fair article decided to take a closer look at Heath Ledger, including the reason for his decision to play The Joker in last year's "The Dark Knight."

According to Ledger's agent Steven Alexander and cinematographer/friend Nicola Pecorini, the actor had a pay-or-play deal on "Knight," which means that he would be compensated no matter how terrible he ends up being. This gave Ledger the freedom to do what he wanted with The Joker.

But the real decision to take the role was because of the film's unusually long shoot, which would give Ledger an excuse to turn down other offers. And since he was guaranteed to collect a paycheck, Ledger was hoping that his performance would be so "far-out" that he would end up being fired and become the beneficiary of a lengthy, paid vacation.

His agent added that while Ledger wanted to get paid, he didn't want to be part of the massive blockbuster that "The Dark Knight" turned out to be. "[Ledger] was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies," Alexander explained. "He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices."

Source: Vanity Fair

 

[BestGirl]

Ledger was probably just joking when he said that. I can see myself saying something similar in those circumstances. He put too much work into creating the Joker and sounded too enthusiastic for the part for me to believe he actually wanted to be fired.

 

[MadVillainy]

hurm....must investigate further

 

[mongoose-mania]

False.

 

[voyzovrezon]

This is what I posted in another thread. Let the man himself tell you about why he choose the role:

http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=17124268&postcount=3319

 

[BLACK-SPIDEY]

oh god this is ****ing ********, show some respect for the dead a-holes

 

[ChrisB]

... I smell HUGE bulls*it, and very low class of VFair to make claims after the guy is long gone. Anyways, here's the lowdown.

Um...first of all "VFair" didnt make any claims.

"Ledger’s friend and agent, Steven Alexander, tells Biskind (Vanity Fair writer)...."

Why do you smell bulls*it? Why would Ledger's friend/agent lie about something like that?

 

[Travesty]

oh god this is ****ing ********, show some respect for the dead a-holes

hmmmm.....

 

[Boom]

Quite frankly I don't care why he took the job. That's not my concern.

I'm just thankful he delivered a great performance regardless of his motives.

 

[voyzovrezon]

Um...first of all "VFair" didnt make any claims.

"Ledger’s friend and agent, Steven Alexander, tells Biskind (Vanity Fair writer)...."

Why do you smell bulls*it? Why would Ledger's friend/agent lie about something like that?

I find it very weird. Why would an actor take a job he didn't want to do that would tie him up from doing other films that weren't not part of summer blockbuster "merchandising? " Why take a role he felt would limit his potential? Why bother with the voice coach and long hours in his hotel room gearing up for the role if he didn't give a rats a**?

 

[Bathead]

As Judge Judy often says, "If it doesn't make any sense, then it's not true." Considering the obvious hard work he put into this role, as evidenced by the quality of his acting in this movie, this claim makes no sense, whatsoever.

 

[maveholic31]

Um...first of all "VFair" didnt make any claims.

"Ledger’s friend and agent, Steven Alexander, tells Biskind (Vanity Fair writer)...."

Why do you smell bulls*it? Why would Ledger's friend/agent lie about something like that?

Fair enough.. but it WAS in their pages and it was their decision to run the "story" through 2 sources and not even go further with people who actually worked with the guy on the set (Nolans, Uslan, Pfeister, etc)

And also, as pointed out by a previous poster why would Ledger go to great lengths preparing for a role that he would intentionally trash??

You tell me that and THEN you can insinuate if their (the two "sources") story is true... Go ahead, I'll be looking with open eyes

 

[nathaniel]

Who cares? Ledger has passed on and he gave a good last performance what shold be addressed is the abuse of perscription drugs by anyone with money to appoint "personal physicians" it killed Ledger a year ago and just killed Micheal Jackson a few days ago.

 

[VenomVsSpidey]

As Judge Judy often says, "If it doesn't make any sense, then it's not true." Considering the obvious hard work he put into this role, as evidenced by the quality of his acting in this movie, this claim makes no sense, whatsoever.

 

[Beanjuice]

Quite frankly I don't care why he took the job. That's not my concern.

I'm just thankful he delivered a great performance regardless of his motives.

^ end of discussion

 

[[A]]

He's like the Joker himself! He got a plan! I'm sure he also planned to die and get an Oscar. Brilliant, man. Brilliant.

 

[Cunning Stunts]

If he tried to fail the role, he succeeded in becoming the biggest failure at succeeding.

I have no clue what I just said.

 

[Jokerluv]

I'm gonna take the risk and play Devil's Advocate, but with certainly no disrespect to Heath or anyone else here. I can certainly see where it's possible. I mean first off why would his friend/agent lie? Secondly, we all know Heath tore down his career to start anew, and lastly we all know how invasive the media had been in his life. So why not work extremely hard to gain the opposite effect from the studio, so that he could have some time off, take a much needed break, and spend time with his daughter whom he loved so much.

No one really knows how truly annoying it can be when you are forced to live your life in the public eye just because you are passionate about your career. It's one of the biggest disadvantages of this business and he was feeling it full force.

There are several interviews out there where he comments, not joking, about how he hates this side of the industry, and for this reason wishes to never work again.

One other important thing to remember is that Alexander never said Heath disliked or didn't care about TDK. He said Heath was hesitant about the aftermath of being in a blockbuster film, ie: the merchandise, the attention, and the possibility of being labeled so not as many diverse roles would come his way.

The direct quote from the article is as follows:

Ledger’s friend and agent, Steven Alexander, tells Biskind that Heath “was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies. He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices.”

“He was ready to bust out of the gate, but he didn’t want to step on the gas and become something that he didn’t want to become: a matinee idol,” says Alexander. “He was a private person, and he didn’t want to share his personal history with the press. It just wasn’t up for sale."

So, hopefully that will clear up any misunderstanding people are thinking. Granted everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think it's important to remember what was said clearly and not misconstrue what was said.

 

[Wesley Dodds]

Nah, This doesn't make any sense. The sadistic side of me, though would quite like it to be true, in light of the reams and reams of greasy flattery poured on his performance. Not to mention the oscar.

 

[Drz]

Heath Ledger and Nolan were friends/buddies who had tried to make a film together before. Why on earth would Heath give a finger to Nolan? Its obvius he was joking.

 

[[A]]

Heath Ledger and Nolan were friends/buddies who had tried to make a film together before. Why on earth would Heath give a finger to Nolan? Its obvius he was joking.

What if Nolan lost a finger in an accident..?

 

[Drz]

I see what you did there.

 

[[A]]

But really -- the idea behind this thread is not that serious (no pun intended)

 

[gazzilla8000]

Why would Ledger try to sabotage Chris Nolan's movie (Heath and Chris were friends well before TDK) and risk his own career?

And if he was trying to get himself fired from the movie, how did he "accidently" create one of the most praised and rejoiced performances in cinema history?

If you believe this crap you need to start using your brain.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

not to quit the existent that their saying, but, Heath was not one to seek the spot light, as much as he loved acting, he was never very good at handling the pressures of stardom, he probably did want out, once he realized how big this was going to be, in a moment of panic, he might of even thought or considered the idea...

but, as an actor, he would never go out of his way to sabotaged the role