What was the general consensus on Heath Leadger being casted as Joker and his first Joker picture ?

[LvtLeeTDK]

Like the title. Reading the new Joker film thread just made me wonder how did everyone react about 1. Heath being casted as the Joker and 2. His first Joker picture.

 

[Lone]

Fandom threw a goddamned hissy fit.

 

[FunkMiller]

The reception was mixed to the photo.

I remember following whysoserious.com as each pixel was revealed, and the hype was through the roof by the time the whole image was revealed.

I bloody loved it from the start. It was dark, nasty and scary.

The important thing to note was that a lot of people liked Heath’s casting, which is forgotten.

 

[-JKR-]

It was bad.
People didn't think that a 'pretty boy' such as Heath Ledger could do the role justice. And when the first pic was released people set themselves on fire because the Joker coudn't be just a guy who wears make-up.
There was a small minority of people (including me) who had faith in what they were doing, but mostly... it was a bloodbath.
Then people got hooked on Christopher Nolan's take on the Joker once that incredible teaser trailer was released in December 2007.
That's why the current reactions to Joaquin Phoenix's Joker make me smile. It's a glitch in the Matrix. And I love it, actually. I think the reactions are fun. Some people are a tad repetitive, but still fun.

 

[Lone]

The important thing to note was that a lot of people liked Heath’s casting, which is forgotten.

I think your memory of the Hype during that time period is a little too rosy LOL.

 

[FunkMiller]

I think your memory of the Hype during that time period is a little too rosy LOL.

I wasn’t on the Hype back then, so can’t comment. I assumed OP was talking about the reaction in general, rather than just on here.

 

[-JKR-]

I was in here and lots of other places when the news about Heath Ledger hit. It was July 18th or 19th 2006. And the people defending the casting choice were a minority. The general consensus was that Heath Ledger wouldn't be able to hold a candle to Jack Nicholson's iconic performance.

 

[Greens]

Reaction to casting: bad. Reaction to pic: mixed. I was on the negative side of mixed, but obviously he won me over later.

 

[Rocanrol]

I was a lurker back then and it was not a very pleasant place.

 

[fan4stic]

I've read archived threads from then and there was lots of arguing about whether he would be perma-white or not.

 

[Lone]

**I edited out you quoting the circumventing of the censor....thus posting a word circumventing the censor**

Some might say it still is.

Btw you might wanna edit your post. Circumventing the censors is a no-no if I’m not wrong.

 

[FunkMiller]

I was in here and lots of other places when the news about Heath Ledger hit. It was July 18th or 19th 2006. And the people defending the casting choice were a minority. The general consensus was that Heath Ledger wouldn't be able to hold a candle to Jack Nicholson's iconic performance.

Oh, it was the minority, but there were still quite a few defending both casting and picture. I was one of them!

Things changed a lot when that second picture of Nolan directing Ledger behind the glass turned up.

 

[Lone]

Things changed a lot when that second picture of Nolan directing Ledger behind the glass turned up.

Not really. I think it was the trailer or audio of Ledger’s Joker from the ARG that made people start to give him a chance.

 

[-JKR-]

Oh, it was the minority, but there were still quite a few defending both casting and picture. I was one of them!

I was one of them, as well. From the very moment the news broke about Heath Ledger, But we still were a minority.

 

[harlequinade]

"Casted" is not a word, man.

 

[Greens]

Some might say it still is.

Btw you might wanna edit your post. Circumventing the censors is a no-no if I’m not wrong.

I would say the quality of posts has definitely gone up since then. I've read archived threads and the bar was very low.

 

[Lone]

I would say the quality of posts has definitely gone up since then. I've read archived threads and the bar was very low.

‘Twas a simpler time.

 

[-JKR-]

I would say the quality of posts has definitely gone up since then. I've read archived threads and the bar was very low.

I don't know about that. There was actually a much more intruiging approach to discuss these movies back then. I have fond memories, after "Batman Begins" was released, of when we would discuss the possibilities of the future movies, and would talk about the influences and storylines from the comics we'd like to see on the big screen.

There was much more enthusiasm about the material itself, and I think there was a much greater passion about the comic books themselves and the excitement about what it would take to transform that into a motion picture, than there is now. Now it's mostly "the company should do this and that," and BLAH BLAH BLAH...

 

[Greens]

I don't know about that. There was actually a much more intruiging approach to discuss these movies back then. I have fond memories, after "Batman Begins" was released, of when we would discuss the possibilities of the future movies, and would talk about the influences and storylines from the comics we'd like to see on the big screen.

There was much more enthusiasm about the material itself, and I think there was a much greater passion about the comic books themselves, than there is now. Now it's mostly "the company should do this and that," and BLAH BLAH BLAH...

The tone just seemed a lot more... immature than it is now. The quality of the language has gone up, but maybe the actual discourse has gone downhill. lol

 

[-JKR-]

The quality may have gone up, but the content has mostly gotten emptier and stale.

 

[StarLord]

I lurked during TDK but I was definitely here for the Rises hype, which was fun.

 

[-JKR-]

And you know what else? Discussion has gotten superficial. It's either "Yeah" or "No", whereas back then we would cite specific examples, discuss the different approaches in both the writing AND the art in comics, and what elements could make for a better cinematic experience. We would discuss the different talents from the comic book world, specific eras and storylines... which isn't really the case anymore. Nowadays it's either "abomination" or "greatest thing I've ever seen". End of discussion.

 

[Lone]

And you know what else? Discussion has gotten superficial. It's either "Yeah" or "No", whereas back then we would cite specific examples, discuss the different approaches in both the writing AND the art in comics, and what elements could make for a better cinematic experience. We would discuss the different talents from the comic book world, specific eras and storylines... which isn't really the case anymore. Nowadays it's either "abomination" or "greatest thing I've ever seen". End of discussion.

I’ve been here for 17 years and your observation isn’t that far off. There are some quality posters still around but yeah many have come and gone. Trolls were funnier back then too.

This is not a shot at Marvel studios but I feel that their shared universe model kinda forked us all over.

 

[Boom]

The Ledger reveal was mixed at best. I was a member of the permawhite brigade, and it took me a long time to get on board with the makeup route. The first trailer really was the turning point in many regards.

I remember people complaining that the makeup made him look too much like the Crow (calling him Crowker). Already starting to see something similar with Phoenix being called John Wayne Gacy.

 

[Poppy]

People here saw a similarity with The Crow as a bad thing ?
Weird, I think this a fantastic movie.