Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Heath Ledger Remembrance Forum
Heath Ledger - News Accounts
j.U.d.E.:
--- Quote from: atz75 on February 20, 2009, 08:05:42 pm ---Ledger's Legacy: A new generation's James Dean?
NEW YORK - It was a decade ago, and director Gil Junger was seeking fresh talent for his upcoming movie, "10 Things I Hate About You." He'd already seen 250 or 300 kids. In walked a young Australian TV actor looking for work.
After a quick line reading and a bit of improv, "I was stunned," Junger says now. Certain he was looking at someone with enough raw magnetism to be a movie star, he turned to his casting people. "Hire him immediately," he recalls saying of Heath Ledger.
"Dean was a whole different animal," says film historian Leonard Maltin. "He became a cultural icon because of the rebel role he embodied, and even the sort of glamorously grisly way that he died. I'd wager that many young people who have posters of him on their walls haven't even seen his movies."
"He might indeed be a kind of James Dean figure, but I think he was a far, far superior actor to Dean," says Walter, who runs the screenwriting program at UCLA's film school. "Dean's whole persona was kind of a cartoon character." He predicts Ledger will remain a major name in cinema - "maybe not for as long as 20 to 30 years, but for a long while."
"Winning an Oscar would go a long way toward solidifying the actor's legacy," says Todd Boyd, professor of popular culture at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.
But will that legacy be one of an enduring cultural icon like Dean? "I think any time you have a celebrity who dies young while seemingly on the way up the ladder of success, comparisons to James Dean are inevitable," says Boyd. But Dean remains alive in our minds, he adds, because generations born after his death found his rebel image relevant to their own era.
After that, Ledger's fans will be left to wonder what else this hugely talented actor might have had up his sleeve. Too true, to be good!
"The worst thing is we don't know what he would have done," notes Walter, the screenwriting professor. He points out that a similarly magnetic presence in his youth, Marlon Brando, is now remembered for a whole range of performances - the good, the bad, and the bizarre.
Junger, the director, now working on a TV version of "10 Things I Hate About You" for ABC, finds the comparisons to other actors, like Dean, of little value.
"I just think he was an extraordinary young talent whose life was snuffed out way too early," the director says.
"He would have had a shockingly good career."
--- End quote ---
I get the comparison to James Dean, but like Junger said, it is of little value. They were young when they died, they were very raw actors. But I think it was different times and they had different reasons to be the way they were. James Dean was tormented because of his past, his life and family, the time he lived in and because he felt he had to be someone he didn't want to be or knew he couldn't be. His raw-ness came from a conflicted self and lack of secureness and searching personality. But I would certainly NOT call him a cartoon character! Heath Ledger was raw, versatile and unpredictable, because of where he came from (I mean from outside the US star-system) and because he did not want to fit in or be type-cast. Out of personal conviction he refused to 'play along' with the big Hollywood machine and he clashed sometimes, but that enhanced his charisma and his bad boy image. In a way he didn't care much about what people thought of him, but he was also extremely sensitive to everything that happened around him and in the world. I think James Dean's torment was much more self-centered. But that too, is understandable, in my opinion.
Anyway, it is still horribly painful, that they had to die so young! I have been a big fan of James Dean ever since I was 12 or so. I had a huge poster of GIANT on my wall and I DID see all his movies several times! ;) I remember seeing GIANT for the first time at age 13/14 - I was in Portugal on holiday at the beach and was suffering a severe sunstroke. But the local cinema showed GIANT which I had never seen before and I had to go! Sitting through the 3+ hour long film was an ordeal and I don't know how I made it. Afterwards, I only remembered the last scene (where you can see a white toddler and a coloured toddler in the same scene) until I had the chance to watch it again months/years later.
The "the good, the bad, and the bizarre" is maybe truly something that we will be spared of, hmm.. I don't know. I am thinking about Mickey Rourke here.. I loved him in his early movies... now not so much. Same goes for Marlon Brando as is mentioned in the article..
I still don't care much for Oscars and other such awards. I only found out today who is nominated, although I had read about Heath Ledger being nominated. In addition, I feel like his Dark Knight nomination is not heartfelt by those who voted for him. It feels like he’s been nominated to make up for what BBM should have received and because he died so suddenly. I think it would all be quite different, if he were still alive. But again, that's only my very personal opinion.
Monika:
MilAn:
--- Quote ---FOR Heath Ledger's family, life after the Oscars has been spent bonding with the late actor's three-year-old daughter Matilda and celebrating their late son's win with Hollywood friends at Johnny Depp's mansion.
Ledger's father Kim, mother Sally and sister Kate, who travelled from Perth for the ceremony, joined Matilda and the actor's former partner Michelle Williams at an afternoon party at Depp's Hollywood Hills home last week, along with industry friends.
The private event, which was guarded by security staff, was also attended by Ledger's step-parents, brother-in-law, step-sisters and nieces.
Depp had become friends with Ledger after Terry Gilliam, who directed the Oscar-winner in The Brothers Grimm, introduced the two actors at the Toronto Film Festival several years ago.
After Ledger's death in January last year, Depp and actors Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped in to replace the Australian in his final unfinished film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
Williams' partner Spike Jonze, who started dating her last year, did not attend the event. Williams, who split from Ledger shortly before his death, drove herself and Matilda to the party from Jonze's hilltop mansion in the trendy Los Angeles neighbourhood of Los Feliz.
The couple flew into Los Angeles with Matilda the day before the Oscars for Williams to attend the Independent Spirit Awards, where she was nominated for best lead actress for Wendy and Lucy.
On the morning of the Oscars, Williams and Jonze - whose real name is Adam Spiegel - ate breakfast at an upscale Beverly Hills eatery before shopping in a department store.
Ledger's family also enjoyed some shopping excursions in Los Angeles boutiques.
The group visited designer stores in Beverly Hills' famed Robertson Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, as well as upmarket outdoor shopping centre The Grove, where they wandered in the doll store American Girl.
The family is expected to return to Australia this week.
--- End quote ---
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25120443-5012980,00.html
Penthesilea:
Excerpt from an interview with Ang Lee on March 10th, 2009. Crossposted on HHH.
Do you remember where you were when you got the news that Heath died?
I was landing at the Tokyo airport when I got an email from James. Heath died during my flight. That’s always strange to think about.
What is your favorite memory of him?
It also happens to be one of my favorite shots of my career: his “barfing” scene in Brokeback, when he was hitting the wall with his fists. We were on the third take, his fists were bleeding, he’d literally spilled all his guts, and something in the background struck me as being perfect. I think it was the clouds. I wanted to do another take, but Heath was totally exhausted. My producer said, “That’s bullshit. The actor has had enough.” But the clouds were perfect! We did another take, and after it was over, Heath said, “Wow. That felt good.”
http://7x7.com/content/e/ang-lee-remembers-heath-ledger
Kerry:
Matilda sole beneficiary of Heath's M$15 . . . . . .
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5390237
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