TMZ Accounts - Nicholson Warned Ledger About Ambien

[Phillip Dampier]

By the way, the makers of Ambien have told their stockholders they've hired attorneys in preparation for possible findings that the sleep medication may have played a part in all this, and they're prepping a damage control PR team to be ready in case it appears the prescription drug contributed in anyway to his passing.

It could be a multi-million dollar disaster for big pharma if it turns out Ambien played a part here.  Sanofi-Aventis, which makes Ambien, took the step after two independent sources alluded in the media to Heath's "drug use."

[David In Indy]

Jack Nicholson scares me. There's something seriously wrong with that man.

[injest]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMrhY5FUzaQ&feature=related[/youtube]

here is the interview where Jack was talking about warning Heath...

he was talking about the sleeping pills..not illegal drugs....

[Phillip Dampier]

here is the interview where Jack was talking about warning Heath...

Good find.  The BBC had a sitdown one that I caught earlier, but much of the details here were recited there as well.

[dot-matrix]

What's up with Jack Nicholson?  Just a few weeks ago he was bitching in print that Heath didn't even talk to him about his portrayal of the Joker in his preparation... He was rather nasty and seemed to feel he should have been consulted because his Joker is THE JOKER... Now he's supposed to be a busom buddy who talked to Heath about the role and his lifestyle... Isn't Jack getting enough attention for his new film.

MTV: What do you think of another actor, Heath Ledger, playing the Joker in next summer's "The Dark Knight"?

Nicholson: Let me be the way I'm not in interviews. I'm furious. I'm furious. [He laughs.] They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me.

MTV: It was never brought up?

Nicholson: No. It's like, in any area, you can't believe the reasons things do or don't happen. Not asking me how to do the sequel is that kind of thing. Maybe it's not a mistake. Maybe it was the right thing, but to be candid, I'm furious.
 
MTV: I'm surprised to hear you sounding competitive about a role like that.

Nicholson: Well, the Joker comes from my childhood. That's how I got involved with it in the first place. It's a part I always thought I should play.

MTV: Will you see the new film?

Nicholson: I'm not inclined to watch it because of what I said. But if it's a good movie, I'll catch up with it somewhere. I don't think they ever really captured Tim Burton's spirit [since he stopped being involved]. They kind of drove the franchise into the ground. Tim Burton's a genius. He had the right take on it. That's why I did the movie. I did the movie based on a single conversation with him. We both come from the cartoon world originally. We had similar ideas. Tim said [the Joker] should have a humorous dark side to him. [Burton is] one of the great moviemakers. I think the world of him. He's the most unassuming man. And he doesn't feel pressure. That's what I love about him. Once he's in there, he's smiling making the movie. That's it!

from http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1573617/20071106/story.jhtml

[Ellemeno]

What's up with Jack Nicholson?  Just a few weeks ago he was bitching in print that Heath didn't even talk to him about his portrayal of the Joker in his preparation... He was rather nasty and seemed to feel he should have been consulted because his Joker is THE JOKER... Now he's supposed to be a busom buddy who talked to Heath about the role and his lifestyle... Isn't Jack getting enough attention for his new film.

MTV: What do you think of another actor, Heath Ledger, playing the Joker in next summer's "The Dark Knight"?

Nicholson: Let me be the way I'm not in interviews. I'm furious. I'm furious. [He laughs.] They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me.

MTV: It was never brought up?

Nicholson: No. It's like, in any area, you can't believe the reasons things do or don't happen. Not asking me how to do the sequel is that kind of thing. Maybe it's not a mistake. Maybe it was the right thing, but to be candid, I'm furious.
 
MTV: I'm surprised to hear you sounding competitive about a role like that.

Nicholson: Well, the Joker comes from my childhood. That's how I got involved with it in the first place. It's a part I always thought I should play.

MTV: Will you see the new film?

Nicholson: I'm not inclined to watch it because of what I said. But if it's a good movie, I'll catch up with it somewhere. I don't think they ever really captured Tim Burton's spirit [since he stopped being involved]. They kind of drove the franchise into the ground. Tim Burton's a genius. He had the right take on it. That's why I did the movie. I did the movie based on a single conversation with him. We both come from the cartoon world originally. We had similar ideas. Tim said [the Joker] should have a humorous dark side to him. [Burton is] one of the great moviemakers. I think the world of him. He's the most unassuming man. And he doesn't feel pressure. That's what I love about him. Once he's in there, he's smiling making the movie. That's it!

from http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1573617/20071106/story.jhtml

Yup.  I'm with you on this.  And to repeat myself about the above quote, if having had it be part of one's childhood is the reason to play it, then we all should have roles in Batman movies.

[smellykellyjay]

Yup.  I'm with you on this.  And to repeat myself about the above quote, if having had it be part of one's childhood is the reason to play it, then we all should have roles in Batman movies.

Yes, girl, and I get to be Catwoman!  I'll scratch out the eyes of any bitches who dare to compete with me for that!  I'll make Sean Young look like a new-born kitten in my pursuit of the role! 

But seriously, what is it with "Batman" actors feeling like they own their roles and that they are entitled to them for life?  Laurence Olivier may have done a bang-up version of Hamlet, but that doesn't mean other actors shouldn't take on the role. 

I'm thinking Adam West expressed displeasure that he wasn't somehow included in Tim Burton's first "Batman" movie.  I mean, come on!  The "Batman" series was campy, over-the-top, comedic, and the movies have taken different tones.  Even the upcoming version of the Joker is reportedly very different from Nicholson's version.  When you're doing something wildly different than what was previously done, why are you going to actively associate it with what came before? 

Whatever Jack was referring to -- the role of the Joker, illicit drugs, sleeping pills -- his response to Heath's death comes across as smug and self-absorbed and disrespectful to me.  "I warned him" doesn't seem too far removed from "I told you so."  I hate it when people say "I told you so." 

I guess that's Jack.  I've never been able to see his appeal beyond his being a good actor.  I don't find him charismatic like many seem to do.  He's kinda creepy to me. 

I saw that Lindsay Lohan busted into tears when she found out about Heath dying.  I never thought I'd see the day when I respected her more than I did Jack Nicholson. 

[Phillip Dampier]

But seriously, what is it with "Batman" actors feeling like they own their roles and that they are entitled to them for life?  Laurence Olivier may have done a bang-up version of Hamlet, but that doesn't mean other actors shouldn't take on the role. 

My problem is why we are essentially remaking movies or re-extending franchises that have an uneven history.  Did we really need another retelling of Batman?  It's for this and so many other reasons (the same old junk) that keeps me far away from theaters except for rare occasions.

In five years, we'll be talking about how we need to remake Spiderman.  Ick.

[opinionista]

What I understood was that Nicholson warned Heath about taking the role not about drugs. Apparently it is a very intense role. However, Nicholson himself has history of drug abuse so I don't know. According to the site linked below Nicholson is a cokehead (or was).

http://www.nndb.com/people/722/000022656/

Scroll down, read "Risk factors"

[Toycoon]

Nicholson: I'm not inclined to watch it because of what I said. But if it's a good movie, I'll catch up with it somewhere. I don't think they ever really captured Tim Burton's spirit [since he stopped being involved]. They kind of drove the franchise into the ground. Tim Burton's a genius. He had the right take on it. That's why I did the movie. I did the movie based on a single conversation with him. We both come from the cartoon world originally. We had similar ideas. Tim said [the Joker] should have a humorous dark side to him. [Burton is] one of the great moviemakers. I think the world of him. He's the most unassuming man. And he doesn't feel pressure. That's what I love about him. Once he's in there, he's smiling making the movie. That's it!

I was never a fan of the 1989 Batman anyway. I thought Michael Keaton as Batman was dull and Nicholson was too old to play the Joker. Tim Burton's movie is long winded and boring as hell in many spots. I never was into any movie or film really, until Brokeback Mountain that is.