Author Topic: OSCAR TRIBUTE????  (Read 10020 times)

Offline THE WINGS

  • Sr. Ranch Hand
  • ***
  • Posts: 52
OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« on: February 02, 2008, 06:31:44 am »
I sincerely hope there will be at least some sort of tribute to Heath at this year's Oscars (if there is a show).
Of course, this is totally 'pie-in-the-sky' thinking on my part, but maybe even a post-humous Oscar for his work in Brokeback Mountain.  (We can all dream, can't we?)  That will be probably the only reason I would watch the show.  Anyone with any thoughts?

THE WINGS

Offline souxi

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,300
  • sex on legs
    • bats belfrey
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2008, 08:31:09 am »
I sincerely hope there will be at least some sort of tribute to Heath at this year's Oscars (if there is a show).
Of course, this is totally 'pie-in-the-sky' thinking on my part, but maybe even a post-humous Oscar for his work in Brokeback Mountain.  (We can all dream, can't we?)  That will be probably the only reason I would watch the show.  Anyone with any thoughts?

THE WINGS

I totally agree with you. I think he should be awarded the Oscar he should have got for BBM posthumously. He deserves it and it,s the right thing to do. Bless him. :'(

Offline HerrKaiser

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,708
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2008, 08:52:51 pm »
Unfortunately while tons of people think he unfairly lost to Philip S Hoffman, the academy would never slap Hoffman in the face by now awarding Ledger the award. The best they could do is award him a life time achievement oscar, but those are usually not given to the very young. What we can expect is to see Heath within the annual memorial tribute to all the Hollywood industry folks who passed since the last awards show. This is a montage of photos (some film) of the celebs; each is on the screen for a few seconds. They try to make each person about equal, but the biggest names often have had more than one still and/or a film clip. Given that Heath's death will still be relatively recent and he is more of a peer to the live audience than most of the others who died and he is recently big box office, the director may give him a more notable section. Hope so. I'm sure there will be applause.

Offline serious crayons

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,711
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2008, 09:16:01 pm »
I think they'll give him an extra-long segment in the "academy members who died in the past year" portion of the show. But I don't think they'll do anything special beyond that, because they really would be opening up a can of worms. What happens when another talented young actor/actress dies? Or one who's a little older? Or one who's middle aged or later, but still working? Where would they draw the line?


Offline Sheriff Roland

  • BetterMost Supporter
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,492
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2008, 09:26:33 pm »
And then there's always next year's oscar, where he's likely to be nominated and possibly win for his performance as the Joker.

Not that the oscars mean anything to me, anymore.
2015 - Toronto: Pan Am Games
2015 - Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg: Woman's World Cup of Soccer

Offline nakymaton

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,045
  • aka Mel
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2008, 09:56:27 pm »
I can think of one subtle but appropriate thing that they could do: use The Wings as music during the In Memorium segment.

I would be very surprised if Heath won posthumously for playing The Joker, unfortunately. Only one person won an Oscar after his death. (And it wasn't James Dean, who was nominated twice after his death.) And on top of that, there's the genre picture issue. Actors have been nominated from genre pictures, but not many have won. And from a superhero movie? The Academy would have to get past a number of different biases to give Heath the award.
Watch out. That poster has a low startle point.

yb

  • Guest
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2008, 09:58:57 pm »
But with all those drug speculation surrounding Heath, do you think Oscar will honour Heath?  I don't know how Oscar works, but I'm afraid this may affect Oscar's plan on this..

But Sheriff is right, I don't care much for Oscar any more after Heath lost his Best Actor.  


Offline HerrKaiser

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,708
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2008, 10:37:08 pm »
But with all those drug speculation surrounding Heath, do you think Oscar will honour Heath?  I don't know how Oscar works, but I'm afraid this may affect Oscar's plan on this..

But Sheriff is right, I don't care much for Oscar any more after Heath lost his Best Actor.  


right, after the overt slight two years ago, the oscars are quite reduced in import.

nonetheless, the hollywood group would never overlook a big name for specualation or factual drug use. they never snubbed Belushi, Monroe, etc. Nor will they for Heath.

but, remember...the "academy" is only an elite club of a few of the industry. They try not to play favorites and manage their PR like the queen does her family's. So, there is almost no quesiton Heath will be featured within the segment of those who died in the last year, but don't get your hopes up that he will have a great big huge memorial that outshines the others.


Offline Brown Eyes

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,377
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #8 on: February 04, 2008, 11:52:39 pm »

Not that the oscars mean anything to me, anymore.

Heya Sheriff!

I absolutely agree with this sentiment.  100%.  This is still me on the subject of BBM and the Oscars ----> 

On one hand it would be nice if the Oscars awarded Heath something, posthumously.  But, at this point, I agree that the Oscars have lost credibility (with me at least).  And this goes beyond Brokeback... with the snub of BBM I've learned a lot about the Oscars' dubious track-record of snubbing first class films and people quite frequently.

So, after looking at this thread, I performed my little ritual when I find myself getting all upset about the Oscars.  I went to imdb and did some rather cursory research on other major cinematic figures and films that have been snubbed by Oscar.  Heath and Brokeback are in really good company (and that said, the total number of other non-Oscar wins for BBM is still jaw-droppingly impressive when you compare it to many historic films).

The best example of a ridiculous Oscar snub was Citizen Kane, which of course many people believe is the best film ever made.  So, in this case, history has really proven Oscar wrong.  In 1942 it was nominated for 9 Oscars.  It only won one for Best Screenplay.  It lost in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music/Score, Best Sound, and Best Director.  The fact that it lost in the categories of cinematography and director is really, really laughable... since in almost all standard histories of film, Kane is cited as one of the best/ most innovative examples of both of those categories.

Here are several, somewhat random examples of other towering figures in film history snubbed by Oscar:

Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar.

Cary Grant never won an Oscar.

Lauren Bacall still has never won an Oscar.

I think these 4 examples are shocking. They've all been nominated, but none of these have won.  These examples are reassuring to me because they prove without any doubt that a person or film can have a major, major impact of cinematic history without Oscars' recognition.  And, in some sense, these snubs make Brokeback's 3 wins look very good.

   
I don't mean to be totally and completely negative about the Oscars.  Sometimes they do get it right or make good gestures of recognition.  But, the number of serious "misses" in Oscars' history really makes me wonder about the clout that this one, singular award ceremony holds. 



here's a footnote about Citizen Kane's one Best Screenplay Oscar.  This is a quotation from imdb
Quote
Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Herman J. Mankiewicz
Orson Welles
On Friday, July 19th, 2003, Orson Welles' Oscar statuette went on sale at an auction at Christie's, New York, but was voluntarily withdrawn so the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences could buy it back for just 1 dollar. The statuette, included in a large selection of Welles-related material, was going to be sold by Beatrice Welles, the youngest of the filmmaker's three daughters and the sole heir of his estate and was expected to sell at over 300,000 dollars.
the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline Sandy

  • Sr. Ranch Hand
  • ***
  • Posts: 142
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2008, 10:11:40 am »
There's an element of me that doesn't want him to be recognised by the Oscars now.  I wanted them to recognise him the first time round and not act sad and guilty that he has passed away. And if they have a problem with the allegations of drug taking, well they really can stick it.  They of all should understand how the media twists things. 

But I know I'm cutting my nose off to spite my face and the Academy and the rest of the world should be recognising his brilliance. 

Offline HerrKaiser

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,708
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2008, 03:56:22 pm »
Heya Sheriff!

I absolutely agree with this sentiment.  100%.  This is still me on the subject of BBM and the Oscars ----> 

On one hand it would be nice if the Oscars awarded Heath something, posthumously.  But, at this point, I agree that the Oscars have lost credibility (with me at least).  And this goes beyond Brokeback... with the snub of BBM I've learned a lot about the Oscars' dubious track-record of snubbing first class films and people quite frequently.

So, after looking at this thread, I performed my little ritual when I find myself getting all upset about the Oscars.  I went to imdb and did some rather cursory research on other major cinematic figures and films that have been snubbed by Oscar.  Heath and Brokeback are in really good company (and that said, the total number of other non-Oscar wins for BBM is still jaw-droppingly impressive when you compare it to many historic films).

The best example of a ridiculous Oscar snub was Citizen Kane, which of course many people believe is the best film ever made.  So, in this case, history has really proven Oscar wrong.  In 1942 it was nominated for 9 Oscars.  It only won one for Best Screenplay.  It lost in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music/Score, Best Sound, and Best Director.  The fact that it lost in the categories of cinematography and director is really, really laughable... since in almost all standard histories of film, Kane is cited as one of the best/ most innovative examples of both of those categories.

Here are several, somewhat random examples of other towering figures in film history snubbed by Oscar:

Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar.

Cary Grant never won an Oscar.

Lauren Bacall still has never won an Oscar.

I think these 4 examples are shocking. They've all been nominated, but none of these have won.  These examples are reassuring to me because they prove without any doubt that a person or film can have a major, major impact of cinematic history without Oscars' recognition.  And, in some sense, these snubs make Brokeback's 3 wins look very good.

   
I don't mean to be totally and completely negative about the Oscars.  Sometimes they do get it right or make good gestures of recognition.  But, the number of serious "misses" in Oscars' history really makes me wonder about the clout that this one, singular award ceremony holds. 


Many have been disappointed about oscar winners over the years. Heath's is a notable one. But, we have to recognize that the voting is also subjective. for example, i personally see no acting reasons why Grant or Bacall should have risen to the top. Box office, yes; good movies, yes. But the oscars are usually awarded for other so-called "artistic" reasons, and sometimes to make up for a lifetime of work (John Wayne). And Grant did get an honorary oscar when all was said and done.

In Ledger's case, I felt he did a better job than Hoffman. Also felt BBM was a better film than Crash. But, again, hard to say who is right when it comes to subjectivity.

Actually more exemplory of 'wrong' wins is the historical precidence of how the awards are doled out. for example, ONLY five films in all of academy history won both best director and best screenplay but did not go on to win best film. What's worse is that in four of those five films, the actor won best actor.

This makes A Place in the Sun and BBM the only films in history to have won director and writing but not an acting award or best movie. Hmmmm.

Offline Brown Eyes

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,377
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2008, 04:12:39 pm »
Many have been disappointed about oscar winners over the years. Heath's is a notable one. But, we have to recognize that the voting is also subjective. for example, i personally see no acting reasons why Grant or Bacall should have risen to the top. Box office, yes; good movies, yes. But the oscars are usually awarded for other so-called "artistic" reasons, and sometimes to make up for a lifetime of work (John Wayne). And Grant did get an honorary oscar when all was said and done.


Yes, I think Grant receiving the honorary Oscar is an example of the Oscars feeling guilty/ being embarassed over the long-running slight of Cary Grant.  I wasn't counting the honorary Oscar before because it seems like a very different thing than winning a regulation Oscar in a normal category.  I think Hitchcock may have received an honorary Oscar too... but I'm not sure.

I personally think Cary Grant not winning a regular Oscar is one of the great scandals in Hollywood honestly.

Can you imagine how different film history would be without Cary Grant?  I've been a T.A. for two film courses and films with Cary Grant were always heavily represented in the syllabi.  Especially North by Northwest (which of course was a double Oscar slight- Grant and Hitchcock).


Anyway, I was just thinking of big examples of Oscar slights off the top of my head last night... this wasn't meant to end up being a discussion (necessarily) of the merits of the examples given... I'm sure there are tons of other examples to be found with regards to Oscar snubs.

But yes, my general point here is that an actor or a film can have an enormous impact on film history without anything to do with the Oscars or any other fickle/politically driven awards show.

the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline MaineWriter

  • Bettermost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,042
  • Stay the course...
    • Bristlecone Pine Press
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2008, 04:27:27 pm »
But yes, my general point here is that an actor or a film can have an enormous impact on film history without anything to do with the Oscars or any other fickle/politically driven awards show.


And that's the key point. The process is completely subjective and probably in many cases, politically driven. It is pretty much an accepted fact that Crash won (and BBM didn't) because of a variety of behind the scenes campaigns that were waged. Keep in mind, too, that once a person is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, they are a member for life and get all the voting privileges. Members openly admit that they haven't seen movies, but they vote for them; they haven't seen the performances of all the actors/actresses, but they vote anyway. And then you get into the categories where a member might not have any knowledge--and they vote on that too!

It only takes two minutes of Googling to find dozens of Academy "mistakes" like those you mentioned, Amanda. They have been making these mistakes since the inception of the Awards. Clearly, the Academy doesn't see these problems as mistakes, otherwise, you might assume they'd want to fix it, right? But since they aren't changing anything, they'll just keep on doing what they're doing, with the outcome that the Awards, overall, become less and less relevant to more and more people, including those in the industry.

This is why I have read many comments that the Guild Awards (Actors, Directors, Writers, etc) are more representative. Actors are voting for actors; directors vote for directors, etc. The results I have seen from these awards are more "satisfying" in that I feel like the proper winners are being selected.

L
Taming Groomzilla<-- support equality for same-sex marriage in Maine by clicking this link!

Offline serious crayons

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,711
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2008, 05:00:07 pm »
Clearly, the Academy doesn't see these problems as mistakes, otherwise, you might assume they'd want to fix it, right?

I think they probably don't fix it because they can't change it. Like an umpire's bad call, there's not much you can do but grumble once the game is over.

One thing the Academy does do to "fix" mistakes, though, is to give those honorary Oscars to people who've never won awards, or give makeup Oscars for actors who should really have gotten them for some previous role.

It occurred to me that, on that basis, they might nominate Heath for the Joker. But as Mel pointed out, a posthumous award to an actor in a genre film -- a superhero one at that -- has a lot going against it.




Offline Sheriff Roland

  • BetterMost Supporter
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,492
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #14 on: February 05, 2008, 05:25:06 pm »
I still believe that, based on the talk about Heath's performance as the Joker, he is likely to get nominated (and possibly win) on merit.

He's apparently given a Ennis like out of the ordinary, tour-de-force performance and because of that, and in spite of the fact that it's a genre film and character, I believe it is quite possible that he will be nominated. Why has virtually all the promotion of the movie, and the 'wow' comments been centered on the Joker? His outstanding performance.

Course this is all still just speculation, but I chose to believe.
2015 - Toronto: Pan Am Games
2015 - Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg: Woman's World Cup of Soccer

Offline TOoP/Bruce

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,662
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #15 on: February 06, 2008, 12:24:42 am »
I think they probably don't fix it because they can't change it. Like an umpire's bad call, there's not much you can do but grumble once the game is over.

One thing the Academy does do to "fix" mistakes, though, is to give those honorary Oscars to people who've never won awards, or give makeup Oscars for actors who should really have gotten them for some previous role.

It occurred to me that, on that basis, they might nominate Heath for the Joker. But as Mel pointed out, a posthumous award to an actor in a genre film -- a superhero one at that -- has a lot going against it.


I don't know about anyone else, but I don't think I could bear to watch Heath nominated for another performance, only to most likely see the academy snub him once again. 

Former IMDb Name: True Oracle of Phoenix / TOoP (I pronounce it "too - op") / " in fire forged,  from ash reborn" / Currently: GeorgeObliqueStrokeXR40

Offline Ellemeno

  • Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 15,367
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #16 on: February 06, 2008, 01:07:57 am »
If I was an actor nominated for a performance worthy of an award, I sure would be annoyed if another actor won my year to make up for some previous snub they received.

I think my credentials as a thorough Heathen are in order, so I'm going to stick my neck out and say that I just don't see why he would get a lifetime achievement award.  He hadn't really achieved enough to be worthy of that yet.  What he gave us professionally were a couple of outstanding performances, and a ton of potential. 



Offline serious crayons

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,711
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #17 on: February 06, 2008, 03:24:13 am »
I think my credentials as a thorough Heathen are in order, so I'm going to stick my neck out and say that I just don't see why he would get a lifetime achievement award.  He hadn't really achieved enough to be worthy of that yet.  What he gave us professionally were a couple of outstanding performances, and a ton of potential.

Well, I'm with you there [flashes Heathen card]. That would be just silly. But if he gave a really, really good performance as the Joker ...

But you're right, it shouldn't be a pity-Oscar. If I had the energy I'd go to imdb and look up other deserving actors who'd lost to recipients seemingly being honored for work in previous years, when they had deserved awards but lost them  ... to previous pity-Oscars, maybe! Maybe it's a long vicious circle!

Lifetime achievements go to people like Jack Lemmon or Kirk Douglas or Robert Altman, people who've not only achieved their potential but exhibited it over many years. With Heath, it's the unrealized potential that makes things so sad ...  :'(

Offline Penthesilea

  • Town Administration
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,745
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #18 on: February 06, 2008, 06:50:02 am »
But you're right, it shouldn't be a pity-Oscar.


I wouldn't want a pity-Oscar either. Heath deserves better. They blew it to give him the Oscar he deserved, and now it's too late.  :(

yb

  • Guest
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #19 on: February 06, 2008, 07:10:21 am »
At this stage, I don't care if Heath would be nominated for his role as Joker since he won't be there to accept it anyway.  But, if he was nominated and win, I can almost say it wouldn't be a pity-Oscar because, he was able to blow almost all Batman fans away just by the trailer; those people include some who had been very vocal against his casting and didn't like the look of the Joker.  I think the concern here is whether Oscar will nominate someone from a comic movie which is quite against their tradition.


Offline Mikaela

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 3,229
  • Unsaid... and now unsayable
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #20 on: February 06, 2008, 08:35:07 am »
I wouldn't want a pity-Oscar either. Heath deserves better. They blew it to give him the Oscar he deserved, and now it's too late.  :(

Agree with that, Chrissi. Heath was robbed of his one rightful Oscar and nothing can change that.

But if he were to get nominated for the Joker, and if he were to win, I don't think it'd count as a pity-Oscar at all.  It's just been 2 weeks now... but by the time the next round of Oscar nominations roll around it will have been a year. A long time in Hollywood terms, - to the average Academy member I don't think there will be much strong emotion left, not enough "pity" to make them vote for Oscars for that reason. So much will have happened in the meantime to refocus their attention and stir their emotions. This is not even criticism of them, it's just a realization that such is the impact of time and distance on human nature and especially in an environment and industry so competitively focused on the "hot-thing-of-the-moment" as Hollywoodland.

In fact, if they were to give out an Oscar or nomination for the Joker, it would have to be on the strength of an amazingly, incredibly outstanding performance, one that couldn't be overlooked even if they tried - because they would have to be so awed they'd go against their natural inclination, which very obviously is to reward and to scratch the back of someone reasonable deserving who will be able to later on somehow scratch theirs in return.  :-\  :-\  Or to reward someone they owe, and who is around to actually acknowledge the downpayment of the debt.  :-\ :-\


All that said, I am entirely content to wait till I see Heath's actual TDK performance before I speculate more about awards and such. Yes, I've read the interwievs that hyped the performance while Heath was still alive, and yes, I've seen the trailer and that looks good, - but judging the role based on that hype and the trailer and one clip from the film, all of it so obviously parts of a PR strategy designed to stir the fanbase audiences, - that's entirely premature IMO.

The fact that TDK is some way off yet means we have something great and new from Heath still to look forward to. I'm not eager for that to change.

 

Offline j.U.d.E.

  • BetterMost 1000+ Posts Club
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,747
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #21 on: February 06, 2008, 09:53:14 am »
I don't think there will be an posthumous Oscar for Heath, and honestly, I don't even think it would be a good idea, because now that we know how they work, we would all know it wouldn't be sincere.. And frankly – but I could be wrong – deep down I think Heath didn't care for awards of that sort.. Well, I know I don't. I watch the Oscars though, but only to see a few of the celebrities I know, outside the series/movie characters they are known for. There is YouTube now, but otherwise it's not that often that you get to see celebrities invited for an interview on European television channels.

Anyway, I would want to see a longer-than usual tribute for Heath, when they list all the actors who passed away since the last Oscars. But it would still feel weird, I'm sure. I wonder if people will stand up and give him an ovation. Though, that might be odd too.

I'd like also to add, that we ought not forget Brad Renfro who died just the week before and I've read also that one of Marlon Brando's sons died in January. It's double meaningful, since Heath Ledger was often referred to as the next Brando. .. I don't like comparisons, but I'm sure it was a title that Heath didn't mind.

But who am I to know anything about Heath. I just hope that the Oscar-tribute whatever it is, will be a decent one.

j.U.d.E.
MLK - - - - - - - - - - - - HAL - - - - - - - - - - - - BHO
*15 jan 1929 - †04 apr 1968 | *04 apr 1979 - † 22 jan 2008 | *04 aug 1961 -

Offline whatthefuckbenj

  • Jr. Ranch Hand
  • **
  • Posts: 11
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #22 on: February 06, 2008, 02:21:56 pm »
I totally agree with you. I think he should be awarded the Oscar he should have got for BBM posthumously. He deserves it and it,s the right thing to do. Bless him. :'(

I agree! He should have gotten that oscar for BBM anyway; it's long over due!

Offline Sheriff Roland

  • BetterMost Supporter
  • BetterMost Moderator
  • BetterMost 5000+ Posts Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,492
Re: OSCAR TRIBUTE????
« Reply #23 on: July 17, 2008, 04:21:33 am »
Since this is likely to be on many people's mind in the upcoming week (the Dark Knight is premiering today or tomorrow), I thought I'd bump this up to the top (from near the bottom of this forum) with a reprise of my post from way back when:

I still believe that, based on the talk about Heath's performance as the Joker, he is likely to get nominated (and possibly win) on merit.

He's apparently given a Ennis like out of the ordinary, tour-de-force performance and because of that, and in spite of the fact that it's a genre film and character, I believe it is quite possible that he will be nominated. Why has virtually all the promotion of the movie, and the 'wow' comments been centered on the Joker? His outstanding performance.

Course this is all still just speculation, but I chose to believe.
2015 - Toronto: Pan Am Games
2015 - Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg: Woman's World Cup of Soccer