Joker Heath Ledger overshadows Batman in “The Dark Knight” publicity material
April 14th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Turning a corner at the AMC Fashion Valley in search of my boîte à chaussures du jour, I was stopped in my tracks by this grotesquerie. My PR sonar normally hones in on the lower right hand corner of a movie poster in search of a director’s credit. This time, it took a moment or two to unhook my gaze from the bloody lipstick smeared across a plastic transparency reminiscent of Marion Crane’s final ablution.
This is one creepy image made even more so when it became apparent that it was Heath Ledger posing as The Joker for this summer’s latest wrinkle in the bat cape, The Dark Knight. Nearly three months after the 29-year-old actor was found dead in his Manhattan apartment and three months before the July 22 opening of his last film, Warner Bros. has released a slew of promotional posters the majority of which feature disquieting images of the late star.
The film also features Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and, uh, oh yeah, Christian Bale reprising his role as the caped crusader, yet according to the trailer and publicity material, Ledger’s the show!
There was even talk among greedy studio execs of using outtakes from Ledger’s Academy Award nominated performance for a prequel to be entitled Jokeback.
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Starring Heath Ledger: Three Films To Remember Him By
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Candy (2006)
Filed Under News
Rabbi Mel Gibson advised Heath Ledger to pass on “Brokeback Mountain” role
January 27th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger became friendly during the filming of The Patriot, but their relationship quickly soured when Mel found out that the young, straight leading man was considering the role of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain.
Rush & Molloy quote private investigator Paul Barresi as saying Gibson turned cold toward Ledger after the Aussie star ignored his advice not to play a gay cowboy.
“Ledger asked Gibson whether he should take the role of Ennis Del Mar in ‘Brokeback,’” Barresi says a “major Hollywood producer” told him. “Gibson strongly counseled against it. The role apparently ran counter to Gibson’s morality. And he felt that it would ruin Heath’s career.”
“When Gibson parted ways with Heath, it broke his heart,” contends Barresi.
This is not the first time loud-mouthed Gibson has shown his homophobic side. It all started with a questionable scene in Braveheart where a homosexual character is tossed from a window.
In 1991, Gibson aroused the ire of The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) when he told a Spanish publication, ” “[Gays] take it up the a–.” Gesturing toward his posterior, he added, “This is only for taking a s–t.”
GLAAD should have chewed him out for not fully exploiting the homoerotic possibilities implicit in the Lethal Weapon series.
Gibson had expressed fear that people would think he is gay because he’s an actor. When the Spanish interviewer called him on it Gibson shot back, “Do I sound like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them? I think not.”
Asked about GLAAD’s criticism, he told Playboy: “I’ll apologize when hell freezes over. They can f–ck off.”
Later, though, Gibson joined GLAAD in hosting lesbian and gay filmmakers for a seminar.
With the expection of the Mad Max films, where he’s perfectly cast as an animal, what use do any of us have for Mel Gibson? He’s a terrible actor and an even worse director. If the president of a major fast food chain were to come out and spout as much racist and homophobic rhetoric as Mel Gibson would you still eat his burgers?
Maybe it’s time we all told Mel Gibson to “f–k off.” I want you to take all of your Mel Gibson DVDs , even the Mad Max series, and treat them the same way betrayed Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker fans disposed of their CD’s. Use a bulldozer to bury them in your back yard.
And while you’re at it, throw Mel in the hole with them!
Tags: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Director, Film, Gay, GLAAD, Heath Ledger, Homophobia, Keith Ledger, Mel Gibson, MovieFiled Under News
Starring Heath Ledger: Three Films To Remember Him By
January 25th, 2008 by Scott Marks
10 Things I Hate About You / Gil Junger (1999)
Heath Ledger had small roles in a handful of Australian movies and TV shows, but this was the film that put him on the map.
10 Things… is a teen comedy for people that normally want nothing to do with teen comedies. In this case, effete snobs aren’t ashamed to admit seeing, let alone liking it, based solely on the Shakespeare connection. (It’s loosely adapted from Taming of the Shrew.)
The rules in the Stratford household clearly state that the pretty, popular sister Larisa Oleynik) can start dating only when her rebellious, unpopular sibling (Julia Stiles) agrees to acknowledge the existence of boys.
Ledger plays an even more rebellious, chain-smoking teen who is paid by her sister’s boyfriend to romance Stiles. The first thing that registered was Ledger’s voice. How did a kid this young get such a sotto delivery? The gynecologist must have spanked him on the butt and slapped a Pall Mall red in his mouth at birth.
In a genre known for championing talentless beauties, it was quite remarkable to watch the chemistry between Ledger and Ms. Stiles. The screening I attended was packed with high school girls and one could practically hear them falling in love when Ledger serenaded Stiles with Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.
Brokeback Mountain / Ang Lee (2005)
Whatever reasons I have for disliking Brokeback Mountain have nothing to do with Heath Ledger who gives the best performance in the ensemble.
Rodeo clown Jake Gyllenhaal and ranch-hand Heath Ledger sign on as herders hired to “sleep with the sheep” in the isolated majesty of Brokeback Mountain As beautiful as these introductory man-against-nature passages are, travelogues soon come to mind. It seems a waste to employ natural splendor for picture postcard effects. Make it a third character instead! If only Lee had used the rugged topography as a visual externalization of and/or commentary on his characters’ emotional states, but this is a far cry from the Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart cycle.
We all know why we plunked down ten bucks and with the exception of one soft-focus background shot of a naked Ledger (Jake discreetly averts his eyes), it takes a full two reels before any free-range love ensues. While sleeping, Gyllenhaal dreamily wraps Ledger’s arm around him. As in any quality porno film from the seventies, Ledger resists for about three seconds before flipping over his fellow cowpoke. Blame it on a full moon
Why their romantic longings survive time is never fully understood. More passionate exchanges were in order and those expecting bareback mountings are sure to be disappointed. This is all the more regrettable when one considers how genuine and tender their intimate scenes together are. Lee wisely plays his box office cards by minimizing sexual contact. Had the film chosen to follow a less traditional, more erotic plotline it would not be gathering all these pre-Oscar accolades.
If over the years our duo pursued men while separated all these years, this truly would qualify as Hollywood’s first gay western. As is, there is more female than male nudity on display. Those topless shots of Ms. Williams and Ms. Hathaway are a wife’s insurance that her homophobic hubby won’t let her go it alone.
While the aging process is laughable (fresh-faced Anne Hathaway with a Dolly Parton wig and Lee press-on nails will never pass for forty), the acting is anything but. The New York Times ranked Ledger’s performance right up there with Brando’s best. Nobody is that good and while superb, a little less of a Sling Blade mumble would have helped. The last third dissolves into predictable melodrama, and just when you think the point of no return has been crossed, the film’s heartfelt conclusion does an about face and drives you into your seat. Not exactly a gay clarion call, but a quantum leap over of Arthur Hiller’s seventies debacle, Making Love nonetheless.
The Brothers Grimm / Terry Gilliam (2005)
The Brothers Grimm was Terry Gilliam’s first completed film since 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Gilliam reportedly tinkered for two years while Miramax repeatedly shuffled opening dates. When the film finally opened in 2005 I wrote, “The Brothers Grimm is a visually dazzling Byzantine blockbuster of a thrill ride aimed at, joy of joys, adult minds.
Finally, a contemporary fantasy film that shuns the Hollywood notion that action and adventure must solely be geared for teenage boys. Given their similarities and dark underlying preoccupations, Walt Disney is likely to be applauding horizontally in his cryogenic chamber.
There are three types of people in this world: those who do not believe in magic beans, those who do, and the Studio Heads who capitalize on those who do. Not unlike their contemporary Hollywood counterparts, Nineteenth-Century hucksters Wilhelm (Matt Damon) and Jacob Grimm (Heath Ledger) track local villages selling counterfeit action tales (with great advance word of mouth) that climax in a bunch of slick special effects. They weave tales of non-existent monsters then offer to exterminate them for a hefty fee. Business is booming until the curse of a three-hundred-year-old queen (Monica Belucci) turns out to be the real deal.
Not since Warner Bros. animator Tex Avery’s screwball classic Little Red Walking Hood, in which Cinderella telephones Red from the Three Bears’ cottage to alert her of the Big Bad Wolf’s pending arrival, has a film had so much fun mixing and matching fairy tales. Cindy, Red, Snow White, Rapunzel, you name them and they’re in the pages of horror writer Ehren Kruger’s (Arlington Road, the Americanized The Ring and it’s sequel) gets-better-as-it-progresses screenplay.
Damon and Ledger, with an emphasis on the quirky latter, bring a suitable second-rate thirties comedy team sensibility to the caterwauling siblings. Shemp and Larry minus Moe, but it works.”
Watching it again, I was reminded of how much I admired Ledger’s flair for physical comedy
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Heath Ledger, Keith Ledger, The Brothers GrimmFiled Under Obituaries, Reviews
Dig A Hole: “Brokeback Mountain” star Heath Ledger
January 22nd, 2008 by Scott Marks
I just heard on the radio that Heath Ledger, Oscar nominated star of Brokeback Mountain, was found dead in his Manhattan home.
Ledger first came to American moviegoers attention with his charming performance as the hardass object of Julia Stiles’ affection in 10 Things I Hate About You. He also displayed his hand at irreverent comedy when cast opposite Matt Damon in Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm.
His performance in Brokeback Mountain caused a New York Times critic to dub him the greatest actor since Marlon Brando.
In September of 2007 he called off his engagement to Brokeback co-star Michelle Williams. Heath Ledger was 29-years-old.
I’ll have more as the situation develops.
UPDATE
1. Ledger’s body was not found in Mary Kate Olsen’s apartment as originally believed.
2. TMZ.com reports that Ledger had a substance abuse problem, but a Ledger confidante reports he had been clean for a year. TMZ also reports that Ledger was ill with pneumonia at the time of his death.
3. Ledger had an appointment with his masseuse. His housekeeper went to inform the actor and found him face down and naked on his bedroom floor at 3:26 p.m.
4. Although too early to determine whether is was suicide or an accident, police confirm that sleeping pills were found in Ledger’s bed and scattered about his body.
5. Warner Bros, the studio producing Ledger’s upcoming release The Dark Knight, issued the following statement: “The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.”
6. TMZ was in contact with Ledger’s family who had this to say: “The cops told the family Heath’s death was accidental and there is no evidence to support the buzz that he may have committed suicide.
They are particularly distraught over media reports that he may have taken his own life. The family says he was not that kind of person. ”
7. According to Google Trends, as of 5:48 p. m. the number one searched name on the internet was Heath Ledger. Number two was Keith Ledger.
Tags: BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Drug Overdose, Heath Ledger, Heath Ledger Found Dead, Keith Ledger, Obituary, SuicideFiled Under News, Obituaries
HELLER IN PINK TIGHTS / George Cukor (1960)
February 2nd, 2006 by Scott Marks
Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
Directed by: George Cukor
Written by: Walter Bernstein, Louis L’Amour
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Romance, Western
Cast: Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Margaret O’Brien, Steve Forrest, Eileen Heckart, Ramon Novarro, Edmund Lowe, George Mathews, Ed Binns, Warren Wade, Frank Silvera, Robert Palmer, Leo V. Matranga, Cal Bolder, Taggart Casey
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Running Time: 100 min.
A throwaway line in the New York Times yearend DVD roundup set me thinking. Critic Dave Kehr was pleased to see that Paramount Home Video finally released George Cukor’s neglected Heller in Pink Tights and referred to it as “Hollywood’s first gay western.” Since it was a slow week at the movies (you already know what I think of Big Momma’s House 2 and Nanny McPhee), I decided to riff on Kehr’s insightful comment and direct my readers attention to this delightful footnote to the gay old west.
By 1960, Cukor had amassed a reputation as a “woman’s director” (even though he coaxed equally sterling performances out of Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, James Mason, Alec McCowan, etc.) who wasn’t crazy about leaving the safety and comfort of a studio backlot. Which Paramount genius decided to assign an urban(e) intellectual brimming with taste and refinement a Louis L’Amour pulp oater to adapt? Cukor was a team player and knew that the best way to turn the situation to his advantage was to book passage for a couple of his gay caballeros on the stage to Cheyenne. Gene Allen was a former L. A. cop Cukor took a liking to and put to work. According to co-author Walter Bernstein, Allen “was of a considerably developed aesthetic sensibility. He looked like a cop, talked like a cop, but Cukor was able to see what he had to contribute.”
For years, Cukor had been coaxing portraiture and landscape photographer George Hoyningen-Huene to move to Hollywood where, according to biographer William A. Ewing, “(Cukor) believed Huene’s refined talents would be appreciated.” The Russian aristocrat brought his idiosyncratic stylistic sensibilities to several of Cukor’s pictures (most notably the radiant A Star is Born). An uncredited Allen oversaw the camera setups while Huene, billed as both “Color Coordinator” and “Technical Advisor,” rode herd over set, exterior background and costume design.
Sophia Loren (in a blonde wig) plays the beautiful headliner of a theatrical troupe that always manages to stay one hoof ahead of the sheriff and make it across the state line. Company manager/boyfiend/co-star Anthony Quinn is forced to take on notorious killer Steve Forrest to help circumvent the savages between Cheyenne and Bonanza. Unbeknownst to Quinn, Forrest won Ms. Loren in a poker game and he’s just accompanying them long enough to collect his property. Heller doesn’t offer much in the way of an original storyline, but we’re not in this one for its plot.
This is a triumphant example of style as (not over) subject. Hollywood morays being what they were would never have allowed implicit gay content, yet as director Todd Haynes notes, “Homosexuality, while behind-the-scenes, was indeed evident in the making of the films…While thematically restricted, a gay or ‘feminine’ aesthetic was free to pervade the profuse visual style: the clothes, the colors, the lavish décor.”
Ions ago I attended a screening of a vintage three-strip Technicolor print and if I blink hard enough, the vibrant colors come back in a form reminiscent of an acid flashback. Even on television, the shot of Loren greeting the townsfolk by raising a black dress (with lavender piping) and lilac petticoat to expose her high button shoes and horizontally-striped purple stockings is a textured Technicolor extravaganza. Later on, the Indians ransack the ensemble’s two wagons transforming their campground into an orgy of iridescent fabrics set flapping against a goose-down snowstorm.
I briefly met Mr. Cukor at the 1977 Chicago International Film Festival. Favorite moment: In a flash of blinding ignorance, emcee Roger Ebert dared to utter the words Star Wars in the presence of The Master. When asked what he thought of the film Cukor grumbled, “Star Wars? What the hell do I care about Star Wars?” I told you the guy had taste! Too bad Heller suffered a near-similar verdict. When it was over, I walked up to him and asked if he would be gracious enough to sign my Heller one-sheet. “Where the hell did you get this thing?” He found a blank spot on the enormous poster and signed his name as if he were endorsing a check. “Terrible movie. It was a mistake. Did you know that Hoyningen-Huene worked on it? I’ll be goddamned if you’ll find a picture with better color!”
Tags: Anthony Quinn, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Film, Gay, Gay Cowboys, George Cukor, HELLER IN PINK TIGHTS, Movie, Movie Review, Review, Sophia Loren, WesternBROKEBACK MOUNTAIN / Ang Lee (2005)
December 16th, 2005 by Scott Marks
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Directed by: Ang Lee
Written by: E. Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry
Genres: Drama, Romance
Cast: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Randy Quaid, Valerie Planche, David Trimble, Victor Reyes, Lachlan Mackintosh, Michelle Williams, Larry Reese, Marty Antonini, Tom Carey, Dan McDougall, Don Bland, Steven Cree Molison, Anne Hathaway
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 :1
Rating: 
Forget about the New York and L. A. films critics and the Golden Globes. For the first time in the history of San Diego’s Hillcrest Cinemas, four of their five theaters will screen the same film. How’s that for an honor! After months of advance word the gay cowboys finally ride into tinsel town and you might be surprised to see how much dust they raise come awards season.
Rodeo clown Jake Gyllenhaal and ranch-hand Heath Ledger sign on as herders hired to “sleep with the sheep” in the isolated majesty of Brokeback Mountain As beautiful asthese introductory man-against-nature passages are, travelogues soon come to mind. It seems a waste to employ natural splendor for picture postcard effects. Make it a third character instead! If only Lee had used the rugged topography as a visual externalization of and/or commentary on his characters’ emotional states, but this is a far cry from the Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart cycle. Continue reading BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN / Ang Lee (2005)
Tags: Academy Award, Ang Lee, Anne Hathaway, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, Cowboy, Film, Gay, Gay Cowboys, Heath Ledger, Hillcrest Cinema, Jake Gyllenhaal, Landmark, Larry McMurtry, Michelle Williams, Movie, Movie Review, Randy Quaid, Review, San Diego, WesternFiled Under Reviews, Theatrical
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