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HOME arrow tMF Exclusives arrow THE DARK KNIGHT: Heath Ledger's Joker lives on!
THE DARK KNIGHT: Heath Ledger's Joker lives on! Print E-mail
Written by Jed Medina   
Saturday, 17 May 2008

Indiana Jones may be the hottest movie ticket on the planet today, but The Dark Knight beats the Spielberg movie in my list of this year's most anticipated films! Aside from the awesome direction (which is a given) from Christopher Nolan and the amazing special effects, we'll also get to see Heath Ledger in one of the last roles he played before his tragic death.

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The Joker is definitely one of the most popular and also the most hated of Batman's nemeses. While Jack Nicholson gave it his best shot when he portrayed this villain, I look forward to having the chance to see how Heath Ledger approached the role and made it his own.

Now that we've seen the new poster featuring Heath as The Joker, one of the questions that seems to bother a number of movie bloggers is the issue of exploitation. Is Heath being exploited once again? Matte Havoc has this to say:

There is a new poster that will be released soon for the upcoming Warner Brothers release The Dark Knight (2008). The question that I would want to throw out there is the validity of exploitation. Do you think the publicity of Heath Ledger's character Joker that Warner Brothers is trying to exploit his death to promote the release date for the film?

There are two ways of answering this question. One is that it's a way of honoring and remembering Heath Ledger. This was certainly one of the most challenging roles of his short movie career, and there has been much talk about how the role affected his health, whether it made him think about the character more than he should have. We all know how dedicated Heath was in doing justice to his roles...

But on the other hand, Warner Bros. has the reputation of being very shrewd when it comes to promoting their movies. Given the hype surrounding The Dark Knight, I think The Joker, as a character, deserved his share of the spotlight. It's a major, major role and it certainly deserves to be given publicity comparable to say, Catwoman or the Riddler...

What do you think? Is this another case of a studio exploiting a fallen actor? Or it just an effective marketing ploy to promote the movie?

Comments (2)

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I'm a big fan of Heath Ledger, and have been for ages, and I don't think this is exploitation. The movie is centered around The Joker, and by all accounts Heath gave a helluva performance. I think WB is handling the promotion the same way they would have done if Heath was still alive. Look back to the trailer that came out before his death. The Joker made that trailer, and it set us up to expect even more of him before the movie's release. That's what we're getting. In my opinion, if WB didn't use a Joker-heavy promotion, it would be disrespectful to an amazing performance by an extraordinary talent.
kellagood , May 17, 2008 | url
Not really
Joker has always been publicised, maybe even more than Batman himself. The first photos regarding The Dark Knight were of Joker's, not Batman's. This has been the trend before he passed away and it's the trend that's going on now. I don't see any difference nor exploitation.

The 'toy story' is a different issue though, it disgusts me.
Usumezbas , June 02, 2008 | url

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THE VINTNER'S LUCK

Two of today's most talented young actors, rising French stars Gaspard Ulliel and Jérémie Renier, will play pivotal roles in the new Niki Caro film called The Vintner's Luck. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by New Zealand author Elizabeth Knox. Here are tMF's exclusive article about the forthcoming movie:

Of Love, Wine and Angels, tMF begins series with an introduction to the book, plus a detailed look at some of Elizabeth Knox's most acclaimed works apart from the upcoming.

A Tale of Two Actors, tMF puts the spotlight on the movie's two main characters - Xas the angel and Sobran the French vintner, and the actors chosen for the roles

Up next! Niki Caro, the acclaimed filmmaker and the adaptation of The Vintner's Luck.

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