08:58 PM EDT 07/23/2008
Heath Ledger
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Maggie Gyllenhaal: Heath Ledger's Joker Deserves an Oscar
Originally posted 07/22/2008 05:10PM
A posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger for his Joker performance?
"I would vote for him," his Dark Knight cstar Maggie Gyllenhaal told reporters Monday at the film's London premiere.
Gyllenhaal, 30, said of Ledger's Oscar prospects that the "degree of difficulty should be incorporated into the award."
"To be that incredible in a movie that's this huge, that's about so many things, is really an accomplishment," she said. "In a way I feel funny thinking about the Oscars when he isn't alive, but at the same time I'm a member of the Academy and I would vote for him."
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POLL: Do You Think Heath Ledger Is Oscar-Bound?
Originally posted 07/21/2008 03:45PM
It's a haunting Hollywood story: Five months after his untimely death from an accidental drug overdose, Heath Ledger delivers arguably his best screen performance ever in the box-office blockbuster Batman adventure The Dark Knight.
PEOPLE's review calls him "fearless" as the Joker and notes that his role "helps make The Dark Knight unforgettable." And with a record-breaking $158.3 million take at the box office this weekend, the film – and Ledger's role in it – have become a part of movie history.
Just how powerful was his performance? Said his costar Michael Caine earlier this month: "I think Heath will surely get a posthumous nomination for an Academy Award."
Tell us: How do you think Heath Ledger might fare come Hollywood's awards season?
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Dark Knight Shatters Hollywood Record: $158.3 Million
Originally posted 07/21/2008 08:35AM
In case you haven't heard – or witnessed at any cineplex this weekend – The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's dark sequel about the Caped Crusader, took in $158.3 million since Friday.
Speaking on Britain's GMTV Monday morning, the star of the picture, Christian Bale of the impressive box-office take: "It's Monopoly money to me – I can't even comprehend it."
Along with a hearty $27.6 million opening take for Mamma Mia – the best ever for a musical, topping last year's Hairspray opening – this turned out to be the best three-day weekend in Hollywood history.
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Record-Setting $18.5 Million Bow for Dark Knight
Originally posted 07/18/2008 04:20PM
Buoyed by excellent reviews and exceptional word of mouth, the Batman adventure The Dark Knight has set a box office record for any midnight debut, according to the tracking service Media By Numbers.
Starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, the movie made $18.5 million on Friday from its showings in 3,040 theaters, topping the $16.9 million made by the debut of 2005's Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith, the Associated Press reports.
The Dark Knight figure excludes the box office from any of its 3 a.m. or 6 a.m. screenings. Some industry observers foresee the movie making as much as $130 million this weekend – another record.
– Stephen M. Silverman
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Director: Heath Ledger Got to See Some of Dark Knight
Originally posted 07/16/2008 12:15PM
Heath Ledger got to see his acclaimed performance as the Joker on the big screen before his death in January, says The Dark Knight director Chris Nolan.
"He saw the IMAX prologue. We [screened] that for him in London," Nolan told a sold-out crowd at a New York Times-sponsored discussion on Tuesday. "He enjoyed it very much."
Nolan and star Christian Bale discussed the movie, which opens Friday (several sequences were shot in the giant-screen IMAX format), and raved about Ledger's performance.
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Heath Ledger's Family: 'We Are So Proud of Our Boy'
Originally posted 07/15/2008 05:30PM
After attending the New York premiere of The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger's family expressed pride in his acclaimed turn as the Joker in the movie.
"The Dark Knight is everything we hoped it would be and more," Ledger's father, Kim, said Tuesday in a statement on behalf of Ledger's immediate family. "Heath loved the experience of creating this character and working on the film. We are so proud of our boy."
Kim Ledger and his wife, Heath's mother Sally Bell and her husband, and Heath's older sister, Kate, flew in from Australia to join the movie's stars at Monday night's premiere, where the audience broke into cheers when Ledger's name appeared in the credits.
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PEOPLE Review: No Joke – Heath Ledger Makes The Dark Knight Unforgettable
Originally posted 07/16/2008 03:20PM
Step aside, Spider-Man 2 and Superman II: The phenomenal The Dark Knight now reigns as the greatest superhero film of all time. From its exhilarating first frame to its bittersweet last, it sets a new standard for the genre – and redefines what a summer popcorn movie can be.
After starting to clean up corrupt Gotham City by becoming the caped crusader in 2005's Batman Begins, billionaire Bruce Wayne (a superb Christian Bale) has the city's bad guys on their heels. He's joined in the fight against crime by the equally committed district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) – fated to fall from grace and become the ghastly Two-Face – who is romancing Wayne's old flame Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal, a spry upgrade over Batman Begins' Katie Holmes).
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Heath Ledger's Performance Wows His Peers
Originally posted 07/15/2008 02:15PM
Stars turned out for Monday's New York City premiere of The Dark Knight – and to honor their friend and fellow actor, Heath Ledger.
Ledger’s onetime girlfriend Naomi Watts, with her current flame Liev Schreiber, attended the gala screening, along with celebrities including Ethan Hawke, Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, Regis and Joy Philbin, Lauren Conrad, Patrick Wilson and Emile Hirsch.
Knight costars Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal (who came with boyfriend Peter Sarsgaard), Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman paid tribute to Ledger as they walked the black carpet.
"Heath will always be in our hearts,” said Eckhart. “I admire him as an actor and enjoyed watching him work.”
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Heath Ledger's Family Attends Dark Knight Premiere
Originally posted 07/14/2008 10:30PM
Heath Ledger's family attended Monday's The Dark Knight premiere in New York, where the late actor's father left the theater giving a thumbs-up sign.
Kim Ledger and his wife Ines – Heath's stepmother – bypassed the red carpet and ducked into the theater to watch his late son play The Joker in the latest Batman film.
Also attending the premiere were Heath's mother Sally Bell and her husband, and Heath's older sister, Kate.
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Heath Ledger's Family 'Looking Forward' to Attending His Premiere Tonight
Originally posted 07/14/2008 01:30PM
Heath Ledger's family is eager to attend The Dark Knight premiere in New York City Monday night in honor of the actor, while other family and friends will get to see his buzzed-about performance back home in Perth, Australia in advance screenings.
"I spoke to them before they left for the U.S. and they were great," says a representative with the Australian entertainment company Village Roadshow of the Ledgers, who traveled from their hometown of Perth, Western Australia for the event. "They were looking forward to the trip and going to the premiere."
Michelle Williams will not be attending the premiere. Reports speculated she was "boycotting" it because of a rift with Ledger's family over his 2003 will that left his assets to his father, mother, and three sisters. But that is not the case, says her rep. In a statement issued last month, her rep called any reports of a rift "absurd."
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