By Ryan Pike
As a wanna-be journalist, there’s nothing so great as having a story fall into your lap. This space was originally going to be used, as promised last week, to comb over the tentative agreement between the Directors Guild of America and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Agreed to on Tue., Jan. 22, the deal averted strike action by the directors and will likely be used by both the producers and the writers as a basis for a strike-ending deal.
Of course, on Tue. afternoon, news broke that Heath Ledger had died suddenly and all those plans went out the window. At around 3 p.m., the New York Times and CNN reported that Ledger had been found dead in his SoHo apartment by his housekeeper and a masseuse. Celebrity blog TMZ.com quickly provided update upon update, often providing contradictory info–the apartment was sequentially described as Ledger’s, a friend’s, Mary-Kate Olsen’s and eventually “an apartment” when the Olsen connection was debunked. Despite a Wikipedia edit strangely describing the death as a heroin overdose, all legitimate media sources cited the NYPD’s description of the death as likely being an overdose, but the autopsy was inconclusive regarding the cause of death.
Ledger came to prominence opposite Julia Stiles in the 1999 Shakespeare-adapted comedy 10 Things I Hate About You (say the name real quickly and you’ll eventually get it) and followed it up with a string of high-profile roles in The Patriot, Monster’s Ball and A Knight’s Tale. Local film fans will most likely remember him for his role in the locally-filmed, Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain, which garnered the actor both critical praise and huge criticism for its portrayal of cowboys in love.
More recently, Ledger had completed the Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, in which he took on the role as The Joker. Ledger reportedly spent several weeks sequestered in a hotel room to get into character, keeping a journal of his thoughts and rarely sleeping. The resulting performance, seen so far in marketing materials and trailers, has garnered the film tremendous buzz. Ledger’s death has led to speculation that the film’s release may be impacted. Warner Bros. quickly released a statement expressing remorse over Ledger’s death and Variety reported that while the film’s release won’t be impacted, the studio will be altering the film’s marketing campaign to remove some of the darker themes. Nevertheless, comic book fans flocked to the Internet looking for news, causing many websites and message boards to collapse due to traffic issues.
Despite being only 28 years old, Ledger had already gained critical acclaim and the respect of his peers. Perhaps the most confounding part of the entire ordeal is how against Ledger’s nature his death seems to be. By shying away from the paparazzi and spotlight, and focusing on challenging roles in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight, Ledger had cemented himself as one of the best actors alive by making entertaining and important films. Leaving behind a young daughter and a career on the cusp of greatness, Ledger’s death begs the question of just how great he could’ve been.