Author Topic: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory  (Read 1869654 times)

Goldfish

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #600 on: Jan 23, 2008, 04:54 PM »
The first public statement from someone in BBM:

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23100481-5001021,00.html

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["Working with Heath was one of the purest joys of my life. He brought to the role of Ennis more than any of us could have imagined - a thirst for life, for love, and for truth, and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him. His death is heartbreaking," Lee said in an email to The Associated Press.

What Ang Lee said about Heath was so beautiful and incredibly poignant - Heath's thirst for life, for love and for truth. Ang showed such deep understanding and love for Heath. Makes me weep.  :\'( :\'(

Offline boo_boo

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #601 on: Jan 23, 2008, 04:56 PM »
I hope Heath knew how much his portrayal of Ennis touched so many people.  Personally, it changed my life.  I send up a huge Thank You to Heath for giving us Ennis.  It's devastating to think of sweet little Matilda (mini-Heath is what I call her) without her Daddy.  Breaks my heart.
“Ennis, on a good day it’s hard to understand ya…but when you’re talkin into my ass…I really got no idea what the f*ck you’re saying.” - Missing Motel Moments by haunted_by_bbm

Goldfish

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #602 on: Jan 23, 2008, 05:01 PM »
That's what is upsetting me the more I think of it, I can hardly stand it.

Christie, it's horrid. But I am trying to believe what his Dad said, that he died peacefully in his sleep.  :ghug:

Offline myprivatejack

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #603 on: Jan 23, 2008, 05:01 PM »

If I Had Only Known

If I had only known
It was the last walk in the rain
I'd keep you out for hours in the storm
I would hold your hand
Like a lifeline to my heart
Underneath the thunder we'd be warm
If I had only known
It was our last walk in the rain

If I had only known
I'd never hear your voice again
I'd memorize each thing you ever said
And on those lonely nights
I could think of them once more
Keep your words alive inside my head
If I had only know
I'd never hear your voice again

You were the treasure in my hand
You were the one who always stood beside me
So unaware I foolishly believed
That you would always be there
But then there came a day
And I turned my head and you slipped away

If I had only known
It was my last night by your side
I'd pray a miracle would stop the dawn
And when you'd smile at me
I would look into your eyes
And make sure you knew my love
For you goes on and on
If I had only known
If I had only known
The love I would've shown
If I had only known


I think it´s a song by Trisha Yearwood,a kind of requiem.Whatever it be,it´s suitable for this situation.
Ennis’s eyes gone bright with shock, mouth opening then closing again. “Love?” Ennis said finally, voice strangling in his throat.

Jack smiled sad. “Yeah, Ennis. Love.” Leaned forward and kissed Ennis’s temple, whispered, “What’d you think it was, all this time?”
("If I asked")
                         ----------------
Heathcliff Andrew Ledger (1979-2008)/Rajel Karen Ashkenazi (1986-2008)
You will be forever in my heart,friends.

Offline masetane

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #604 on: Jan 23, 2008, 05:11 PM »
Christie, it's horrid. But I am trying to believe what his Dad said, that he died peacefully in his sleep.  :ghug:

I'd like to believe that but at the foot of his bed and face down and naked?  I hope it was quick.  :(

Sigh. This is just horrible. He didn't deserve this. I'm angry and disgustingly sad that he made a horrible mistake with those medications.

I feel for his little girl so much. he was a wonderful father that she should have had. 

Offline jodie

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #605 on: Jan 23, 2008, 05:18 PM »
I'm still stunned.  :\'(

I don't know if this has been posted already:

A Soulful Talent: Cherishing Heath Ledger
http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=294218&GT1=7701

babytammy7

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #606 on: Jan 23, 2008, 05:18 PM »
I'm gonna try to rest something...I'm here since this early morning and now it's 11:15 pm. I know in a so few hours I'll be back again; I doubt I can sleep. This day has been a painful nightmare. I wish I knew how to quit thinking about you my sweet baby Heath.  :\'(

I decided I hate the world.

I hate the fact that Brokeback Mountain took 7 years to make.
I hate that Jack Twist died.
I hate the fact that Brokeback Mountain didn't win best picture.
I hate that Heath didn't win best actor.
I hate that Australian Paparazzi attacked Heath with water guns.
I hate that Heath was forced to sell his home.
I hate that even after the efforts of Brokeback Mountain the Gay and Lesbian community is still being victimized.
I hate that Heath Ledger died.
I hate what his family and friends is going though.
I hate that Matilda will never meet her Dad.
I hate the paramedics couldn't revive him.
I hate knowing Heath died alone in his bed.
I hate the last image I will always have of Heath being chucked in the back of a car in a black morbid body bag.
I hate the 22nd of January
I hate waking up to the first day without Heath.
I hate crying.

But most of all I hate knowing I'll never see Heath in another film.
I hate a world without Heath.

I hate.

Offline myprivatejack

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #607 on: Jan 23, 2008, 05:22 PM »
I'd like to believe that but at the foot of his bed and face down and naked?  I hope it was quick.  :(

Sigh. This is just horrible. He didn't deserve this. I'm angry and disgustingly sad that he made a horrible mistake with those medications.

I feel for his little girl so much. he was a wonderful father that she should have had. 

Masetane,I really hope and am almost sure that it was quick.He didn't hardly realise what happenned and that's a relief for us-an stupid and poor relief I wouldn't like to have,but relief at the end-.
Friends,I go to sleep if I can.It has been a hard day and I'm tired with this strange tiredness that comes from the emotional side,not for the physical one.Good night everybody;take care¡ :ghug:
Ennis’s eyes gone bright with shock, mouth opening then closing again. “Love?” Ennis said finally, voice strangling in his throat.

Jack smiled sad. “Yeah, Ennis. Love.” Leaned forward and kissed Ennis’s temple, whispered, “What’d you think it was, all this time?”
("If I asked")
                         ----------------
Heathcliff Andrew Ledger (1979-2008)/Rajel Karen Ashkenazi (1986-2008)
You will be forever in my heart,friends.

Offline Asali

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #608 on: Jan 23, 2008, 05:30 PM »
Oh Tammy you expressed yourself well  :ghug: We must remember all the good moments that Heath gave us and his movies will live forever. Another  :ghug:
"People's minds are like parachutes. To function properly they must first be open." - W.G.P.

It use to feel like a mass of dots. But more and more these days, I feel like we're all connected. (Latter Days)

Offline ksxks

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #609 on: Jan 23, 2008, 05:52 PM »
Friends, it does not matter to me whether or not Heath died due to an intentional overdose, or whether or not he had drug problems.

My brother had serious drug problems for years -- don't think that I ever stopped loving him because of it.

The same with Heath.  I don't care what the autopsy says or what causes are unearthed in the coming days.

Even without the autopsy, even without final facts as to cause of death or personal problems, I know I love him and his work.  

Let this be your anchor, and not anything else that he may or may not have done.

Good thoughts, Thomas.  You know I also have the drugs experience, and I do not label Heath's use (or not) of drugs as "bad."  Unfortunately, his health and safety were put in jeopardy, but I love Heath in the whole of him, everything.

While we're at it, hey, Christie, let's have a sweet laugh about those big feet in his goofy shoes that turn us on, shall we?

kathy

They were respectful of each other's opinions, each glad to have a companion where none had been expected.

Offline ksxks

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #610 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:04 PM »
We said those things because we did honestly adore him.  Adoration takes on many levels, some of them superficial.   But it doesn't change the way we really feel inside.

If there is a possible tragedy here, perhaps it was Heath never fully realized how much he was loved.  Or even if he did have an inkling, perhaps he didn't draw strength from it.


This is probably true, in a person like him.  I don't love speculating -- I mean, not based on what is said out there, but based on my imagining for myself his state of mind.  If I do, I can get too carried away and torture myself.

So for me, I want to think of him as not in psychological or emotional pain per se, at the end.  Just exhausted.  Self-aware enough to know his own innate proclivities, to know to what extent he brings his crazed state of mind on himself, the way he is with his acting.  Smart enough to know he's not going to do anyone any good by escaping with drugs.  Then, an unfortunate choice of ingesting something his body couldn't take at that point. 

I think that by getting a massage, he could likely have been aiming to deal with his exhausted state in a more holistic way, so he wouldn't need the sleeping meds.

Maybe he was happy.  Maybe he was looking forward to Michelle and Mathilda coming home, and when he would see his girls...

Maybe I'm just grasping at straws...

kathy
They were respectful of each other's opinions, each glad to have a companion where none had been expected.

manhattangirl

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #611 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:06 PM »
We talk a lot about Jack's and Ennis's fragilness, flaws, inperfections, and vulnerablities  now its real life coming into our world.   I know we will had and will have the same compassion, love and caring for Heath Ledger, the man, the human being, as we do for Ennis.    

I won't give a damn about what is found, or not found.  All I know is that he is gone and it's our loss.  And when it all said and done, a little of him will be in all of us here.  

Offline tpe

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #612 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:11 PM »


A moving tribute by the wonderful A. O. Scott:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/movies/24appr.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

-------------------------------------------------------

An Actor Whose Work Will Outlast the Frenzy
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: January 24, 2008


Focus Features
Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain."

 
The defining performance of Heath Ledger’s tragically foreshortened career — more or less equivalent to what Jim Stark in “Rebel Without a Cause” was for James Dean — will surely be the role of Ennis Del Mar in “Brokeback Mountain.”

A portrait of inarticulate love and thwarted desire, Ennis is a rich, complicated character succinctly sketched in Annie Proulx’s original short story and brought to heartbreaking life by the film’s screenwriters, Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry; by its director, Ang Lee; and above all by Mr. Ledger himself.

Outwardly, Ennis presents a familiar image of rough-hewn Western masculinity, and the longing that surges under his taciturn demeanor does not so much contradict this image as help to explain it. Ennis’s love for Jack Twist, whom he meets tending sheep on a Wyoming mountaintop in the early 1960s, takes Ennis by surprise and throws him permanently off balance. His lifelong silence, the film suggests, is less a sign of strength than of cowardice, a crippling inability to acknowledge or communicate the truth of his own feelings.

What made the performance so remarkable was that Mr. Ledger, without betraying Ennis’s dignity or his reserve, was nonetheless able to convey that truth to the audience. This kind of sensitivity — the ability to signal an inner emotional state without overtly showing it — is what distinguishes great screen acting from movie-star posing. And while Mr. Ledger was handsome enough, and famous enough, to be called a movie star, he was serious enough, and smart enough, to be suspicious of deploying his charisma too easily or cheaply.

In retrospect the best thing that happened to him — the lucky break for his admirers, at any rate —may have been his disinclination to realize his apparent movie-star potential. He was the most likable of the young things in the “Taming of the Shrew”-derived teenage comedy “10 Things I Hate About You,” with his curly hair, high forehead and the permanent intimation of a smirk on his thin-lipped, angled mouth. And as often happens with young actors in Hollywood, his good looks and easy charm looked like a ticket to the commercial big time. Dutifully, but also with sparks of playful, eager energy, he played period golden boys in “The Patriot” and “A Knight’s Tale,” a misbegotten (but not entirely unenjoyable) entry in the ever-silly costume-action genre.

It is hard to know exactly when Mr. Ledger discovered his range, and set about trying to explore it, but it is clear that he covered a lot of ground in a very short time. He had a taste for portraying troubled, brooding, self-destructive young men, it’s true — the anguished third-generation prison guard in “Monster’s Ball,” the heroin addict in “Candy,” the unhappy film star in “I’m Not There,” in addition to Ennis — but the temptation to blend their fates with Mr. Ledger’s own should be resisted at all costs. Those roles should be seen less as expressions of some imagined inner torment than as evidence of resourcefulness, creative restlessness and wit.

Those same characteristics are abundantly evident in less well-known movies that should not be overlooked. Mr. Ledger was hilarious and eccentric in Catherine Hardwicke’s “Lords of Dogtown,” playing a shaggy old-timer on the Venice Beach surf-and skateboard scene, and affably mischievous in Terry Gilliam’s “Brothers Grimm,” alongside Matt Damon.

Ennis Del Mar is complemented and complicated by Casanova, whom Mr. Ledger played in Lasse Hallstrom’s unfairly neglected biopic-as-sex-farce, which came and went too quickly in late 2005, during the ascendancy of “Brokeback Mountain.” It’s not just that the flamboyantly heterosexual Casanova is Ennis Del Mar’s opposite in obvious ways. He is also a creature of pure whimsy, a lighter-than-air confection of licentiousness and gallantry.

Which is not to say that Mr. Ledger’s performance is frivolous. Rather it required intelligence, restraint and a tricky lightness of touch. Mr. Ledger had an unusual ability to mix lightness and gravity, an emotional nimbleness he displayed most fully in Todd Haynes’s “I’m Not There.” Of the six avatars of Bob Dylan in that film, his, an actor named Robbie Clark, is the most remote from Mr. Dylan’s various personae and closest to the prosaic world of love, fame and ambition. Robbie starts out full of youthful energy, heedless and in love, and finds himself a decade later adrift and disappointed, robbed of the happiness that early success had seemed to promise.

Again, it’s important to warn against looking in that film or any other for clues or portents. It seems to me that Mr. Ledger, in his choice of roles, was motivated above all by curiosity, and perhaps also by an impatience with the predictability and caution that can settle around the shoulders of talented young stars. In heroic roles like “A Knight’s Tale” or “Ned Kelly” he often seems bored, which may be why he so eagerly seized the chance to play the sociopathic Joker in “The Dark Knight,” the next installment in the “Batman” franchise.

The dismaying sense of loss and waste at Mr. Ledger’s death at 28 comes not only because he was so young, but also because his talent was large and as yet largely unmapped. It seems inevitable that he will now be inscribed in the cult of the beautiful stars who died too young, alongside James Dean, Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe. Even before his death he had been ensnared in a pathological gossip culture that chews up the private lives of celebrities, and Tuesday’s news unleashed the usual rituals of media cannibalism.

Mr. Ledger’s work will outlast the frenzy. But there should have been more. Instead of being preserved as a young star eclipsed in his prime, he should have had time to outgrow his early promise and become the strange, surprising, era-defining actor he always had the potential to be.


Offline BBBOY

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #613 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:12 PM »
   

I won't give a damn about what is found, or not found.  All I know is that he is gone and it's our loss.  And when it all said and done, a little of him will be in all of us here.  

Beautifully said Manhattangirl.
There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it.

Ennis, riding against the wind back to the sheep in the treacherous, drunken darken light, thought he'd never had such a good time, felt he could paw the white out of the moon.

Offline frenchcda

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #614 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:30 PM »
Beautifully said Manhattangirl.
I share the same feeling :\'(
       what is a belief if not a lack of knowing


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Offline CrimsonSky

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #615 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:33 PM »
Just want to say thank you to all of you for your comments. My head's still in a mess, I can't think of anything worthwhile to say. I've been listening to the songs from the BBM soundtrack all day, because I need to feel close to Heath, through Ennis. All these songs used to tear me up inside thinking of poor Ennis trying to make sense of a world without Jack, and now that's all turned on its head and we're trying to make sense of a world without Heath, our Ennis :\'(  I don't know if I'll ever be able to make sense of it, but it means so much to know I'm not alone. Thank you all for being here :ghug:  
There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it.

Offline cynical21

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #616 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:34 PM »
Everyone has a personal way of handling grief.  Some weep, some shout, some go grim and silent, and each reaction is valid and appropriate.

For me, I write.  It's how I handle most of the emotions that assault me in my life.  I write, between bouts of weeping and shouting.

So here is my method for venting, and I hope it does not offend anyone.  It's all I know how to do.


In Mourning


It was just another Tuesday,
And it was raining somewhere.
The clouds were dark and roiling,
And the coffee water, boiling.
Were you so forgotten there?

Did you stand there at the window?
Were there children in the rain?
Did you hear their playful song,
Rising bright and sweet and strong?
Were you overcome with pain?

The sun must be shining somewhere,
In this place where you are not.
All the golden promise lost,
Can we even know the cost?
Find the why, the how, the what?

While the night is full of wonder,
Liquid silver pools of light,
For each single one that fails,
A spark of primal brilliance pales,
Takes one candle from the night.

And we sit here in the silence,
In the place where you belong,
Speaking softly of good-byes,
Recalling tender sable eyes
And sweet laughter like a song.

Now the world is growing darker
And the night is growing cold,
And the empty silence lingers
Wrapping hearts with icy fingers.
As the funeral bell is tolled.

So the prince has left the stage;
Strangers watch him go and sigh.
And the world spins right along,
But there is no mourning song,
Save the one that weeps “Good-bye.”


FINI
“Ledger made great demands on his heart — romantically, professionally, personally, physically. And in the end, his heart said 'No'."  --  David Lipsky, Rolling Stone

"There will be stars over the place forever;
There will be stars forever, while we sleep." - Sara Teasdale

"There were only the two of them on the mountain, flying in the euphoric, bitter air, looking down on the hawk’s back . . . " -  Annie Proulx

Offline Titus

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #617 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:37 PM »
It's such a strange feeling, this sadness of mine, although I never really knew Heath it feels just like it did when I heard that the first man I went out with 20 years ago had died of Aids.  We only lasted a couple of months, but there was a connection and affection.  Now all that is left is the overwhelming sense of loss at what could have been.  Heath told a story that touched all our lives, now his voice has fallen silent and he will never tell so many more that might have touched others.  We must tell his and never forget what he has given us.  Thanks Heath for everything, Titus.

"Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen."
"Holding on to this moment of love and forgiveness mediated by this beautiful, loving boy.  Whose heart and soul had passed through the shadows and remained unsullied, undefeated."  The Redemption of Ennis Del Mar

Offline tpe

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #618 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:46 PM »


Jake is reportedly on his way to Brooklyn:

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=34142&cat=2

-------------------------------------

Entertainment News
 
Busy Philipps Grieves With Michelle Williams And Mother

Atlanta, GA 1/23/2008 10:46 PM GMT (FINDITT)

Busy Philipps was spotted exiting the rowhouse of Michelle Williams Wednesday. Phillips reportedly bolted to be by Williams' side in the Brooklyn home she once shared with Heath Ledger.

Williams is visibly disheveled after the death of Ledger, her former fiancee'. Ledger was found dead Tuesday in a New York City apartment.

Williams was in Trollhattan, Sweden when she heard the news. The 27-year-old actress had been shooting scenes for the upcoming film Mammoth.

The autopsy for Ledger was ruled inconclusive. There will be more testing to identify the cause of death.

Williams' mother, Carla, and her best friend, actress Busy Philipps, have been by Williams' side to help her grieve. Phillips is also the godmother to Williams' daughter, Matlida, whom Williams had with Ledger.

Philipps and Williams became friends while the two were on the WB hit "Dawson's Creek" and have remained close since the show ended.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts are also reported to be on their way to Brooklyn to be by Williams' side.

Offline CrimsonSky

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #619 on: Jan 23, 2008, 06:57 PM »
(((Jake))) I know he will be such a huge support to Michelle and Matilda, my heart goes out to them all.
There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it.

Offline jacks_key

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #620 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:00 PM »
Glad to hear that Jake is on his way.  They all need to be together to help each other through this.
Heath Ledger: 1979-2008
Never enough time, never enough.

Offline Fuu_beautifulbbm

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #621 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:03 PM »
I found out yesterday night.. I was completely shocked. I couldn't believe it!!
It's just so surreal. I couldn't sop crying, I admired Heath so much for his work... It'll take som time before I can really understand this.

R.I.P Heath Andrew Ledger
 :\'(
Proud Brokie and Gyllenhaalic

~Their love will never die, it will remain forever!~
~Jack - Ennis~

Offline tpe

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #622 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:07 PM »

http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia/story/0,,2245819,00.html

---------------------------------------

'It's not fair. It's not right'
Thursday January 24, 2008
The Guardian


The shock felt by so many at the death of Heath Ledger shows how strongly we identify with great actors, says Joe Queenan

'I don't have to believe it if I don't want to," the writer John O'Hara said when he learned that America's greatest songwriter, George Gershwin, was dead at the age of 39. Similar thoughts come to mind with the news that Heath Ledger is no longer among the living. Those of us who followed his career from the beginning, those of us who may have remarked, just this past weekend, that we were looking forward to Ledger's sinister turn as the Joker in the upcoming The Dark Knight in a way we were not looking forward to Jude Law's turn as anyone in anything, are devastated that he will no longer be on hand to divert us, surprise us, inspire us, cheer us. It had not occurred to any of us that he would be leaving so soon; none of his admirers were quite prepared for this turn of events.

Ledger's death illustrates the unusually intimate relationship the public has with movie stars. Movie stars, unlike rock stars, have an appeal that transcends narrow demographic parameters; middle-aged people do not instinctively resent young actors in the way they resent young musicians or young athletes. It is a natural human instinct to want gifted young people to succeed, because talent should be rewarded. But there is even more of a desire to see the young and the gifted succeed if they are charismatic and fabulous-looking, which movie stars usually are and athletes and musicians often are not.
This generation-spanning affection for actors can also be explained by the fact that no matter how reclusive and mysterious the star may be, the public feels that it knows him or her. The public is like a doting parent that spends decades compiling a mental scrapbook in which it meticulously mounts photos of its child's greatest triumphs. When an actor dies young, it is almost as if one's own child had passed away. There is no greater tragedy than for a parent to outlive its children, because the old are supposed to exit the stage before the young. This is why Ledger's death seems not only tragic but morally incorrect. Once again, the universe is not playing by the rules.

When a bit player or an ageing has-been dies, we are saddened but hardly shattered. These people may have amused us from time to time, but their careers were not part of the fabric of our lives. With the Cary Grants and the Audrey Hepburns, with the Brad Pitts and the Julia Roberts, things are different. We welcome their arrival, monitor their progress, revel in their triumphs. But part of the deal is that we expect them to hang around for awhile, not to pull a Jimi Hendrix, a Janis Joplin, a Jim Morrison, a Nick Drake. When an actor dies young, there is more cultural fallout than when a musician checks out early, because there is no way for musicians to grow old gracefully in the way actors can. Rock stars and athletes tend to hang around too long, making fools of themselves, frantically clinging to the last vestiges of youth. Actors simply grow up and play more mature roles. Actors can get old without seeming ridiculous. If we are lucky enough to be exposed to an actor's work when he first starts out, in my case because my 15-year-old daughter originally viewed 10 Things I Hate About You as the defining film of her generation, we start to think of them almost as members of the family. We indulge their fledgling errors (A Knight's Tale, Four Feathers), chide them for squandering their talent (Casanova), beam with pride when they begin to assert themselves (Monster's Ball), and are outraged when they are denied the honours they deserve (the Academy's failure to give Ledger its best actor award for Brokeback Mountain ranks with its most hideous, cowardly decisions ever. Ledger will now be remembered as the victim of an epic miscarriage of justice, giving a truly astounding performance that somehow did not find favour with the grizzled, homophobic slobs who run Hollywood).

For a man not yet 30, Ledger squeezed an awful lot into a short career. By the day of his death, he had already vaulted from a teen heart-throb in 10 Things I Hate About You (a post-adolescent reworking of The Taming of the Shrew) and A Knight's Tale to a performer known as much for his gifts (Monster's Ball), his range (The Brothers Grimm, I'm Not There) and his courage (Brokeback Mountain). Following a similar, though not identical, trajectory to Johnny Depp, who debuted as a teen idol, began to be taken seriously in Ed Wood, started to be taken very seriously after Donnie Brasco, and soon reached the point that he was not only admired but beloved (Pirates of the Caribbean), Ledger had quickly got to the stage of his career where his work was being talked about months before previews of his films had even reached the screen. The excitement and anticipation surrounding The Dark Knight has not focused on Christian Bale, the worthy star; it has swirled around Ledger, the villain. This may be because in taking on the role of Batman, Bale is getting in the ring with Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney, while in taking on the role of the Joker, Ledger is getting in the ring with Jack Nicholson.

Ledger is not the first gifted actor to die long before his time, but not all actors who die long before their time fall into the same category. When the troubled Brad Renfro passed away last week, his best years as an actor were far behind him; his was the classic case of the child star who ceased to be appealing once he ceased to be a child. Much the same can be said about Elvis Presley, a very old 42 when he breathed his last, with any hopes of a serious film career having gone up in smoke years before. John Belushi and Chris Farley, both alumni of Saturday Night Live, died quite young, but the reverberations were slight, as it was not likely that either of them was ever going to become a lord of the stage.

A more appropriate comparison with Ledger is River Phoenix, the beneficiary of a huge cult following after his death at 23. Less obviously gifted than Ledger, and certainly much more cut from the ostentatiously self-destructive James Dean mould, Phoenix was already starting to make his mark as an actor, particularly after his turn as Keanu Reeves' narcoleptic sidekick in My Own Private Idaho (a Pacific northwest reworking of Henry IV). In the end, Ledger's death is more in the category of Dean and Marilyn Monroe, actors who had already made a number of memorable films at the time of their deaths, actors for whom the sky seemed to be the limit. Ironically, their stature grew after their deaths in part because their lives were so brief, their body of work so small, and they didn't stick around long enough to make films like Meet the Fockers. This is the only upside to an untimely demise.

Ledger made one film for which he will undeniably be remembered. When the news of his death was reported on the airwaves, commentators unanimously described him as the groundbreaking young Aussie who played the "gay cowboy" in Brokeback Mountain. This captures the press at its most lavishly cretinous. Brokeback Mountain is no more about gay cowboys than Hamlet is about indecisive, twenty-something Danes. It is about two people who are madly in love but whose lives are destroyed because they cannot be together. They are separated not only by social mores, by marriage, by distance, but by class: Jake Gyllenhaal, buoyed with the emancipation from financial worry he has achieved by marrying into a wealthy family, can do whatever he damn well pleases, whereas Ledger, a cash-strapped day labourer, does not have the money or the social mobility to go where he wants, whenever he wants. Gyllenhaal, a talented actor, does a very nice job in Brokeback Mountain, but Ledger gives a performance that is literally heartbreaking. The harmless pretty boy who once danced down the steps of a football stadium singing Can't Take My Eyes Off of You in 10 Things I Hate About You had now grown into a serious, confident, fully grown man who played against his looks, played against his sexual persuasion, played against cultural stereotypes and delivered a performance for the ages. I know quite a few people who have still not seen Brokeback Mountain, presumably because they find the subject matter off-putting. This is idiotic. Brokeback Mountain is a beautiful story about two people who love one another but live in a hypocritical society that needs a moral overhaul. Romeo and Juliet, anyone?

When I saw The Patriot eight years ago, one element in the story repelled me. Early in the film, the grizzled patriarch Mel Gibson butchers a contingent of Redcoats after his youngest son is capriciously slain by the murderous Jason Isaacs. As the film wends its way toward Isaacs' deadly comeuppance, Ledger, playing Gibson's eldest son, gradually evolves from a boy into a man. Everything is in place for Gibson to die and for Ledger to avenge him, because the whole point of these archetypal tales is to transmit ancestral truths to young people: your father is going to die, so before he dies learn every trick he has up his sleeve, and then raise good children, love your wife and kill the villain. But, because Gibson was a star of greater magnitude than his Australian compatriot, and because Gibson was directing the film, it was the young Ledger, not the middle-aged Gibson, who died. There was something shockingly wrong about this, something that violated the basic laws of drama. Ledger wasn't supposed to die before Gibson died, not in a motion picture, not in real life. It's not fair. It's not right. It's a terrible way to end what was otherwise a very uplifting story.

Death of a star, birth of a cult
How six young actors became legends

James Dean
Dean died aged 24 on September 30 1955, following a car crash on what is now Route 46 in California. He is buried at Park Cemetery in Fairmount, Indiana, though his gravestone has been stolen three times. There is a memorial in Cholame, California, and a stretch of Route 46 was rechristened the James Dean Memorial Highway. A troubled soul, plagued by depression and substance abuse, Dean made few films. The collective memory seems to preserve him as the swaggering, misunderstood Jim Stark in Rebel Without A Cause, and as such he has remained a touchstone for generations of teenagers and an inspiration for plays, films and fashions. His estate still earns $5m a year.

Edie Sedgwick
The subject of many of Andy Warhol's films in the late 60s, Sedgwick died in November 1971, aged 28. Her films were not commercial successes; instead she earned notoriety for hanging out at The Factory in New York and her outlandish fashion sense (leotards and silver hair featured heavily). Her death is believed to have been caused by barbiturates and alcohol. Sedgwick is rumoured to have inspired Bob Dylan's songs Just Like A Woman, Leopard-Skin Pillbox-Hat and Like A Rolling Stone, as well as Femme Fatale by the Velvet Underground, but her lasting legacy has been as a style icon. In 2006, her life was re-examined in the Sienna Miller vehicle Factory Girl.

Jean Harlow
Nicknamed the Platinum Blonde and the Blonde Bombshell, Harlow was one of the great sex symbols of the 30s. She died, aged 26, from renal failure, and is buried in a private room at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, California. A huge star during her lifetime, she was also dogged by scandal - her first husband, Paul Bern, was found dead, prompting whispers of murder and suicide. Today she remains the blueprint for all the platinum blondes who followed in her wake.

Marilyn Monroe
In chemical terms, Monroe died of "acute barbiturate poisoning" on August 5 1962, aged 36. In legal terms, things are murkier. Donald Spoto's 2001 biography makes the case for accidental death; the LA County coroner decided it was "probably suicide" - but the officer who found her asserted murder, as did her first husband, Joe DiMaggio, who believed the Kennedys were responsible. Monroe's image has survived her to such an extent that it seems less a cult and more an indelible part of the culture.

Rudolph Valentino
A reported 100,000 people attempted to attend the funeral of this star of the silent movies, who always knew that "I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams". He died at 31 of peritonitis. For years a mysterious woman veiled in black visited his grave on the anniversary of his death, carrying a red rose. Various women claimed to be her; a fan called Vicki Callahan currently fulfils the role.

River Phoenix
The older brother of Joaquin Phoenix, River was only 23 but had already been nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar when he overdosed on heroin and cocaine outside the Viper Room in Hollywood on October 31 1993. Johnny Depp, who until 2004 was part-owner of the club, used to close it every Halloween in memory of Phoenix; every year fans still gather on that date to pay tribute. A keen singer-songwriter, it is in music that he is most often remembered - by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M. (who dedicated their album Monster to him), and Rufus Wainwright, among many others.

Laura Barton and Aida Edemariam


greenfrog

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #623 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:11 PM »

Offline City Slickin' Cowboy

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #624 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:12 PM »
Words cannot describe my sadness at his sudden death.  The death of an actor usually does not stir up much emotion on my part.  From my perspective this not just another passing of a noted actor.  We have lost an actor who was part of something very special to all of us who have found our way to this forum.  It's certainly no secret how much Heath's performance affected me.  As a result I found myself looking forward to his next truly great performance.  Although BBM was such a defining moment in his career, I felt there would be more to come.  Heath had the goods to give us several more performances that would match what he did in BBM.  I was so looking forward to that.

It warms my heart to see how well respected Heath was in this industry.  He is truly loved around this forum.  It's nice to see that the mass media is reminding the world how special he was....and will always be to me.
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Offline tpe

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #625 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:12 PM »
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2004141150_heath24.html

------------------------------------------------

The short, intense career of Heath Ledger
By Moira Macdonald

Seattle Times movie critic


Heath Ledger, attending the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2006.

Nobody was prepared for the performance Heath Ledger gave in Ang Lee's 2005 drama "Brokeback Mountain" — not even those who had been watching his career for years. As Ennis Del Mar, a taciturn cowboy who finds himself unexpectedly in love with another man in '60s Wyoming, Ledger completely transformed himself: His voice became a gruff, almost painful rasp, chipping off tiny fragments of emotion in as few words as possible. He allowed his love for Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) to show in flickers: the way he waited eagerly at a window, the way he gazed at Jack as if the world had suddenly become a smaller and better place. "Brokeback Mountain" is a great, tragic love story, and Ledger's quietly heartbreaking performance is one for the ages, heralding a remarkable career for this very young actor.

It's tragic to be talking about the legacy of a young man dead at 28, but that's what many of us are doing this week. Ledger died Tuesday in his New York apartment of what may have been an accidental overdose of prescription medication. (An initial autopsy was inconclusive as to cause of death; more tests will be conducted.) He was in the process of shooting the Terry Gilliam fantasy film "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (for which production was shut down this week following the news of Ledger's death). His last screen appearance will likely be the role of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's upcoming Batman movie "The Dark Knight," due in theaters in July.

A native of Perth, Australia, Ledger worked briefly in Australian films and television before arriving in Hollywood when barely out of his teens. He first made an impression in "10 Things I Hate About You," a 1999 teen comedy filmed in Seattle and Tacoma, but the role set up a teen-heartthrob image for him that never quite fit. In the years between his early breakthrough and "Brokeback Mountain," he alternated between handsome leading man (the dusty romance of "The Four Feathers," the goofy adventure of "A Knight's Tale") and supporting character actor (Billy Bob Thornton's abused son in "Monster's Ball," a dweebish fairy-tale brother in "The Brothers Grimm").

Not all the movies were good, but Ledger was never less than interesting; a young man struggling to find where he would fit, trying on different personas for size. And when the Oscar nomination for "Brokeback" opened a few doors, the small roles got smaller and the big roles got much bigger — but still interesting. In Todd Haynes' experimental Bob Dylan film "I'm Not There," Ledger appeared briefly as an actor and father breaking up with his artist wife (echoing his real-life relationship with actress Michelle Williams, whom he met on the set of "Brokeback Mountain").

And his most fascinating work may well be his last: Watch the trailer for "The Dark Knight" and see Ledger, cackling and hissing in eerily smudged clown makeup, creating a villain so charismatic he appears to tuck the movie into his tattered pocket. There's a haunting few seconds in the trailer in which Ledger's Joker leans out of the window of a moving police car, arching backward as if reaching out to the nighttime wind; seeming to revel in the moment, before it's too quickly gone.


Offline malawix

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #626 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:12 PM »
Last time I wrote something on this forum was long time ago... But today, today, it's a different day. A day I never thought could come. I surfed the net here and there for Heath and I saw all those pictures that we all made comments about in the past. Remember? It was so funny 'cause it was a sort of contest trying to find always new pictures to post. Can you now believe that those pictures are over? Forever? I still cant!

I surfed youtube and I found so many tributes to Heath (and some are really touching). A video kept my attention, above all for the song. It says: "Such a lonely day / Should be banned / It's a day that I can't stand / The most loneliest day of my life...". I couldnt keep tears watching those pictures and hearing those words: "And if you go, I wanna go with you / And if you die, I wanna die with you / Take your hand and walk away...". Dont those words recall you something? Ennis, maybe?

I feel stones in my body today: in my brains, in my stomach, in my throat, in my heart. And i cant stop asking myself: "why am i reacting like that? Why are WE all reacting like that? Why the WORLD is reacting like that??".  "He was just an actor" seems to be the logical answer. But not in this case. Not when that actor is a shy sweet smiling man of 28 like Heath. Not when that actor gave to that Ennis Del Mar such a depth that lead almost all us here.

Right now I wonder about watching "Brokeback Mountain" again. I wonder about my reactions. I wonder if I cry or not, if those stones come to the surface again or not, if I watch Heath with different eyes. Donno much right now. When these things happen (and touch you so deeply like happening in your real family), everything has a bitter taste of uncertainty.

What i know for sure (dammit!) is that Heath is gone and I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!  :\'(

(A big big kiss to all those who remember me and I shared thoughts and words and jokes and passion for Heath and BBM with. I hope to talk to you again soon...)

P.S. I give you some links to very nice tribute to Heath on youtube:


(I think Heath would like this one a lot!)
«Though you are far away | I am with you in every way | Close your eyes and you will see...»

Offline tpe

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #627 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:16 PM »


malawix, I also don't know what it would be like watching BBM right now.  I don't think I can do this for the time being.    I don't think I would survive even the opening scene.


Offline ksxks

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #628 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:26 PM »

You're not alone.  It's as if the movie and reality blend in together.  I feel great sadness and emptiness at the same time.  It's making me sick.

It's just like when we first came here, found a place to share our PBS.  Then, it was as if the movie and reality blended in together, too...

Oh, JT, and everyone, I feel that with each word I am reading of your feelings, my painful feelings become less of a burden, and the joyful memories become enhanced.  Though I'm not full of joyful memories very much right now, not yet.

The emptieness feeling is of the yawning, stretching-for-the-rest-of-our-lives time ahead of us that will be without Heath Ledger.  But then...one day...there will be more of us passed over than still here.  Meanwhile, we just carry on.

kathy
They were respectful of each other's opinions, each glad to have a companion where none had been expected.

Offline froggy

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Re: Heath Ledger - In Loving Memory
« Reply #629 on: Jan 23, 2008, 07:32 PM »

'It's not fair. It's not right'

'I don't have to believe it if I don't want to,"


I don't want to.
Support bacteria, they are the only culture some people have!


If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I.
~ Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592)

Heath, I swear ...