The Bat Blog has a great pic of an Etch-A-Sketch drawing of Heath Ledger as The Joker done by the The Etch-A-Sketchist. The Etch-A-Sketchist is an internet sensation who has been featured in real art galleries for his work.
It seems some entertainment writers are stunned that women voluntarily go to see The Dark Knight and superhero movies in general. This week’s Entertainment Weekly article titled “Knight Fever” says,
A reported 48 percent of The Dark Knight’s audience was female, and that number probably would have been even higher had so many women not flocked to Mamma Mia!
First of all, just writing Mamma Mia! in the same sentence as The Dark Knight hurts my soul a little. Secondly, I’m willing to bet that 90% or more of that 48 percent female audience share were at The Dark Knight because they wanted to be, not because their boyfriend won the coin toss.
The Entertainment Weekly article, and others, seem to think that women went to see TDK for one of two reasons:
1. “Rubberneck curiosity” over Heath Ledger’s death.
2. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger are extremely attractive male actors.
I’ll give you point number two…indeed Bale and the late Ledger are among the hottest men in Hollywood (which feels a little creepy to say about Heath since he passed away. However, his death doesn’t change the fact that I fell in love with him in 10 Things I Hate About You and so did millions of other women my age.) I’m sure, also, that there are some people who know nothing about Batman, never saw Batman Begins (the shame!), and are only there because they’re curious about Heath Ledger’s last role.
But let’s be honest. With the price of movie tickets being what they are, how many people go to see a movie they have no interest in just out of morbid curiosity? The fact is, this film was destined to be huge. A year ago yesterday we covered the first inkling that The Dark Knight was going to have one of the most interesting and intense marketing schemes ever created. Fanboys (and girls, dammit) have been waiting since the moment Batman Begins ended to see The Joker brought to life. The sequel to the best Batman movie ever made (yes, I said it and I mean it) was never going to be a quiet little movie.
People are stunned by the records The Dark Knight has been breaking, but some of us saw this coming. The intense viral marketing had fans in a tizzy long before Heath Ledger’s death, and many of us were already vowing to see the movie multiple times before we had even seen the first trailer. It’s the faith we have in Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan (as well as the writers and the rest of the cast) after seeing the amazing job they did with Batman Begins that brought us to the theaters knowing we were about to see the best movie of the year. Despite being female, going to see TDK wasn’t about Christian Bale’s looks or Heath Ledger’s death. It was about seeing my favorite superhero, played by one of my favorite actors, and presented by one of my favorite directors.
There’s a wonderful quote about Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker, as well as his demeanor on set:
He was incredibly intense in his performance but incredibly mellow and laid-back. Certainly there was this great anarchistic streak to it—just getting dirtier than anybody’s envisioned The Joker before. This character has power because he has no limits—absolutely nothing to lose.
Details is on stands now, and The Dark Knight will be in theaters on July 18th.
And boy has Christian Bale perfected wearing a black suit.
Rumors are circulating that some scenes have been cut from The Dark Knight due to negative audience feedback. Not surprisingly, the scenes involve Heath Ledger’s performance of The Joker. Viewers have a slightly skewed view of things since Ledger passed away in January.
A French site has some leaked photos of The Joker, as played by Heath Ledger. WARNING: They might be considered spoilers, so click through with caution.
In the video below, from the Associated Press, The Dark Knight star (and MovieSnobs favorite) Christian Bale and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan talk about Heath Ledger and his “superb” performance as The Joker.
Harvey Dent’s campaign team will be out and about the country soon. The I Believe In Harvey Dent website has a map with dates and times of Harvey’s campaign in various cities around the country. You can download your own campaign posters and join the crowds. The website also asks you to upload photos of you and your friends campaigning for Harvey.
Also on The Dark Knight front, the MTV Movies Blog has revealed new figures, including the much-anticipated Heath Ledger as the Joker figure.
The New York City Medical Examiner announced today that Heath Ledger’s death was an accidental overdose. It wasn’t an excess of any one drug that killed him, but rather a combination of the prescription drugs.
Just after Heath Ledger’s untimely death, Jack Nicholson appeared in a video claiming to have warned Heath Ledger about the dangers of sleeping pills. In the video, Nicholson looks confused and isn’t sure who Heath is when first asked for a comment on his death. When told he died of an overdose, Nicholson seems to say, “I warned him.”
He’s now claiming that he was misquoted and that he actually said, “I warned them,” meaning the drug company that makes the sleeping pills. Nicholson had never met Ledger, but claims to have had an odd experience with the pills which ending in him waking up in his driveway.
Nicholson had previously spoken out about his disappointment in not being asked to reprise the role of The Joker, which Heath Ledger had just finished filming before his death, so it’s even odder that Jack had no idea who Heath was when approached by the reporters and paparazzi.
2008 got off to a great start with the release of Cloverfield, but ended in tragedy with the death of Heath Ledger, an extremely talented young actor. It was a busy month for movie news, and a sad month for Hollywood. Here’s what was most popular on MovieSnobs for January 2008.
The Third Annual Snobbies - Every year since we started the MovieSnobs we have held our own movie awards, voted on by our readers. The readers who vote for the most number of movies that win are eligible to win great prizes. This year the grand prize is free movies for an entire year. First prize is an 8 GB Apple iPod Touch.
40 Hottest Women Over 40 - Mike took a look at the lovely ladies of Hollywood that have passed their 40th birthday. The list includes Eva LaRue, Maria Bello, and Famke Janssen. Have one you’d like to add to the list? Tell Mike about it in the comments.
All images, trailers, and videos represented here remain the property of their original owners. MovieSnobs.net, and TopFive Inc claim no ownership of any promotional image, movie still, video or press shot displayed on this website.
Release Date 9/5/2008 
It seems some entertainment writers are stunned that women voluntarily go to see The Dark Knight and superhero movies in general. This week’s Entertainment Weekly article titled “Knight Fever” says,
I meant to write about this a month ago when I found it, but it got lost in a sea of Google Bookmarks.
