Heath Ledger 1979-2008

New in theaters: Meet the Spartans, Rambo, Untraceable
New on DVD: The Game Plan, The Hunting Party, Saw IV

Yesterday afternoon CNN reported that paramedics responding to a “cardiac arrest call” found actor Heath Ledger dead in a Manhattan apartment. Police found prescription pills at the scene. He was 28.

The first time I became aware of Ledger he really pissed me off. The film was 10 Things I Hate About You, a cheesy teen comedy that took Shakespeare and turned it into Clueless. Next came The Patriot, which was a decent history-lite action movie and A Knight’s Tale, another cheesy rom-com. But the thing was, Ledger was always one of the best things about each of these movies. Beginning in 2001, the young actor hit his stride. After a small part in Monster’s Ball, he came of age at 25 with Lords of Dogtown, a truly magnificent performance, a character study of So-Cal skate surfboard pioneer Skip Engblom. Later that year Ledger became a household name for his Oscar-nominated role in Brokeback Mountain.

I won’t jump to conclusions just yet. Maybe he had a heart defect or medical condition. But chances are drugs did him in. Surely a mythology will build up about Ledger. Soon he will become one of those “he would have been one of the best” cases. That may be hyperbole, but Ledger was certainly good. He shared much in common with the great Johnny Depp. Like Depp, Ledger eschewed the Hollywood party scene, and in interviews seemed reserved and mellow with eyes that saw through the superficialities that other actors revel in. Behind Cate Blanchett, Ledger was the best “Dylan” in I’m Not There last year, and from all indications his performance in this summer’s Batman film, The Dark Knight, is going to blow people away. Christian Bale and Michael Caine spent all last fall singing his praises.

At the time of his death, Ledger was a couple months into Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Given the bizarre nature of most of Gilliam’s work, even if Ledger was not done filming, I am sure Gilliam can and will cobble the film together and release it for what will be the Aussie’s final film role. It will be strange to see how the new Batman franchise handles marketing for The Dark Knight now. I can’t imagine Christian Bale on Letterman’s couch telling funny stories from the production when his friend is dead. Ledger’s death is sad because he did have so much potential. Ledger was a talented character actor with the looks and charisma of a leading man — and was just beginning to get his pick of prime roles after slumming through horrible projects early on.

Ledger leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose Ledger, with ex-fiancee Michelle Williams.

See:

Ang Lee and Ledger discussing Brokeback Mountain in 2005 on Charlie Rose

Ledger discussing I’m Not There and The Dark Knight here

The Dark Knight trailer

Below are the major category 2008 Oscar nominations announced Tuesday morning. My predicted winners are in all caps.
(Still no word on whether there will actually be a traditional Academy Award ceremony on Feb. 24, what with the WGA strike still going strong. But let’s hope there is because hearing the Golden Globes winners from Larry King was a real drag.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

JAVIER BARDEM – NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War

Hal Holbrook – Into the Wild

Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton

This might be the tightest race of the slate, with Affleck, Bardem and Wilkinson all at the top of their game, but the Academy increasingly favors villains and scallywags for their acting categories, and no one in this line-up was more bone-chilling than Bardem’s killer.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

CATE BLANCHETT – I’M NOT THERE

Ruby Dee – American Gangster

Saoirse Ronan – Atonement

Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone

Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

I would be really surprised if Blanchett doesn’t roll with this one. Though she is nominated for Best Actress as well — for a sequel no less — her Dylan is mesmerizing, heartfelt, hilarious and shrouded in mystery.

BEST ACTOR

George Clooney – Michael Clayton

Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd

Tommy Lee Jones – In the Valley of Elah

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS – THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises

Day-Lewis pops up every three or four years with an amazing performance. He completely embodies a money-hungry oilman here and should take the Oscar.

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose

JULIE CHRISTIE – AWAY FROM HER

Laura Linney – The Savages

Ellen Page – Juno

She won the Golden Globe for her portrayal of an aging woman with Alzheimer’s disease, and she is a consummate actress, so I’ll give this one to Christie.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood

JOEL AND ETHAN COEN – NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Christopher Hampton – Atonement

Ronald Harwood – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Sarah Polley – Away from Her

Anderson and Hampton make strong cases, but the Coens played it pretty close to the narrative of the Cormac McCarthy novel, which makes them geniuses. No Country for Old Men is one of best but not the top movie of the year, and this category is usually reserved for those close-but-no-cigar pictures.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Brad Bird – Ratatouille

Diablo Cody – Juno

TONY GILROY – MICHAEL CLAYTON

Tamara Jenkins – The Savages

Nancy Oliver – Lars and the Real Girl

Last year first-time writer Michael Arndt walked away with a win for Little Miss Sunshine, but Juno’s first 30 minutes are so excruciating they sink Cody’s chances here. Gilroy wins because he turned in an amazing screenplay for Michael Clayton. It is all that mainstream dramas should be.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Roger Deakins – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Seamus McGarvey – Atonement

Janusz Kaminski – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Roger Deakins – No Country for Old Men

ROBERT ELSWIT – THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Deakins is nominated twice here, but Jesse James was actually filmed in 2006. Elswit shot both Michael Clayton and There Will Be Blood last year, two astoundingly gorgeous films to look at. I’m going out on a limb and saying he takes home another win for Blood.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

NO END IN SIGHT

Operation Homecoming: Writing the War Time Experience

Sicko

Taxi to the Dark Side

War/Dance

Forget the fact that it is a taut, well-scripted documentary, No End in Sight might be the best piece of journalism from 2007.

BEST DIRECTOR

Joel and Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men

Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton

Jason Reitman – Juno

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON – THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The auteur behind Magnolia and Punch-drunk Love has made his masterpiece.

BEST PICTURE

Atonement

No Country for Old Men

Michael Clayton

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Juno

After wins for best actor, cinematography and director, There Will Be Blood will finish the night with the top prize.

There Will Be Blood is playing nearest at the Canal Place Cinema in New Orleans. Click here for show times. Word is the limited release film will spread to 600 screens on Feb. 1, so there is a chance Baton Rouge could get the film then.