Heath Ledger is dead.

[mouthuvmine]

And you cannot go anywhere with an online community without reading about "how selfish actors and hollywood types are", and "of COURSE it was an OD...all actors die for ODs". Not that I read that here, mind you, but still. If anyone read the artiles in all the papers, he had pneumonia (sp?). I've had it, it sucks, and taking normal amount of household meds can make you much, much sicker. Forget sleeping pills. It sucks, and it's so sad. I've been looking foward to the new Batman flick. It's gona be great to see Bale and Ledger onscreen together. They're two of my favorite actors in their generation, and the fact that I won't be seeing them together on film again afterwards just sucks.

I hope that it's something innocent. I'd be beyond happy to keep all this respect for him.

RIP

[Moresco]

I called my buddy to wish him a happy birthday and he tells me this story.  Wow just crazy.  And another good friend of mine has been anxiously awaiting the new Batman film.  I expect them to dedicate that movie or the other film he finished recently to his life, they're editing it into the opening scene right this very minute...or at least they probably should be.

Really liked this guy, very sad to hear that he died.

[[Cameron]]

There's now a baptist church who are going to picket his funeral. They have stated that he was punished by god for appearing in Brokeback Mountain. Those cooky christians, I never tire of their antics

[Stupot]

Hmm.
I've always said and I'll say it again.
Whenever people have something to promote they  get themselves in the papers.
Britney's recent escapades with her children happened on the eve of the release of a single.  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie get together to promote Mr n Mrs Smith.

When Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise got together they both had films coming out (coincidentally, hers was 'Batman Begins').  And now this...

There are examples of this every single day and I've probably mentioned it before elsewhere on these boards.   Now I don't really think Heath Ledger killed himself to promote the movie... but what's to say it wasn't a murder planned by the distributors of the Dark Knight... The movie and music industries (especially in America) go to some great lengths for the sake of a publicity.

[Disclaimer - I'm not making any allegations, just speculating].

[Khris]

Heh, I just got out of the tub and while still in there I was wondering how long it'd take until some conspiracy nut brought up exactly that theory. Seriously!

[OneDollar]

Like killing off one of their leads, who they could have used to promote the film further upon its release?

Its a sad loss. I've not seen Brokeback Mountain, but I thought he was a pretty good actor in his other films. Still, I'm with Vince, this is a tragedy for his 2 year old daughter.

[Sneaker]

I was shocked when I read the message on CNN. RIP Heath.

[Nacho]

There are examples of this every single day and I've probably mentioned it before elsewhere on these boards.   Now I don't really think Heath Ledger killed himself to promote the movie... but what's to say it wasn't a murder planned by the distributors of the Dark Knight... The movie and music industries (especially in America) go to some great lengths for the sake of a publicity.

[Disclaimer - I'm not making any allegations, just speculating].

Are you serious about that? Do you really "speculate" that this "american film distributors" hired someone to kill a 29 years old guy with a 2 years old daughter just to promote a movie?

If you are rally serious, you must be really sick, man. 

[jetxl]

Why So Serious?

[Layabout]

Maybe the pills didn't work. I did read he was having alot of trouble sleeping. Apparantly quite disturbed after doing the joker. Take a few sleeping pills. Not sleeping... take a few more, still not sleeping, take a few more, body cant take it and shuts down.

It could have been an accident. Actors cram a years worth of work into 3 months sometimes, it's not suprise some burn out, develop issues, and after playing such a psycologically disturbed and insane character for 3 months, something in the brain might go, hey what the f**k, this isn't me, cause nightmares or the like. And he went straight on to film another film.

Stress can do some pretty fucked up things to your body.

[Misj']

From the NewYork Times

...
...
The police said Mr. Ledger, 28, was found naked on the floor near the bed in an apartment in SoHo that he had been renting. The chief police spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said the police did not suspect foul play.

“There was no indication of a disturbance,” he said, adding that there were no signs that Mr. Ledger had been drinking. Nor were any illegal drugs found in the loft, which takes up the entire fourth floor. Neighbors said Mr. Ledger had occupied it for several months.

Police officials said that a bottle of prescription sleeping pills was found on a nearby night table, but that they did not know whether the pills had anything to do with Mr. Ledger’s death. Officers who checked the apartment found other prescription medications in the bathroom. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said an autopsy would be conducted on Wednesday*.

Mr. Browne said no obvious indication of suicide, like a note, was found in the bedroom.
...
...




Let's wait for the autopsy...and hope for the 'best' (that is: no OD, no suicide, but an unfortunate accident)

[Stupot]

I don't really think there was any foul play involved... at least not for the sake of promoting Batman.  But I was using this extreme example to bring up a point I've been making for years but that nobody else seems to have picked up on.  The fact that every celebrity marriage, divorce, pregnancy, rehabilitation programme and drunken brawl with photographer  nearly always occurs in the run-up to a major single, album, movie release.

I'm not even exaggerating, if you look out for it you'll see it.  Recently Britney had that turn-out where she went bonkers because she didn't want to give her kids back after having them for the day... police were called and the whole event was worldwide "news" for days... then I hear her new single on the Radio... I was not surprised.

These things could well be coincidences, but they always occur and if you start to notice them you will really be amazed at this phenomenon.

My (perhaps ill-thought-out) post earlier was just my way of expressing my lack of shock whenever someone is in the news on the run-up to a major release... A sad death it is, and to suggest it was a promotional stunt may have been a step too far, and maybe I should take it back... but not yet... I wanna see how the autopsy pans out first.

I'm pretty sure I've ranted about this phenomenon before... and I reckon everyone should look out for it.  It really is amazing.  When the day comes that Brad and Angelina decide to divorce,  I guarantee that they will both have movies out within the following month or so.

[Nacho]

It' s curious that people who launches conspiranoid theories allways claim something like "I don't really think that there was something odd involved there, actually, but think of it!".

You throw the stone, and hide the hand.

Attitudes like those are the ones that make the idiots believe that there was not a plane in the Pentagon on 9/11 because "You know? There are no photos of a plane crashing into the building!  :o I am not saying that the US government launched a missile, but... think of it!  :o" Yeah, I thought of it, and, wanna know what I think? There are millions of evidences that a commercial aircraft crashed there, and, shit; If flight 77 did not end in the Pentagon... where the hell it ended? Do you claim that the US government kidnapped a plane, and in spite of crashing it into the Pentagon to blame the terrorist, took the plane to Area 51 and launched a missile painted with the AA colours into the Pentagon?

Sorry, but I think that it is more likely that the event was not recorded than believing that shit.

And I preffer to believe that Heath pissed it if with the dose, or that he suicided, that Warner Bros killed him.

Conspiranoids are not only naive enough to believe that crap, but also coward... A real shame.  Please, think twice before spreading that kind of things.

[Darth Mandarb]

AGS new word of the day "conspiranoid"

I love it!

Thanks Farl! 

[LGM]

I was reading an article, and apparently the autopsy has been claimed "inconclusive." They are performing a more in-depth autopsy now, but I feel like there is more to this.

Let's look at the factors, shall we? Ledger's personal life was not widely proclaimed in tabloids and second-rate news syndicates. Who knows why? There are some celebrities that are just lucky with the press, I guess... But that doesn't mean Ledger wasn't struggling with vices of his own.

Does nobody remember that Ledger was booted by his wife? And that that meant he probably never spent time with his daughter? He's an actor who just spent a long span of time creating an evil villain and giving his entire self to the role. How much time did that leave him to be a good father? Especially when his wife apparently didn't want to be around him.

I don't know if this is true, but I was reading, and apparently they split because Ledger was suffering from a heroin (or some other harsh drug) addiction. That is alleged, of course, but I would not be surprised. Quotes from Ledger have suggested that he was not happy with his career choices. He felt like he was being pushed around by studios because they were determined to turn him into a "brand." Only recently has he been pursuing roles of his own choosing, but perhaps it was too late. Perhaps he just wasn't happy, so he turned to other vices. Typical celebrity sob story, no?

I'm not saying he died of an overdose here, nobody can say that except the one performing the autopsy. And even then, that's not always clear. It took weeks to figure out why Anna Nicole Smith died, and in the end, it didn't matter. She was dead.

All in all, I'd say Ledger, because he is a method actor, confronted some dark places in his soul when bringing out the character of Joker... And I feel like perhaps he went a little insane doing it. That is the dramatic interpretation. He could very well have just been sick and took too many medications because they weren't working.

So, I guess I'm saying... Nobody knows what went down that day, but Ledger is dead and his family is mourning. The country is mourning. It's sad, tragic... yes. But it happens. Every day. The human body is frail and susceptible to many dangerous things that can kill us in an instant. Just because Ledger was graced with the talent, fame, and life he was given... Doesn't mean he was any less vulnerable than the rest of us.

This is indeed sad news. I am looking forward to seeing his performance in The Dark Knight... And I hope it will be just as brilliant as anyone could imagine. May he be remembered for his talents, and may this all be a lesson to the world that life is fleeting... And we must embrace it for the time we are giving, because for some it is very, very short.

[OneDollar]

The fact that every celebrity marriage, divorce, pregnancy, rehabilitation programme and drunken brawl with photographer  nearly always occurs in the run-up to a major single, album, movie release.

If there is a pattern, maybe you're looking at it the wrong way? Perhaps its because of the stress involved in the run up to major singles, albums and movie releases that causes these breakdowns?

[Nacho]

Conspiranoic is the English version of a word that we use often in spanish skeptical communities... Not common in the rest of the world? 

[Darth Mandarb]

Conspiranoic is the English version of a word that we use often in spanish skeptical communities... Not common in the rest of the world?

It might be common elsewhere ... but I've never heard it before!

I thought it was a combination of Conspiracy Theorist + Paranoid = Conspiranoid!

Either way, it's now a word in my vocabulary

[LGM]

I should also add that some douchebag made the news by asking Jack Nicholson if he'd sign a photo of him as the Joker, right after Nicholson heard the news of Ledger. Nicholson's response to Ledger's death? "That's awful. I warned him."

[Stupot]

I've never said 9/11 was a conspiracy... I have a wide interest in conspiracy theorism, but I scarcely believe in them.

But it's naive to think that there aren't any conspiracies going on in this world. Of course there are... However they would be crap conspiracies if we all knew about them.
There should be a new word in our vocabulary for people who dismiss everyone as 'paranoid' or 'a nut' just for suggesting that something fishy might be going on.