Reading through David Carr's coverage of last night's Independent Spirit Awards, I was taken by his closing sentiments, which ring true here at the end of things. I thought I'd point them out to you because, let's face it, it's been a tough road:
“The Savages” had a big night too, with writer/director Tamara Jenkins winning best screenplay and Philip Seymour Hoffman going home as best male lead – and the reigning belt wearer of the first annual Indie Spirit cage match.
He and Wilson had been mock-taunting each other from the podium all day and then Wilson got up to thank the crowd and then said he was coming down to settle things with Seymour Hoffman. He made good on his promise, but Seymour Hoffman, a former wrestler, was not about to be put down by a TV guy, and he ended up on top, butt slapping Wilson. It wasn’t pretty – let’s just say that both boys were selling a little crack – but it was pretty damn funny. After a season of pickets, a death in the family in the form of Heath Ledger’s passing, and just plain crabbiness, no one could say it wasn’t about time.
It may have surprised more than a few people when Variety decided to go all out and introduce an Oscar blog to the Award Central section of the site (hi, nice to see ya, how are ya). Well, believe it or not, staffer Justin Chang has beaten everyone to the punch -- even those ever-forecasting amateur Oscar watchers -- with a look ahead at what we might expect at next year's Oscar ceremony.
But seriously, this is the first full-blown article on the 2008-2009 Oscar season that I've come across. It's a thorough piece, well-researched but perhaps a little too dependent on the obvious stuff. There's little room made for potential surprise contenders, but let's face it, you can't see what's coming any more than you can stop it (hehe). Chang nonetheless offers that "Experience warns us not to count too heavily on the so-called 'sure things,' as left-field surprises always have a way of sneaking in, but a handful of projects sure sound promising."
From your mouth to God's ears. Here's a look at more:
Considering Scott Rudin produced "No Country" and exec produced "There Will Be Blood," this year's top nomination-getters, his upcoming slate is a good place to start. Assuming voters don't get it confused with last year's "Reservation Road," Paramount's "Revolutionary Road" would seem to have a clear path into awards season. Directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes ("American Beauty"), pic reunites much-nominated, never-victorious "Titanic" stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in a 1950s marital drama adapted from the Richard Yates novel...
Two thesps who drew early kudos buzz this season seem like possible contenders for next year's actor race: Benicio Del Toro as Che Guevara in "The Argentine," the first in Steven Soderbergh's two-part study of the Cuban revolutionary; and Frank Langella, reprising his Tony-winning performance as President Nixon in Ron Howard's screen adaptation of "Frost/Nixon."
And later:
"Mystic River" winner Sean Penn could end up back on the ballot for "Milk," about gay-rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated by a fellow San Francisco politician (played by Josh Brolin) at the height of his popularity. The Gus Van Sant-helmed project beat out a rival biopic from director Bryan Singer.
But Singer won't be empty-handed this fall. His "Valkyrie," which stars Tom Cruise in a historical thriller about a plot within the German army to assassinate Hitler, marks a reunion between Singer and "Usual Suspects" scribe Christopher McQuarrie.
And finally, what we've all been thinking:
The death of Heath Ledger has also amped up curiosity over his turn as the Joker in Warners' "The Dark Knight," stirring speculation about a posthumous supporting nom.
But there are a ton of titles mentioned. Solid work throughout. Give it a look.
• Sasha Stone, in love with "No Country" till the day she dies, tosses an excerpt from the book left lying on the cutting room floor, so to speak. [Awards Daily]
• Video highlights from last weekend's SAG Awards. [The Envelope]
I went to YouTube this morning looking for some SAG clips from last night, but I stumbled quickly across this clip of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal introducing the "Brokeback Mountain" package in early 2006.
Much was made at the time of Ledger's giggling throughout the introductory paragraphs, but I thought his was an honest reaction to a stilted monologue that tried to wrap the film up with a neat little bow. And regardless, it is at once difficult and refreshing to gaze upon the laughter and levity of a man who left us not even a week ago.
I had not seen this video of Daniel Day-Lewis expressing his regret over the loss of Heath Ledger until jus now, and it's an incredibly touching, heartfelt moment. Really -- it brought me close to the edge, this one did.
It happened, of course, during an interview on "Oprah" earlier in the week. Day-Lewis was there, via satellite, to promote his Oscar nominated work in "There Will be Blood," and he had just received the news of Ledge's death. He had to take a moment and talk about his thoughts because they were aplenty, and to him, it seemed unsettling to talk about anything else at the time.
Very chilling days. Very odd days for the industry altogether, I would say. I think this Oscar season, with its strike implications, its reflection of a year's worth of heavy, weighty subject matter and the passing of a young and promising actor will take a considerable toll. We'll see.
• Sasha Stone previews the DGA race, warns against getting caught up in last minute predictions chaos, and mixes in some other considerations for good measure. [Awards Daily]
• The DGA Awards, by the way, will be hosted by Carl Reiner. [Variety]
• We've also got a massive preview of the awards, with looks at peripheral nominees (assistant directors, anyone?), the newbie nature of the group and some huzzahs for DGA attorney Jay Roth. [Variety]
• An old post, but Jeffrey Wells considers nominations for art direction, cinematography, costume design and score to be "soft" tips of the hat for "Atonement." [Hollywood Elsewhere]
• Tom O'Neil says to bank on Julie Christie at Sunday's SAG Awards. Lionsgate flooded the screener market again. [Gold Derby]
• David Carr makes some final observations on the nominations, taking note of the newbies and diversity in the line-up and pointing out that "Into the Wild" deserved "better treatment." [The Carpetbagger]
• New York Magazine draws humorous parallls between the year's Best Picture nominees and the current political climate. [Vulture]
• In analyzing this year's nominees, Kyle Smith makes us wonder why he's even in this business. [New York Post]
• In case you haven't heard, things are looking up for the Oscar telecast. [Variety]
• Scott Bowles follows it up and digs up some industry chit-chat on alternatives. [USA Today]
• Finally, A.O. Scott writes up the legacy of Heath Ledger for The Paper of Record. [New York Times]
It is one thing to search, in vain, for reactions to Heath Ledger's death that do not include some form of misplaced cynicism, some desire to tear down traditional media, some skewed vision of a life lost or some indications beyond the bare-boned facts of the matter: that Ledger was found dead, naked and surrounded by pills. But in warily approaching my computer this morning for a heart-felt angle of resonance, I found a couple.
Carr was charged with call-fielding duties following yesterday's revelation. That is, he was given the task of soliciting comments from sources in the industry, but his heart sank when he came face to face with the unending management of it all and, ultimately, the vacancy of raw and tangible feeling. It is, after all, the journalist's job to make sense of the world through the perspective of others. But without that perspective, the world is black and white -- and cold.
I'll just let his words tell the story:
...hardly anyone would come to the phone and point out that the dead man was an incredibly gifted actor and a decent human being.
It was a reminder to the Bagger that, for everybody in the Magic Kingdom, it’s always about them. A guy dies and they need publicists to fend off reporters because they are in their trailers coping or because they might say the wrong thing. The whole publicity apparatus kicked in as if this were an event to manage.
The Bagger made more than 20 calls, and in every case the response was some version of “tut-tut, much too raw, there-will-be-statements-in-the-future.” Maybe other reporters had better luck, but the firm no’s the Bagger got told him plenty. This young man of 28, had one shot at a textured story about his humanity and his gifts. As it is, he will show up in the papers as a guy in bed with pills strewn about. Going forward, the stories will all be ghoulish forensics.
The story is everywhere now. The facts can easily be sifted through. The New York Times is pretty much on top of it, and therein you can read the details. But personally, after the inexplicable initial burst of speechlessness, an affliction to which I rarely succumb, the truth settled in with crystal, eerily iconic clarity: Heath Ledger has died.
The reports are currently attributing the death to being drug-related (over the counter sleeping pills, according to the Times), which does not, presently, reflect suicide as the certain cause. Sadly, according to police, it seems to be the apparent one. (UPDATE: After hearing about the possibility of pneumonia several hours ago, I'm now seeing the item pop up in television news briefs. Both Fox News and CNN are now indicating that it appears suicide is not in the equation. The New York Times also now has comprehensive on-going coverage.)
Ledger was in the middle of shooting Terrry Gilliam's latest project, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." In fact, these recently circulated photos of Ledger on the set, being hung by a noose for a sequence in the film, send a shiver down one's spine with the afternoon's revelations.
The actor was one of the most promising and gifted thespians of his generation, having shot to new heights with a crushing and revered portrayal two years ago in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain." His latest performance was in Todd Haynes' experimental Bob Dylan biopic, "I'm Not There."
Ledger completed filming on Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" sequel, "The Dark Knight," late last year. Depending on where Gilliam was on "Imaginirium" at the time of the actor's death, it seems fair to assume the iconic role of the Joker as Ledger's cinematic swan song.
It is no secret that I count myself rather high on the list of Batman fans and fanatics around the world. Nolan's decision to cast Ledger in this pivotal role was an exciting one to me, the sort of brave choice that had come to define this recently re-incarnated franchise. As such, it was (and remains) with great anticipation that I look forward to the actor's work in the film, work that seems to be corroborate with the behind-the-scenes praise emanating from the set of the Warner Bros. project. One glance at the trailer alone keyed us in to the fact that Ledger was chewing on potential greatness, and now, well, the film seems to have taken on a whole other meaning in some ways.
The question that immidiately arises is, was the character set for the third installment in the series? Did he have a pivotal role to play in the final act of a trilogy long planned out, in broad strokes, by screenwriter David Goyer and director Christopher Nolan? Whatever the answer to that question might be, we're left, regardless, mourning the loss of a true acting talent, yes, but a husband and a father as well.
My sincere and deepest condolences go out, without a second's thought, to Michelle Williams and Matilda Rose. I truly hope you find the strength to make it through what promises to be a very trying time. Words rarely fail me, and here, they bring me to the end. There is nothing left to say.
UPDATED: The story is spreading like wildfire now. This comes in from the CBS affiliate in New York:
He was pronounced dead at 3:26 p.m. in his downtown Manhattan residence by his housekeeper, who discovered him in cardiac arrest and called 911, an NYPD spokesperson says. He was apparently scheduled to have a massage in his apartment this afternoon.
Sources tell CBS 2's Scott Weinberger the death may be drug-related and that there were pills scattered around the room.
EARLIER: The New York Times' City Room blog is now reporting on the same tragic turn of events. The death is apparently being attributed to suicide:
At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play and said they found pills near body.
More as it comes...
STILL EARLIER: TMZ.com is reporting that Heath Ledger is dead. This is developing at the moment, and I have no information other than the TMZ report (I know). But we'll need to follow up on this ASAP. Ledger's latest performance has yet to be seen, in the upcoming "The Dark Knight." Here's the story so far:
TMZ has learned that Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger has died in NY.
He was found dead in his bed in one of his residences in Soho by his housekeeper at 3:35 PM ET today. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe it was not a crime.
The 28-year-old actor has a two year old daughter with former fiancee Michelle Williams. He plays The Joker in the upcoming Batman film, "The Dark Knight."
Remember when "Batman" was on the way in the summer of 1989, and people were stealing subway posters left and right? The anticipation was through the roof! Well, things are close to that level of anticipation for Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" sequel, "The Dark Knight." Or I could just be speaking for myself.
Anyway, this isn't Oscar related -- well, not YET anyway (we can hope) -- but Warner Bros. released these two teaser posters for "The Dark Knight" today (in addition to the creepy "Why So Serious?" Joker poster that's at theaters as we speak). I'm LOVIN' it:
Red Carpet District is Variety contributor Kristopher Tapley's attempt at making sense of the ever-expanding glut of film awards coverage. He's been on the beat for six years. Email Kristopher Tapley
It may have surprised more than a few people when Variety decided to go all out and 
• Anne Thompson profiles the successful release pattern of "No Country for Old Men." [
I had not seen 
• Place your bets! [
It is one thing to search, in vain, for reactions to Heath Ledger's death that do not include 
The story is everywhere now. The facts can easily be sifted through. The 
Red Carpet District is Variety contributor Kristopher Tapley's attempt at making sense of the ever-expanding glut of film awards coverage. He's been on the beat for six years. Email 
