I doubt that was the sole reason for its success. You're saying his death led to nearly a billion dollars worldwide? I'm sure it helped, as tragic as it is to say, but I think there were other factors that contributed to its success.
Warner Bros and 20th Century Fox settle over WATCHMEN
- Thread starter JacksonArcher
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So by your rationale, Terry Gilliam's forthcoming movie, which will actually be Ledger's last movie, is going to be as big a hit as TDK?
I'm not saying it was the sole contributing factor, but it WAS the last movie that he worked on right before his death and basically was thought to have contributed to his untimely demise. TDK was a powerful movie, but look at how every awards show is awarding Ledger these awards now. It was a masterful performance, but it was only punctuated by the fact that he's dead. I'm sure people that went to see TDK and gave it Titanic amounts of money saw it simply because they were curious. Not necessarily Batman fans out to see a good Batman movie or other comic film fans.
Ledger contributed in a great way to its success, people saw it that opening week because they were almost morbidly curious. Not to say that the death of a principal star is an immediate box office draw, but it helps. Also think about it, he took drugs and stuff because of the complete evil of the Joker that he portrayed. So I think some people wanted to see it to see how the role led to his end. Same way people initially saw Mr and Mrs Smith, so they could get a glimpse of why Brad left Jen and went for Angie. It was a good movie, I honestly enjoyed it alot, but heck even when I bought the DVD i wanted to see 'the movie that split up Brad and Jen'.
Also, that Imaginarium movie doesn't quite count, sure it's his 'last last' movie, and he died before it was completed, but it wasn't looked at by some as the reason he OD'd. But I can see it doing quite well actually, simply because he was in it. Probably even get a good cult following. The Heath Ledger name is pretty bankable now that he's dead. People will go to see if its anything like his performance as the Joker. People will see it simply because he died partway through it. May not do a billion, but it could do well. We'll see..
Ledger contributed in a great way to its success, people saw it that opening week because they were almost morbidly curious. Not to say that the death of a principal star is an immediate box office draw, but it helps. Also think about it, he took drugs and stuff because of the complete evil of the Joker that he portrayed. So I think some people wanted to see it to see how the role led to his end. Same way people initially saw Mr and Mrs Smith, so they could get a glimpse of why Brad left Jen and went for Angie. It was a good movie, I honestly enjoyed it alot, but heck even when I bought the DVD i wanted to see 'the movie that split up Brad and Jen'.
Also, that Imaginarium movie doesn't quite count, sure it's his 'last last' movie, and he died before it was completed, but it wasn't looked at by some as the reason he OD'd. But I can see it doing quite well actually, simply because he was in it. Probably even get a good cult following. The Heath Ledger name is pretty bankable now that he's dead. People will go to see if its anything like his performance as the Joker. People will see it simply because he died partway through it. May not do a billion, but it could do well. We'll see..
Now if they could only come to some agreement on the old Adam West Batman series.
Yeah, seriously! That's been in limbo forever! Why anything DC/National Comics related isn't at WB is travesty of the legal system LOL I mean c'mon DC owns the characters, but another company 'owns' the films.
Part of the reason why I wish Marvel Films would take all the film rights back and just distribute it via the other 'partners' like Fox and Sony, but Fox and Sony have no real say in how the films get made.
I really hope Watchmen does a great business, it deserves it.
Part of the reason why I wish Marvel Films would take all the film rights back and just distribute it via the other 'partners' like Fox and Sony, but Fox and Sony have no real say in how the films get made.
I really hope Watchmen does a great business, it deserves it.
I wouldn't be surprised. Geek cred doesn't really mean much to the mass market.
I am not certain, and thank you for correcting me. I was actually going by a letter I had read concerning this from producer Lloyd Levin (not Gordon; I mixed up the two, or conjoined them as one person!). He basically poured out his real feelings regarding this whole property rights issue, and defended Warner Bros for going out on a limb to produce, fund and safeguard the property while 20th Century Fox shunned Levin and Gordon and the production.
So it just seems like for someone who defended Warner Bros, and for them to sue such person...seems kind of wrong, but then again, I confused the two, and I have very limited knowledge on all of this, plus my lack of legal skill or expertise...I could be very wrong, and Gordon could very well be accountable here, and not Warner Bros.
Just my two cents.
Only movie buffs read those magazines. The vast majority of people who go to the cinema never pick up a copy in their life.
Watchmen may very well end up doing decent to good money, but you shouldnt use those magazines covering it as a sign of any "buzz".
I believe that it will do fairly well at the box office. The first (and excellent) trailer played with Dark Knight and generated enough interest to propel the book to the #2 best selling book on amazon within a few days. Having a trailer attached to the biggest movie of the year is going to really really help the film.
Firstly, 'movie buffs' and 'geeks', as the original post referred to, are not the same. At any rate, the two mags I referred to are not Sight and Sound or some obscure indie movie mag but are populist, best-selling magazines that generally reflect the taste of the mainstream movie-goer.
Secondly, as I also mentioned, the movie has been referred to in many newspapers (The Times, The Observer, The Guardian). Thirdly, I have seen the legal dispute mentioned in places like teletext and ceefax's entertainment pages.
All of the above helps create an awareness of the movie, especially when, as often occurs, the original comic is described as 'the Citizen Kane of comic books.' And when, as with glossy mags like Empire or Total Film, they are accompanied by impressive and striking imagery from the movie. Sorry, but this is precisely evidence of a buzz being created about it!
Maybe part of the Watchmen deal was Warner giving Fox the rights to put the show on DVD.
Wrong and wrong. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam, was the last film Ledger worked on; he died during production and to complete the movie Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farell all took over his role of "Tony" in the film. Also, the whole "The Joker fucked with his mind" bit was an urban legend at best. Heath Ledger died of an accidental prescription medication overdose, that's it.
Where did that come from? 1960's Batman on DVD was probably the farthest thing from Fox and WB's minds in the Watchmen deal.
The idea of Batman being part of the Watchmen deal was suggested here, though the article is more of a broad discussion of the rights issues with the show.
And they wasted no time retooling their trailer. I saw my first one over the weekend which contained in big letters "MARCH 6".
Who cares? As long as I get to see the movie - and it's good - I really don't care how it does at the B.O. It's not like it's a franchise that won't continue if it flops - Watchmen was pretty much a one-time shot.
In fact, it could actually be bad if Watchmen is a massive hit, because WB will be tempted to make a "Watchmen 2." That would not be a good thing.