Batman : The Dark Knight Blog

January 22, 2008, 4:42 pm
Actor Heath Ledger Is Found Dead

By Sewell Chan

The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment building at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, according to the New York City police. Mr. Ledger was 28.

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. Officials said pills were found near the body.

Mr. Ledger, a native of Perth, Australia, won acclaim for his role as a co-star in “Brokeback Mountain”, a 2005 film. The film, based on a short story by Annie Proulx about two cowboys who fall in love, won critical acclaim. Reviewing the film in The New York Times, the critic Stephen Holden wrote, “Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.”

Mr. Ledger met the actress Michelle Williams while filming ‘’Brokeback Mountain.” The two actors fell into a very public romance. They had a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on Oct. 28, 2005. They moved to Brooklyn, but then separated last year.

In an interview in London for an article published in November, Mr. Ledger said told The New York Times, ‘’I feel like I’m wasting time if I repeat myself.” He said in the interview that he was not proud of his latest role, in Todd Haynes’s “I’m Not There,” in which Mr. Ledger was one of a half-dozen actors depicting the musician Bob Dylan. ‘’I feel the same way about everything I do. The day I say, ‘It’s good’ is the day I should start doing something else,” said in the interview.

Calls by The Times to Mara Buxbaum, a publicist for Mr. Ledger, and Steve Alexander, the actor’s agent, were not immediately returned this afternoon.

Thomas J. Lueck contributed reporting.

Popularity: 8% [?]

By Fraidy Reiss • STAFF WRITER • December 27, 2007
JACKSON — Visitors to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson next year will get to experience the terror of being victimized by the Joker while waiting to be rescued by Batman.

The theme park plans to introduce a new attraction in April: The Dark Knight Coaster, an indoor ride based on Warner Bros. Pictures’ upcoming movie “The Dark Knight,” which features the DC Comics characters Batman and the Joker.

On the coaster, riders will be transformed into citizens of Gotham City, a municipality being tormented by the Joker, according to a news release issued by the park. Riders will speed through six 180-degree turns, climb unseen hills and plunge into pitch darkness as they try to escape danger.

Their only hope of rescue is that Batman will arrive in time to save them.

The coaster will use storytelling, physical movements, video, sound and special effects to help riders experience the danger of Gotham City, according to the release. It will be located in the Movietown section of Six Flags.

The movie “The Dark Knight” is scheduled to open in theaters July 18. In the movie, Batman (Christian Bale) sets out to dismantle the criminal organizations that continue to plague the streets of Gotham City. He, along with Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) must take on a criminal mastermind known as the Joker (Heath Ledger).

Six Flags is on Route 537 in Jackson. It features the 465-foot-high Kingda Ka, which park officials say is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world; and El Toro, whose 76-degree drop is the steepest of any wooden roller coaster in the world, according to park officials.

More than 1,200 animals live at the park all year round, with most on display to visitors who drive the 4 1/2-mile auto trail through the park’s Wild Safari, officials say.

Next door to Six Flags Great Adventure is Six Flags Hurricane Harbor.

The 45-acre, tropical-theme water park includes a million-gallon wave pool with ocean-size waves, one of the world’s largest adventure rivers and almost 20 speed slides, according to the park’s Web site.

This section shows information about the actual coaster.
Name: Batman The Dark Knight
Company: Bolliger & Mabillard
Type: Floorless Coaster
Location: Six Flags New England, Agawam, MA, USA
Opened: 2002
Max. Height: 118 ft.
Max. Drop: 118 ft.
Max. Speed: 55 mph
Track Length: 2,600 ft.
Inversions: 5
Special Features: Compact Layout Steep lift hillFor more information, call Six Flags Great Adventure at (732) 928-1821.

Popularity: 3% [?]

By Rafe Telsch: 2007-12-16 21:23:11

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Cloverfield is producer JJ Abram’s (Lost) post-9-11 take on the rampaging monster genre popularized by films like Godzilla, King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

Popularity: 54% [?]