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3 articles from 2008

3 July 2008 9:15 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gary Oldman have tipped late actor Heath Ledger to win an Oscar for his role in The Dark Knight.

Ledger's Batman co-stars predict he will win over critics with his performance as The Joker at next year's Academy Awards - which will be held just over a year after his tragic death.

Bale, who stars as Batman in the forthcoming movie, says, "A lot of people talk about awards all the time, and it's early days. But if anybody deserves it, of course, it is Heath in this.

"I do think that Heath has created an iconic villain that will stand for the ages, and of course, I would love to see him get an award. But you know, to me, you can witness his talent, celebrate his talent within this movie. Anything else is gravy."

He adds, "Heath has done a phenomenal enough job that I would not be surprised (if he won)."

Fellow co-star Gyllenhaal, whose brother Jake starred with Ledger in 2005's Brokeback Mountain, tells MTV.com, "He hit it in the entire performance (in Batman).

"It's so difficult to do that in a huge movie like this and much easier to do in the tiny movies. That's why those are always the people who win Academy Awards.

"Heath was (amazing); it's so unusual, and it happens really rarely even for the best actors, that you just hit this stride in a role and you're totally free. And when that happens, you can do no wrong. It's incredible to be around, and that's what it was like with him."

And Oldman adds, "I think it's an incredible performance. I think it sets a new benchmark. It would surprise me if he didn't get a posthumous Oscar for it."

Only seven actors have received posthumous Oscar nominations, including Spencer Tracy for 1967's Guess Who's Coming To Dinner and James Dean, who was nominated twice after his death for 1955's East Of Eden and 1956's Giant.

Ledger was found dead from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in his New York apartment in January.

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28 March 2008 12:09 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Oscar-winning screenwriter and Kojak creator Abby Mann has died. He was 80.

Mann died of heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on Tuesday.

The Philadelphia-born writer started his career working on TV shows, but shot to fame in 1961 when he scooped an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Judgement at Nurenberg - which starred Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster.

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Mann went on to score multiple Emmy Awards including one for The Marcus-Nelson Murders in 1973 - the film created the character of Theo Kojak and its TV spin off became one of the most successful cop shows of the 1970s. He was also one of the main writers on the 2005 Kojak remake, which saw actor Ving Rhames take over the leading role which was made famous by Telly Savalas.

Mann is survived by his wife, Myra, and a son.

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25 March 2008 7:58 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Veteran comedian Gene Wilder has called on Hollywood to cut back on excessive swearing in films.

The Stir Crazy star is fed up with hearing curse words in modern movies, and wishes writers would try and pen less predictable dialogue that relies more on invention than vulgarity.

Wilder, 74, says, "I'm so tired of the 'F' word in movies. Jimmy Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable - they didn't have to swear and they were powerful. You got everything.

"There's a film... I saw that if you didn't read or hear the dialogue, it is a good story. And then every third sentence, every 2.5 sentence, they start (swearing) and it puts me off."

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3 articles from 2008