Tuesday, January 22, 2008

RIP Heath Ledger

.

Holy shit, you guys.
I don't know what to say.

ETA Here's what I said of Heath in my Brokeback review:

"Watching Heath Ledger at times I felt as if I were watching one of my uncles or cousins, heavy-booted gruff blue collar guys with grease under their nails and a Budweiser in the their hand. He's the kind of guy who will kick the ass of a Hell's-Angel type when they speak vulgarities in front of his daughters, but otherwise is quiet and keeps to himself, works hard and long hours. Ledger really is astonishing to watch; I had reservations about him but they just vanished watching him - he knew this guy inside and out. The posture, the anger, the way he's recoiled into himself until he can barely speak. And then this guy comes along and makes him laugh and his smile comes as a shock - his face, for the first time, loses all the pain that had been twisting it up, and suddenly you understand."

I went down to the scene after work, because... I had to. It wasn't that far from my office, and as I left work I just found my feet leading me in that direction. It was crowded; I guess I'd just missed the removal of his body from the apartment. I didn't go to see that; I just found myself looking at the buildings and the signs around the area and thinking "These are the last things he saw," and feeling sad. I haven't got the words in me yet to express how sad this makes me. For his daughter, for his family. For what he could've accomplished. All this talk of pneumonia and pills and what not is besides the point. This man did something, accomplished something, with Ennis Del Mar that we all, straight, gay, human, owe him a debt of gratitude for. His shadow will extend well beyond his years. A huge, huge loss.
.

13 comments:

J.D. said...

Wow.

Wow.

Anonymous said...

So, so sad. Still reeling in my mind.

Love the banner though Jason. 'Cept the 2007 typo. Just thought to let you know before I start bawling again...

Jason Adams said...

Ah crap, thanks for the heads-up, jiim. I fixed it. I'm sorta cloudy right now, can't especially think straight.

A friend just called me to talk about it and I couldn't find anything to say. I thought about going home and watching Brokeback but I think I'd cry so hard my eyes might fall out if I did.

Anonymous said...

Preliminary reports are sounding a bit like suicide, too (over the counter sleeping pills and all--purely conjecture at this point, though)--even sadder if that's the case. What a sad loss.

Glenn Dunks said...

I woke up to the sound of my mobile phone beeping thinking people were messaging stuff like "have you seen the academy award nominations?" and instead it was "i think heath ledger has died" and I gasped. So devastating.

And I then I cried.

Pax Romano said...

what a waste.
what a shame.

FDot said...

This is so depressing. Just........I'm really at a loss...

Joe Reid said...

See, and I could have just said that. Way to find the words, Jason.

Glenn Dunks said...

Is it overtly trivia to wanna hear what Jake Gyllenhaal has to say?

It's still hard to fathom that he'll never be around.

Anonymous said...

There is a word already that Jake was utterly devasted and had to be calmed down

Glenn Dunks said...

I had actually forgotten that Jake is the godfather to Matilda so whatever reaction won't be a surprise in the slightest.

Jason Adams said...

I wanna hear what Jake has to say too. Besides the Brokeback thing, they were good friends, and like you said Glenn, Jake is Matilda's godfather. I don't imagine he'll be jumping out to speak to the media right away though. Like Michelle, who I really hope doesn't get cameras crammed in her face the second she's in public.

zooplah said...

Wow, this is sad. He was one of our best actors. I normally don't get into celebrity stuff, but even I had to write a blog post about it. It was just one of those jaw-dropping moments when I heard. RIP, and best to his family.