Heath Ledger's sadness

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by woot

I wonder if Ledger was actually calling out for help and just overdid it. It seems odd for such a manly man to take pills rather than shooting himself or jumping off a bridge. Maybe that's a false stereotype.

I once visited a "suicide forum" where all the posts were about different ways of committing suicide or bragging about past attempts. It was quite eye opening, as a mini-culture based on suicide seems to be impossible. Apparently they were all very unskilled at killing themselves, though, so the culture was thriving. Obviously most of them weren't trying very hard. I wonder if some in your field could do some good by trying to infiltrate such groups.

Our overreaction to 9/11 has been far worse than the event itself, and I agree that the money we're spending over there could be used far more effectively at home.

Many internet suicide pacts, successfully carried out, have been reported in the news. In fact, Nick Hornby, has written a book with such a premise.

There is no will to cure the American soul.

[danimal]

Mike's right -- suicide is much more common than many believe. Suicidal thoughts, even among non-psychiatric patients, are not uncommon.

Still, the base rate for suicide, while way too high, is low enough that it makes prediction extremely difficult. Basic risk factors are well known, but so few of the people with those risk factors complete suicide that predicting who will suicide will likely always be an educated guess.

[MikeWaters]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23434064-details/Number+of+young+people+found+hanged+in+'suicide+cu lt+town'+rises+to+13/article.do

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by woot

I've heard that he is such a good actor because he "becomes his character" during a shoot. It seems that becoming the Joker, a murderous psychotic, could have been rough on him. I'm not sure what his character was like in the movie he was in the process of filming.

This is known as "method acting" and was pioneered by Lee Strasburg. Ledger was a student of Strasburg, as were other tragic luminaries such as Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, and James Dean (as well as many others who have lived fairly "normal" lives).

River Phoenix had given himself up to The Method when he was playing the role of Mike Waters in Private Idaho. Many have speculated that his approach to that particular role is what lead, in great part, to his death outside the Viper Room.

[Venkman]

Originally Posted by TripletDaddy

This is known as "method acting" and was pioneered by Lee Strasburg. Ledger was a student of Strasburg, as were other tragic luminaries such as Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, and James Dean (as well as many others who have lived fairly "normal" lives).

River Phoenix had given himself up to The Method when he was playing the role of Mike Waters in Private Idaho. Many have speculated that his approach to that particular role is what lead, in great part, to his death outside the Viper Room.

There's a story about Dustin Hoffman who as part of method acting gave up sleep for the filming of Marathon Man. He looked like hell and when his costar Lawrence Olivier asked him why he stopped sleeping, Hoffman said he was trying to make himself more convincing in the role. To which Olivier replied something like "try acting, it's easier."

[MikeWaters]

From IMDB.

This is breathtaking in its poor taste and offensiveness.

Fox News commentator John Gibson apologized on his TV show, The Big Story, Thursday for remarks he made on his radio talk show the previous day about the death of Heath Ledger. During the show, he had mocked the late actor as a "weirdo" with a "serious drug problem" and laughed that he may have killed himself in reaction to the plunge in the stock market. He then played a clip from Brokeback Mountain -- a movie that Gibson had once described as a "gay agenda movie" -- in which Ledger utters the famous line "I wish I knew how to quit you." Well, Gibson mocked, "he found out how to quit you." He then played another clip in which Ledger remarked, "We're dead," then repeated the line himself laughing. On Thursday's telecast, Gibson said, "To anyone offended by my comments, I'm sorry. But I'm also sorry Heath Ledger is no longer alive and with us." The gay-rights group GLAAD said it planned to send a petition to Fox News asking why it continues to provide a platform for Gibson's "cruel and tasteless comments."

[woot]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

From IMDB.

This is breathtaking in its poor taste and offensiveness.

I'm shocked that he apologized.

[ute4ever]

Those types of apologies are completely insincere. The only reason he was sorry was because his job suddenly became less secure.

I'll believe he is really sorry if he does something besides merely spending two seconds of his life uttering two words.

[il Padrino Ute]

Am I a bad person because I don't care that Ledger is dead?

I had no connection to him. His death doesn't affect my life at all.