Heath Ledger fans demand the Joker be retired from film

A group of Heath Ledger fans have taken their reverence for the late "The Dark Knight" star to a whole new level....

Followers of the actor, who electrified audiences with his chilling reinvention of the Joker in the second Batman blockbuster, are calling for the character to be retired from the movies permanently.

Ledger supporters at new Web site, The Ultimate Joker, launched a petition last week calling for studios to remove the Joker from any future Batman movies. The petition currently has 2,431 supporters.

"We think Heath deserves this honor," says the site's team leader, Fer Barbella, Buenos Aires, Argentina. "He is the ultimate Joker."

"We truly believe Ledger's performance as Joker is the best an actor could ever do,"

"We are Batman fans from the comics and from the movies," he said, "After we saw 'The Dark Knight,' we thought this Joker was really the best. It deserves to be withdrawn from any Batman sequels."

"When Michael Jordan retired, they withdrew the number 23 jersey as an honor. It's the same thing with Heath."

Barbella said he thinks any new performance just won't be able to top Ledger's.

"He upgraded the character in a thrilling way," he said. "Although a lot of actors would love the chance to play the Joker, as Batman fans and now Heath Ledger fans, we think no one could ever perform it as well as he did."

The Web site is the brainchild of Barbella, 34; Nico Pimentel, 33; and Natalia Rodoni, 33, all advertising creatives in Buenos Aires.

"Any other performance will be below expectations for sure, so we want to forever keep Ledger's Joker as the one," added Barbella, who launched The Ultimate Joker site last week with his colleague Nico Pimentel.

The trio say that if they collect enough names, they may go to the studio to present their petition.

"As soon as we start seeing that we have more than 50,000 names on our Web site, perhaps we will go to the Warner Brothers gate and do a bit of activism," Pimentel said.

The huge buzz around Ledger's performance as the Joker last year stemmed from his update of the iconic character played by camp comedian Cesar Romero and as a hateful clown by Jack Nicholson.

Ledger's Joker was a very different proposition from those that had come before: In a ripped, stained suit, with clown makeup smeared across a scarred, twisted mouth, his Joker was a nihilistic, sociopathic prankster. "Why so serious?" he sneered in a performance that received rave reviews from critics globally.

From Jack Nicholson and Cesar Romero to Larry Storch, Mark Hamill and the underrated Kevin Michael Richardson, Batman's nemesis has been brought to life by some seriously talented actors. Banning Joker from the silver screen might seem like an unreasonable request on its garish face, but the team at The Ultimate Joker is standing by it, and no doubt will be aided if Ledger takes home a posthumous Oscar later this month for his portrayal.

The actor was found dead after overdosing on prescription drugs at his apartment in New York on January 22, 2008, shortly after concluding work on "The Dark Knight."

Ledger has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Joker, having been awarded a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor.

Barbella says that the Web site and petition are their award: "The Academy gives an Oscar," he said. "This is a new award from the people. A user-generated award."

In addition to the online petition, The Ultimate Joker site operators have fired up an Ultimate Joker Flickr pool and posted downloadable web graphics to let others show their support.

Barbella says his crew is only interested in film portrayals, though.

"Television and animation is off our radar," he says. "And we like Jokers like Cesar Romero or Jack Nicholson, and even the voice of Mark Hamill. But we think this psycho in scarred whiteface is the best ever. No one can improve it. So please, Hollywood, use other enemies in the sequels to come."

It is perhaps a plea that Hollywood will ignore in pursuit of profit. After all, the buzz created by the conundrum of who will follow in Ledger's footsteps could be worth hundreds of millions on its own.

Heath Ledger's flawless acting, and tragic passing, immortalized his portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan's Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight.

But it's a fair question: Should Hollywood retire the Joker from film? Was Heath Ledger the greatest Joker of all time? Why so serious? Should Ledger's killer clown be the last Joker to grace the big screen? Thoughts?

Commissioner Gordon passes away

Longtime character actor Pat Hingle, a veteran of early television dramas, Westerns and four "Batman" films, has died at age 84, his family announced Sunday.

Hingle died Saturday evening at his home in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, after a two-year battle with the blood disorder myelodysplasia, his cousin, Lynn Heritage, said.

"He was awake one moment, and in the next breath, he was gone," Heritage said.

Hingle began his acting career in the 1950s, appearing in numerous television theater shows.

His first movie role was an uncredited appearance in 1954's "On the Waterfront," which won eight Academy Awards; he played the by-the-book judge opposite Clint Eastwood's vengeful marshal in 1968's "Hang 'Em High," and appeared as Sally Field's father in 1979's "Norma Rae."

In 1989, he appeared as Gotham City's Commissioner Gordon in Tim Burton's "Batman," carrying on the role through three sequels. His last film role was in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," released in 2006.

He also guest-starred in countless TV series, including a memorable turn as a character named Col. Daniel Webster Tucker in a 1980 "M*A*S*H" episode. In the episode, called "April Fools," Hingle's Tucker antagonized the unit's surgeons -- with surprising consequences.

Hingle's other TV series included "Hawaii Five-O," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Hart to Hart," "St. Elsewhere," "Magnum, P.I." and "Cheers."

Hingle is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Julia, and their five children.

Holy censorship Batman!!

Just because Batman landed in Hong Kong doesn't mean "The Dark Knight" will.

Warner Bros. decided not to release the film in China — or even submit it for censors' approval — because of "prerelease conditions" and "cultural sensitivities," the studio said Tuesday.

Warner Bros. officials may have been concerned the film — particularly scenes shot in Hong Kong, where Batman nabs a gangster — would offend censors. Hong Kong is a Chinese-ruled former British colony that maintains separate political and economic systems.

The studio said in a statement overnight that the acclaimed film - the second highest-grossing movie in US box-office history - would be canned in China, with "cultural sensitivities" cited as one of the reasons for the no-show.

"Based on a number of pre-release conditions that are being attached to The Dark Knight as well as cultural sensitivities to some elements of the film, we have opted to forego a theatrical release of the film in China," the statement said.

It was not clear what "cultural sensitivities" were at issue but the movie includes an action sequence shot in Hong Kong where Batman, played by Christian Bale, apprehends a Chinese money-launderer.

Another possible sticking point is a brief appearance by Hong Kong actor-singer Edison Chen (credited in the film as "LSI Vice President") , who appeared in one of the biggest sex scandals earlier this year in China, appearing in lurid photos with several women.

However, Bootleg copies have been available in Chinese markets for months.

The Dark Knight" has grossed more than $465 million in foreign markets.