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Fans Await a third Batman Movie

A group of Heath Ledger fans have demanded The Joker be retired from all future Batman movies as a mark of respect to the late star. The tragic actor, who died from an accidental drug overdose in January 2008, looks set to land a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal of the comic book villain in The Dark Knight, and devotees insist no one could ever play The Joker better. The online petition was launched last week at TheUltimateJoker.com, and already boasts almost 2,500 names.

Fans are eager for a third Batman offering by the British filmmaker, but any plans for another outing for the Caped Crusader will have to wait at least another two years after Christopher Nolan signed up to direct futuristic offering Inception. Inception is based on a script written by Nolan himself and is slated to start shooting in the summer, with a release date expected in 2010.

Kate Winslet is nominated in the Best Actress category for her role in post-war drama The Reader and will fight it out with Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Melissa Leo and Meryl Streep for the award. But even if Winslet doesn’t win on the night, she’s still planning on marking her sixth Oscar nomination with a bash for friends and family. She says, “I don’t take the nominations for granted. If it happens, then great. If it doesn’t then I’m still going to have a party.” The Titanic star is overjoyed that husband Sam Mendes will be able to accompany her to the ceremony, after he missed out on being by her side when she walked away with trophies at the weekend’s BAFTA Awards in London and the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles last month.

Watching his next movie will be a bittersweet experience for Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke, because it features tragic star Brad Renfro’s final scenes. Although he cannot wait for fans to see his next movie, he admits he isn’t looking forward to revisiting Renfro’s last acting job before the 25 year old died from an accidental heroin overdose in January 2008. Rourke says, “He died a couple weeks after filming… and I had all my scenes with him.” Rourke is sure his co-star would have become a huge movie star if he had survived.

Mickey Rourke had always looked up to the legendary actor Al Pacino when he was starting out in movies, but the actor’s desire to achieve the same success as The Godfather star made Rourke think he was untouchable, and Hollywood ended up rejecting him. He says, ” I didn’t play by the rules, I ignored all the politics, I upset people and in the end I lost everything.”

Rourke battled drug addiction and spent years in the movie wilderness as a result of his attitude, but is now receiving critical acclaim and award recognition for his turn in the hit fight movie The Wrestler. “Now I am back and I am going to stay with this work ethic until I die.”

However, he hopes that Sean Penn wins the Best Actor Oscar over him, because he credits the Milk star with turning his life around. He says that Penn helped him get his life back on track when he hit rock bottom battling drug addiction in the 1990s. He says, ” I owe him so much that I hope he wins the award.” Penn is nominated for his portrayal of American politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk and Rourke for his turn in The Wrestler.

Director Gus Van Sant was desperate to cast Sean Penn in Oscar-nominated film Milk, because the actor’s controversial political stances made him ideal for the lead role. Penn has famously supported controversial politicians including Cuban leader Raul Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez even praised Penn for his criticism of the U.S. war in Iraq after the actor paid his first visit the country in 2007, as a freelance journalist. The outspoken star’s passion for politics convinced Van Sant he was a perfect fit to play assassinated homosexual official Harvey Milk in the movie. He says, “There were many political speeches that you could hear him give. We thought that he could do that part of the movie, the political speaking part.”

Benjamin Button Leads 2009 Oscar Nominations

The full list of Oscar nominations