Name______Date______Film & Lit. Mr. Corbo
reinventing “The Joker”
The Joker make-up was composed of three pieces of stamped silicone, which took less than an hour to apply to Heath Ledger on each day of shooting. Ledger described it as "new technology which is much quicker to apply than regular prosthetics"; he felt he was not wearing any make-up at all. (imdb.com)
Name______Date______Film & Lit. Mr. Corbo
Once she knew Heath Ledger had been cast as The Joker, costume designer Lindy Hemming based the character's attire off of an eclectic line- up of clothing styles, ranging from Vivienne Westwood
to
John Lydon to Name______Date______Film & Lit. Mr. Corbo
Iggy Pop and
Alexander McQueen.
Hemming's aim was to modify The Joker's familiar appearance with "a younger, trendier look", in order to represent Ledger's generation. (imdb.com) Name______Date______Film & Lit. Mr. Corbo
In preparation for his role as The Joker, Heath Ledger hid away in a motel room for about six weeks. During this extended stay of seclusion, Ledger delved deep into the psychology of the character. He devoted himself to developing The Joker's every tic, namely the voice and that sadistic- sounding laugh.
Ledger's interpretation of The Joker's appearance was primarily based off of the chaotic, disheveled look of punk rocker Sid Vicious
combined with the psychotic mannerisms of Malcolm McDowell's character, Alex De Large, from A Clockwork Orange (1971). (imdb.com) Name______Date______Film & Lit. Mr. Corbo
The Joker's mask during the initial bank robbery is almost exactly the same as the mask worn by Cesar Romero when hijacking a performance of Pagliacci in the TV series episode "Batman: The Joker Is Wild (#1.5)" (1966). (imdb.com)
Cesar Romero as “The Joker” (1966) Heath Ledger as “The Joker” (2008)
Directions: For this assignment, reinvent a classic “hero” or “villain”. Explain how costume, make-up, performance and fashion influence characterization. You may use an established character (from movies or literature; i.e., James Bond, Wonder Woman) or character “type” (detective, cowboy, lawyer, arch villain, action hero/heroine, etc.) or create a character of your own (which requires you to supply a lot more information of the origins/background of the character). • Create a visual aesthetic for the character and present in the form of: drawings, photos, collage, Power Point, poster, or scrapbook/portfolio. • Write a two (2) page, typed explanation of the choices you made to develop and reinvent your character. • Explain and describe the “world” of the character: o Setting (ex. Gotham City) o Costume o Behavior/Language/Slang o Weapons (ex. Joker’s gun, Batman’s vast array of weapons) o Vehicle/Modes of Transportation (ex. BatMobile) o Architecture (ex. Wayne manor, Wayne Enterprises, “BatCave”), etc.
DUE DATE to TurnItIn.com:______