Heath Oscar-Bound in Dark Knight

Someone gave me the tip-off to this a while back but I kind of disregarded it. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe it, it was more that it was too early to be talking about it. And now it is big news.
Why? Because it’s a Drudge Page One. Drudge links to this blog post by Sam Rubin (who does the red carpet at Oscar time and was all over Juno last year – a lot of enthusiasm, not the best predictor – we love you, Sam!):

I just returned from a screening and I wanted to commit this to a public forum as quickly as possible. Heath Ledger gives a blockbuster performance in the new Batman movie. His work, as The Joker, will absolutely be nominated for an Oscar, and at this point in the year, Ledger is also a hands-down favorite to win it posthumously. Ledger offers perfect pitch, perfect tone, his Joker hits all the right notes. ‘The Dark Knight’ is among the better super-hero movies of all time, and Ledger is THE BEST villain in a super hero movie of all time. Really. It will only add to the conversation of all that Ledger could have accomplished had he lived. Amazing work.

And the AP’s David Germaine on Ledger:

The buzz over Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” for the last several months was justified. With his final full film role, Ledger delivers what may be remembered as the finest performance of his career.