And the Winner is...

The Oscar's were last night, and much to everyone's expectations, Heath Ledger was awarded the Best Supporting Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker in last summer's The Dark Knight. Yes, the movie was good, and yes, Ledger disappeared into the role, but there is another item that needs to be considered: the "niche" market the role was in.

I don't want to reduce the accolades that the performance deserves, but remember that the role was in a comic-book based action movie - one that normally gets consideration for visual effects or sound, but rarely anything for acting roles (yes, Ian McKellen was nominated as Gandalf, for Fellowship a few years ago, but that was really the only acting nom for the entire trilogy...) - but this award helps the cause of credibility (much like LotR identified that, yes, good, serious, non-campy fantasy movies can be made), and that there are really good actors doing work in some of these roles.

I say that to say this... with Watchmen coming out next week, I am curious to see how the "Academy" will react, and if there will be a push for nominations for next year's ceremony (the first one that I thought of was "Best Adapted Screenplay", but that's the writer in me.)

Congratulations to all of the nominees, and other winners. I know the Ledger award is a bitter-sweet moment, and I hope the family is able to pass on just how good he was as Heath's daughter gets older.