News About News That Is About Nothing

So the Batman movie is taking the world by storm. Speculation has it that part of the reason it has been so successful at the box office is because the Joker bit the dust. Or at least the actor who portrayed him did. Heath Ledger. Or I should say the late or ex-Heath Ledger.

As if the sudden death of a young movie star by a drug overdose isn't enough news, someone in the media had to come up with the idea that the dark nature of his role as the Joker strongly contributed to his demise. Perhaps it was his inability to get out of his character when the camera stopped rolling that promoted his despondence and use of drugs.

OK. Fine. If this was true, then maybe it would be an interesting sidebar. Although it would make me a bit nervous about actors in general. What if the next "Godfather" can't get "out of character" and starts having media people whacked whenever he thinks that they have "disrespected" him, like maybe by accusing him of not being able to get out of character? Could be a problem. On the other hand, it could be a blessing...

At any rate, it doesn't really matter because this whole idea of this actor turning to drugs because his role as the Joker was just way too much for his psyche to handle was made up. It wasn't true. This isn't what happened. Big surprise there, huh?

I know all of this because my wife was watching this show where they were interviewing other actors in the movie about the former Mr. Ledger. They all stated that the idea that his demise was caused by the Joker himself was not true, not possible, crazy, unfounded, etc, etc.

So basically here it is: a show interviewing people about something that was made up asking them if it was true and all of them saying it was made up. The media created the rumor and then had a tv show to dispel the rumor that they made up. Everyone on the show knew the media made it up, but they came on the media's show to tell the world that the media generated rumor was made up.

And I thought that "Seinfeld" was the show that was supposed to be about "nothing".

Seinfeld has nothing on the news.