Forbes recently named Ledger the third highest-earning dead celebrity, after Elvis and "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz, estimating that Ledger's estate will earn at least $20 million from "The Dark Knight" (his deal included a cut of the film and merchandising revenue).
In Australia, there's been an ongoing controversy over whether to name a new theater complex in Perth, Ledger's hometown, after the actor. Ledger's estate filed suit against the insurance company ReliaStar after the firm stalled on paying the actor's $10-million life insurance policy while it investigated whether the actor committed suicide. (The New York City medical examiner has ruled his death accidental.)
Warner Bros. was deft in its initial marketing push for "The Dark Knight," for the campaign neither hid Ledger's presence nor overly hyped it. (The family asked the studio not to take down any ads using Ledger's image in the aftermath of his death, according to one studio source.) In fact, word of mouth did most of the work as Ledger's creepy and brilliant tour de force caught the public's imagination. It's impossible to know how much his untimely death added to the studio's bottom line.
Running an Oscar campaign is even trickier, though, because there are more pointed questions of taste and propriety. Last summer, Terry Gilliam, Ledger's friend and the director of his final film, "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," complained to the Telegraph of London that such a campaign was inherently exploitative.
"They'll do anything to publicize their film," Gilliam said of the studio. "That's just what they do, and you can't get upset. . . . They're like a great white shark which devours whatever it can."
An Oscar consultant who represents other competitors and who declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the Ledger situation said: "There is sadness to the situation, but you don't use it. It just exists."
One challenge to a full-fledged award campaign is Ledger's absence. Doing the screening-party circuit is usually a must for any would-be nominee, notes another competing Oscar strategist who also asked for anonymity: "One of the biggest challenges is, obviously, not having Heath. You don't have the person to be the face of the campaign."
