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Jerry Robinson talks about the Joker

Alan Gardner81 mins

E&P’s Dave Astor interviewed Jerry Robinson, the creator of the Joker character who makes a return to the big screen with release of “The Dark Knight.” Jerry calls Heath Ledger’s performance “brilliant” and a much closer portrayal of the character than Jack Nicholson’s “TV take on the Joker” performance. The interview delves into Robinson’s roll in the making of the movie and how the Joker character came to be.

8 thoughts on “Jerry Robinson talks about the Joker”

  1. I have to say, I agree with the Joker’s creator on this one. (ha ha.) Heath Ledger blew Jack out of the water.

    Before Heath’s Joker, I thought the “Animated Series” version (voiced by Mark Hamill) was the closest to his comic book essence. Of course, since that was a cartoon, they weren’t allowed to go as dark as they did in this movie.

  2. I agree with you, Josh.

    Actually, I still think that the Animated Series is still the best Joker, even if he was kept pretty PG.

    But I was surprised how much I liked the Heath Ledger Joker. It was different, yes, but at the same time it was perfect.

  4. I just saw The Dark Knight yesterday, and I gotta agree that all the hype about Heath Ledger’s performance were true. What a performance! The guy that played Harvey Dent was also great. Batman is my favorite character, but he was the least interesting part of the movie. Bale was fine, it just was more of the Joker’s movie.

    And Maggie Gylenhal(sp?) stunk as Rachel Dawes. She looks like she’s 70 years old! Where was hottie Katie Holmes when you need her…did Tom put the kabosh on her acting in this movie? Is scientology anti-Batman?

    And I never thought Nicholson was good as the Joker, and Cesar Romero was indeed great! I always thought that they should have hired Jim Carrey to play the Joker instead of the Riddler. He’d be perfect…

  5. I think the great thing about Heath Ledger’s Joker is the fact that he was not at all a “cartoon” character. Let’s face it, Nicholson and Romero were just live action cartoon characatures of the original villian. Pale shadows really.

    Ledger’s Joker is quite obviously a disturbed psychopathic killer which is much more in line with the character’s original conception. In face, if you took Ledger out of the make up and the scars, he’d still be one bad a$$ scary villian. That’s what made his performance so great. No gas, no gags, just a knife and some explosives. Great stuff.

  7. Well, I am a Batman fan. The thing that made me Batman fan was Burton’s Batman. So, after I saw that movie, I wanted to read the comics. And I loved them, and started to HATE Burton’s Batman. It wasn’t based on the great comics. So I stoped to look at the Batman movies. Then Batman Begins came. I didn’t want to watch it, but my friend said it was one of the best movies he has ever seen. And when I saw BB, I loved it. And then, when I heard about “The Dark Knight” I wasn’t pleased. “They’re only going to destroy the Joker” I thoughts. But when I heard Heath was put on the cast, I started to hope (I’ve seen him in A Knights Tail). And here I am, a comicbook fan who is more than pleased over The Dark Knight, not the least becouse of Heath.

  8. Well, I am a Batman fan. The thing that made me Batman fan was Burton’s Batman. So, after I saw that movie, I wanted to read the comics. And I loved them, and started to stop loving Burton’s Batman. It wasn’t based on the great comics. So I stoped to look at the Batman movies. Then Batman Begins came. I didn’t want to watch it, but my friend said it was one of the best movies he has ever seen. And when I saw BB, I loved it. And then, when I heard about “The Dark Knight” I wasn’t pleased. “They’re only going to destroy the Joker” I thoughts. But when I heard Heath was put on the cast, I started to hope (I’ve seen him in A Knights Tail). And here I am, a comicbook fan who is more than pleased over The Dark Knight, not the least becouse of Heath.

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