The same role that won Heath Ledger an Oscar and an MTV Movie Award, in addition to cementing his place in cinema history, may also have been one that he didn't want, according to a new report citing sources close to the deceased actor. Ledger's mysterious health afflictions leading up to his death still raise numerous unanswered questions, and his role as The Joker opposite Batman in "The Dark Knight" is testament enough to Ledger's intense emotional capacity during his final days. But his haunting performance may also have evidenced his desire to get out of the film altogether.

"He was ready to bust out of the gate," Ledger's friend and agent, Steven Alexander told Vanity Fair, "but he didn’t want to step on the gas and become something that he didn’t want to become: a matinee idol." Read more...

Actor Heath Ledger, whose performance as The Joker in "The Dark Knight" already earned him a posthumous Oscar, was honored with yet another award during tonight's MTV Movie Awards.

The actor, who passed away in January 2008, was named "Best Villain" for his portrayal of Batman's clown-faced psychotic nemesis in a special MTV Movie Awards pre-show announcement. The MTV Movie Award is the latest in many honors the actor received for playing the Gotham City villain, this time beating out another nominee from a comic book movie, Luke Goss (who played Prince Nuada in "Hellboy II: The Golden Army"), as well as Derek Mears ("Friday the 13th"), Dwayne Johnson ("Get Smart") and Johnathon Schaech ("Prom Night"). Read more...

FROM MTV MOVIES: Ever since the first caveman hit the second caveman over the head with a Brontosaurus bone, mankind has been fascinated by a fight. Man vs. man, woman vs. woman, whether it's over a spurned lover, stolen property or a simple "yo' mama" joke, few things are more exciting to watch — and once again, the MTV Movie Awards is here to recognize the most memorable brawls and battles of the past year.

Chances are you've never personally witnessed a battle between a demon and a supernatural prince; a pair of impossibly handsome vampires; a caped crusader and an anarchic clown; or two bridezillas brawling in the aisle. OK — if you went to college, you've probably seen three stoners trashing an apartment.

Be sure to head on over to the Best Fight voting page, where all of the above are currently embroiled in the final days of an even greater battle. The winners will take home the big trophy Sunday evening at 9 p.m. ET — but first, at the risk of angering some obviously hot-tempered talents, we handicap the competition.

For our full breakdown of the MTV Movie Awards "Best Fight" nominees, head over to Movies.MTV.com.

FROM MTV MOVIES: You can keep your namby-pamby heroes, with their chiseled jaws, steely blue eyes and frost-tipped hairdos. The rest of us prefer to root for villains — those devious, cackling, bloodthirsty beings who exist solely to take over the world and ruin the good guy's day in the process.

Once again, the MTV Movie Awards offers fans the rare opportunity to recognize the best of the worst, bringing you an evil-packed Best Villain category filled with homicidal madmen, comical-but-deadly double-agents and a killer clown from Gotham City. Make sure to cast your vote, and then tune in Sunday evening at 9 p.m. ET to watch the winner live.

But first, read on as we handicap the competition.

For our full breakdown of the MTV Movie Awards "Best Villain" nominees, head over to Movies.MTV.com.

FROM MTV MOVIES: Luke Goss played such a badass in "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" that he's up for two MTV Movie Awards come May 31: Best Villain and Best Fight. While he thinks he has a pretty good shot at Best Fight, he wouldn't mind losing the Best Villain trophy to a certain "Dark Knight" star.

"The late, great Heath Ledger! That's beyond tough competition," said Goss, who played Prince Nuada in the "Hellboy" sequel. "It's fun just to be nominated. He did a God-given performance. I think he should get it. He will get it. He should win given his performance. I think he's got everyone in his camp. I hope he wins it."

But Goss isn't willing to give away all his awards. He's also up for Best Fight, along with "Hellboy" star Ron Perlman, and given how much work he dedicated to the fighting in the film, he hopes he has a better shot at that one.

For more on "Hellboy II" star Luke Goss and the MTV Movie Awards, head over to Movies.MTV.com.

Voting is officially open for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, and you've never had more opportunities to let your votes do the talking when it comes to comic book movies.

Last year's wealth of films based on comic book properties is indeed reflected in this year's list of MTV Movie Award nominees, with 11 nominations spread over 7 categories -- from the grand "Best Movie" all the way to the most head-scratching "Best WTF Moment."

You can log in and cast your votes for all of the categories before Wednesday, May 27, but voting for "Best Movie" will remain open right up until the big show on Sunday, May 31. Read on for a roundup of the categories and nominees comic book fans should pay extra attention to this year. Read more...

FROM MOVIES BLOG: Heath Ledger's posthumous win was undoubtedly the most emotional moment of this year's Oscars ceremony. It wasn't just the pain of seeing his family accept his award, but also the feeling that this was the final farewell to the talented actor, and his now legendary performance in "The Dark Knight."

However, as everyone knows, Ledger's Dark Knight performance wasn't his last. The actor was filming Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" at the time of his death. The film was nearly scrapped until Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Farrell stepped forward to take over the role, which was hastily rewritten to accommodate multiple performances.

The film is now complete, but it's future is still uncertain. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is having trouble finding a U.S. buyer and distributor.

Read more about the fate of Heath Ledger's performance in "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" at MoviesBlog.MTV.com.

Sunday's much-deserved posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker in "The Dark Knight" was arguably one of the event's biggest victories for fans of comic book movies, but Ledger's performance wasn't the only recognition the Academy gave to "The Dark Knight" and other comic book movies at this year's ceremony. All told, however, the wins came few and far between for films based on comics.

Along with Ledger's "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" win, "The Dark Knight" also took home Oscar Gold in the "Sound Editing" category. The second most successful film of all time, "The Dark Knight" received nominations in six other categories, several of which also included nominations for "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," "Wanted" and "Iron Man." Here's a roundup of how the nominations and wins broke down for comic book movies at the 2009 Academy Awards: Read more...

With his role as The Joker in "The Dark Knight," Heath Ledger masterfully portrayed a dangerously unpredictable criminal, worthy of Batman's attention. However, his posthumous win at Sunday night's Academy Awards presentation for "Best Supporting Actor" was anything but "unpredictable."

The odds-on favorite to win the coveted statuette, comic book and film fans the world over cheered as Ledger's name was announced as the winner during Sunday's Oscar presentation, capping off what can only be described as an historic awards season for the actor, which includes top honors from The Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Read more...

Ask just about anyone who saw "The Dark Knight" which performer they thought stole the show, and chances are they'll say "Heath Ledger" faster than The Joker made a pencil disappear in the film. Heck, even the esteemed Academy thinks so -- after all, when was the last time we saw a costumed supervillian from a comic book flick make the cut for a major nomination, let alone stand as the current odds-on favorite to win, huh?

There's certainly no debating that Ledger left some huge shoes to fill should The Joker return in future installments of the Batman franchise (and the chances are good, since, given his recent statements, Warner Bros. CEO Jeff Bewkes hopes to keep churning out Batman movies for some time to come), but one fansite -- TheUltimateJoker.com -- is petitioning Warner Bros. to not only recognize Ledger as "The Best Joker Ever," but retire the Clown Prince of Crime altogether from any future installments of Batman films. Read more...