Oscar tribute for Ledger: James Franco

In a tribute to late Australian star Heath Ledger, actor James Franco said Ledger should get Oscar for his realistic performance as 'The Joker' in 'The Dark Knight'.
'The Spiderman' actor said Ledger's character in the film had real emotional depth. He has expressed his views in Variety's 'Contenders' issue, in which actors single out their fellow professionals for praise ahead of Oscar awards season, the Contactmusicreported.
Unusual for a blockbuster film, 'The Dark Knight' second in all-time box office takings, has been widely tipped for Oscar recognition in 2009.
Having starred in a comic book film himself, as Harry Osborn in the 'Spider-Man' films, Franco admitted that Ledger's work in 'The Dark Knight' was "great".
"With any superhero movie villain, everybody is still contending with the huge shadow that Jack Nicholson cast with the first Batman," Franco said.
"His was such an indelible performance. Heath had to be very conscious of it when he and Christopher Nolan went into their movie.
"And they did such an incredible job of getting away from the Nicholson character while being faithful to the idea of the Joker," he added.
Ledger was found dead in his New York City apartment in January, having suffered an accidental overdose of prescription medication.
"Heath wasn't the funniest of Jokers, but certainly the more grounded of villains.
"At least on an emotional level, you could follow why he was doing this stuff; there was real emotional depth," he added.