how do you not hear Heath's joker in this, not able to keep eye contact, the low rumble, the uneasy rocking back and forth, looking down and fidgeting.. the way he gets closer to the mic.
"Most people don't care if you're telling them the truth or if you're telling them a lie, as long as they're entertained by it. You find that out really fast" - Tom Waits
Tom is the most creative and talented man alive today. Now that he is more accepted and older, I like seeing his confidence compared to these days. Why is there an American talk show host in Australia?
Tom Lane had an interesting career. Look him up on Wiki if you like. He was a New Yorker who found his way to Australia in the 60's. He became something of an icon on Aussie TV, especially after the appearance of a Canadian sceptic James Randi on Don's TV show.
I mean, kinda. He did acknowledge who Tom was pretty well. But my problem with Don is that he went on most of the time just kinda mocking Tom and trying to be funny. And putting Tom's quirks under a microscope so people could laugh about it. Like asking him what he was looking at and Tom had to tell him to move on with the show. Just obviously making him feel awkward about himself. A lot of hosts kinda did this to Tom, I've seen all of the interviews I could find on him. But Don's was one of the worst, but not THE worst. There was another one...can't remember it now or where it is on here and they just made Tom feel so awkward and the host was being a right dick. Edit: Oh, I remember now. The video doesn't appear to be up anymore. But one of Tom on the show 'Loose Talk'. Was just pathetic how they all treated Tom, even the crowd yelling out stupid shit. tomwaitslibrary.info/interviews/83-oct18-loosetalk.html He was completely surrounded by half-wits. Don isn't much better...just a guy who doesn't "get it".
This interview was aired on ...... Australian television. Heath Ledger was originally from ...... Australia. Well, that adds to....... yes, Ledger most probably watched this interview and based his Joker character on it (which was a great artistic choice, by the way).
+Mottahead I do believe he would have likely seen this at some point. Outside of the Joker, Heath did act quite a bit like Tom at times. Some of the mannerisms and quirky kind of posture he had. Even a passing facial resemblance. It is worth noting that Tom did the Trauberts Blues of Waltzing Matilda and Heath of course named his daughter Matilda but it is a common Australian folk song, however I did read some years back that Heath loved and was fascinated by Waits' rendition of it. So with all of this in mind, I think Heath may very well have been influenced by Tom Waits, even beyond the Joker. As for Joker, remember Heath said when he got the role that, "Within five seconds I knew exactly how I was going to do it." I bet he had known how he would do the Joker for many years before he got the role. Imaginarium had Tom Waits in it also. So they worked together. Add all of this up. This is not all coincidence. I do believe Heath was influenced by Tom Waits on quite a large scale in many aspects of his life and his craft.
No wonder heath ledger took inspiration from this guy. You can see so many resemblance of such character in heaths jocker. This man was just unbelievable.
You can tell by the mannerisms between the two they were joking with each other for most of the interview. I don’t think there was any bad blood between the two, like when Tom calls him out for reading of the page, and Don asking Tom what he wants to answer, that’s comedy. Especially talking about the music they enjoy.
Yes he did. He had his dairy when he locked up himself to prepare for the role and he had written about this interview. This was an inspiration for heath ledger to play jocker because there is so much resemblance in both of this character and the way they talk.
Could have sworn it was this interview where Tom was asked, "Why do you drink so much?" He replied, "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."
Can tell Don was quite an amateur at this. Why would you ever mock your guest? As a host, part of your job is to make the person being interviewed seem interesting. (Even though Tom is already interesting on his own.) Or even as someone who is interviewing someone else and not necessarily a tv host. Your supposed to show those that may not know what they are about, what they are about and show their strengths.
DL: You can ask for anything you want in this show, and we'll have someone go out and get it for you. TW: Christ! DL: We tried to get him, but there wasn't enough money. Classic!
I used to watch Don Lane cos he had great guests. Trouble was he couldn't just interview them, he had to try and upstage them and be more entertaining; always failed!
I feel the reason why tom is acting like this is not because of drugs. This is what i think. i think tom was exhausted and had ben drinking some alcohol and thats the reason why he appearse high and strung out.
Don Lane is not even aware that Waits sets him up with his answers. Waits isn't drunk or on drugs -- that's the typical hipster persona Tom has used often. If he were stoned he wouldn't answer so sharply and humorously. The only thing Lane can do to save face is to be condescending. But it makes him look stupid. Unlike WABC-TV's show in New York with Stanley Siegal at the same time (a show I worked on so I'm familiar with this style of interview). Siegal was never condescending but he was an entertaining host. He and his show made the newspapers almost every other day.
Stupid Don Lane... he should have just acted naturally and waited for Tom to be himself instead of rushing him for answers and trying to make him lift his head etc.
Jean-Luc Thomas I would have thought something like heroin but looking it up he was an alcoholic. Is that his usual body language? Must admit I kind of like it
