Biggest movie story of 2008: Heath Ledger

January 1, 8:28 PMLA Film ExaminerRebecca Ford

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Ledger

Australian actor Heath Ledger surpassed all other movie stories for 2008, according to a poll conducted by Moviefone.com.

The poll, which accumulated 3.5 million votes, found that Ledger swept the awards as Best Villain, most missed star and biggest news story, due in part to the release of “The Dark Knight,” released six months after his death.

Ledger edged out Paul Newman for the star who will be most missed in the poll, 56 to 20 percent of votes. Ledger died nearly a year ago on January 22, 2008 of an accidental overdose in New York. He was 28.

Clearly, the awards coming up this month will also reflect the admiration for “The Dark Knight,” which was 2008’s biggest grossing movie. Ledger has won Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for his role of the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

“The Dark Knight” also won Best Action Movie and "movie most worth your cash" in the Moviefone poll.

“Twilight” won as Best Chick Flick, and star actor Robert Pattinson won breakout star of the year.