^{Why so serious?  Oh right, because I’m dead.  Carry on, then.}

Heath Ledger won the Australian Film Institute’s Best Actor Award for his portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight.  His family accepted the award on his behalf.  And of course, it just wouldn’t be a film awards ceremony without someone using the phrases “legacy” and “psychopathic clown” in the same sentence.

“It was this swaggering, psychopathic clown that turned his career into a legacy and the name Heath Ledger into an ongoing inspiration to actors everywhere,” the Australia Film Institute said at the awards ceremony Saturday night in Melbourne. [Yahoo]

He was great, and he probably deserves the Oscar, no one’s going to argue that.  But keep in mind the Australian Film Institute is run by Chopper Reid, the director of Turkey Shoot, and the feral child from Mad Max.  I hear he’s a Scientologist now!

The studio plans to rerelease The Dark Knight in January, at the height of Oscar season.  Execs hope the move will improve their chances to rub it in Spike Lee’s face.

Warners domestic distribution president Dan Fellman acknowledged ongoing talks with Imax executives about the prospect of restoring the Christian Bale starrer to some number of giant-screen venues in January. It’s uncertain if “Dark Knight” also will reappear in conventional venues at that point.

“It’s just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder for people,” a studio insider said. [THR]

“The who what now?” said an Academy voter of the $952 million dollar-grossing movie.  “Never heard of it.”