What happened to Finch was, during the Awards Season, when Finch was up for NETWORK, he was in contention for Best Actor, but Robert DeNiro was racking up the hardware for TAXI DRIVER....then Finch died, and the sympathy momentum swung to him.

Finch was excellent in NETWORK, and you can argue he did deserve the Oscar. Then again, DeNiro sort of became a living legend with DRIVER, yeah?

Then don't forget James Dean, who had two Oscar nominations for two different movies in two different years after he died...and lost twice.

I think for Ledger's chance for the Oscar, it'll have to be that unless some 5 other serious contenders come along during the fall/winter movie season, or the hoopla over TDK fades by then....I just don't know.

Of course, Johnny Depp got similar universal praise for being Captain Jack Sparrow in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, even from people who hated the movie...his Oscar chances were written off, but Disney got behind that campaign with some hard cash, and boom, Depp got a nod for Best Actor, his first(believe it or not.)

But he lost to Sean Penn for MYSTIC RIVER.