I confess to being morbidly obsessed with death and dying, in particularly dying young. And in a culture where dying young has become a Cause Celeb, it is now common practice to turn famous men and women who die prematurely into Gods, e.g. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Elvis, Kurt Cobain.

When James Dean died, a great many of the scripts that had been lined up for him in his still blossoming career were handed over to another Young Turk, Paul Newman. SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME, HUD, COOL HAND LUKE. These films made Paul Newman a star. But, it also dogged him for years: that he may have been the beneficiary of Dean's death. As unfair as that albatross may have been, the truth is, Newman proved himself with great performances and a long career spanning 40 years; a true legend. But still, James Dean is a God in the eyes of millions.

How unfair is it that after over 20 years plugging away in Hollyweird with excellent performances in films as diverse as LESS THAN ZERO, CHAPLIN, and ZODIAC; Robert Downey, Jr. gives the best performance of his career in the most successful movie of his career, only to have to contend with our newest Pop Culture God, Heath Ledger.

When do the Survivors get the glory? Don't get me wrong, I admired Ledger's performance in THE DARK KNIGHT. But, Robert Downey, Jr. is IRON MAN. He's fought drug addiction, depression, he's survived jail (real jail, not the celebrity country club that P. Hilton slept in), and lived to tell about it. And now, coupled with what many are claiming to be the riskiest, most challenging, and more importantly, the funniest performance of the year in TROPIC THUNDER, one has to question the unstoppable Academy Award publicity machine for Heath Ledger's Ghost, when there's a living, breathing Super-Hero Super-Star that probably deserves it more waiting in the wings.

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