Filed at 6:09 a.m. ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Australian actor Heath
Ledger beat all-comers in a 2008 movie poll released on Thursday, sweeping
the biggest news story, most missed star and best villain categories thanks to
his posthumous hit film "The Dark Knight."
Ledger, whose death at age 28 in January of an accidental prescription drugs
overdose shocked the world, was voted the biggest movie news story of 2008 by 83
percent of votes in the poll by AOL's online movie site Moviefone.com.
The actor also topped the list of movie stars voters will most miss after
their deaths, edging out the late Paul
Newman by 56 to 20 percent of votes.
Ledger has won Golden Globe and Screen
Actors Guild nominations for his supporting actor role as The Joker in the
Batman move "The Dark Knight", which was released six months after his
death.
"The Dark Knight", the biggest-grossing box office movie worldwide of 2008,
easily won the best action movie and "movie most worth your cash" in the
Moviefone poll.
But teen vampire movie "Twilight", a favorite with young girls around the
world, gave Ledger and "The Dark Knight" a run for the money.
"Twilight" beat "Sex and the City" as the best chick flick of 2008, while
actor Robert Pattinson was voted breakout star of the year and Pattinson and his
"Twilight" co-star Kristen
Stewart won the best on-screen couple with 41 percent of votes.
Sexiest babe of 2008 and best nude scene went to Angelina
Jolie for the action movie "Wanted" and Jolie also topped the poll as the
actress with the best multiple performances of 2008 for "Wanted", "The
Changeling", and "Kung Fu Panda."
But Jolie and her partner Brad
Pitt came second to Will and Jada
Pinkett Smith as the best off-screen couple with 32 percent and 38 percent
of votes respectively.
The Mike
Myers comedy "The Love Guru" was deemed the worst movie of 2008 by 40
percent of voters, with Paris
Hilton's performance in "Repo! The Genetic Opera" heading the list of stars
with the worst performances.
Looking ahead, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", out in July 2009,
was the most anticipated movie followed by the latest "X-Men" installment "X-Men
Origins: Wolverine."
The poll ran from Dec 17-29 and attracted 3.5 million votes.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Patricia
Reaney)