JOKER Director Todd Phillips Likens Comic Books To Shakespeare As He Discusses Leto, Ledger, And Nicholson

JOKER Director Todd Phillips Likens Comic Books To Shakespeare As He Discusses Leto, Ledger, And Nicholson

Attending TIFF after a stellar showing at the Venice Film Festival, director Todd Phillips was asked about the riskiness of following Heath Ledger's masterful Joker (Has the world forgotten Jared Leto?).

By MarkJulian - Sep 09, 2019 08:09 PM EST
Filed Under: Joker
Source: Variety
Todd Phillips is the man of the hour right now as Joker marches toward its October 4 premiere after winning the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival. Past winners of the award include Roma, The Shape of Water, The Wrestler, and Brokeback Mountain

What these films all have in common is that they went on to be nominated in several categories at the Oscars, an achievement that many critics expect Joker to repeat.

Fresh from all the unexpected success at Venice, Phillips walked the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival where he was asked about revisiting the "sacred ground" of Heath Ledger's character (it seems the interviewer has completely wiped Suicide Squad from his mind).  

Phillips responded, "No. I lovie it [The Dark Knight]. And Jared Leto followed it and I loved that too. Jack Nicholson proceeded it and I loved that. In the states, comic books are our Shakespeare it seems and you can do many, many versions of Hamlet. There will be many more versions of Joker in the future."



Director Todd Phillips “Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone fictional story not seen before on the big screen.  Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society.  A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night…but finds the joke always seems to be on him.  Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.
Quentin Tarantino Responds To JOKER 2 Praise Backlash: What Do You Care What the F*ck I Like?
Related:

Quentin Tarantino Responds To JOKER 2 Praise Backlash: "What Do You Care What the F*ck I Like?"

JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX Finishes Theatrical Run With Just $206 Million Worldwide Ahead Of Max Debut
Recommended For You:

JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX Finishes Theatrical Run With Just $206 Million Worldwide Ahead Of Max Debut

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2
tmp3
tmp3 - 9/9/2019, 8:28 PM
This is getting raves out of the TIFF screening that just ended
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 8:33 PM
@tmp3

I’m hyped. A very spoilery scene leaked on reddit. I stopped watching after 5 seconds.

Even after reading the script I just wanna see it play out and watch Joaquin do his thing.



tmp3
tmp3 - 9/9/2019, 8:35 PM
@regularmovieguy - Even critics who hated the script are saying it's good! Looks like Todd & Joaquin pulled it off
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 8:34 PM
Also:

Todd Phillips confirmed Joaquin will not be facing off against Batman in Matt Reeves movies
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 8:36 PM
@tmp3

You talking about that Drew McWeeny guy? Where you reading these btw? Twitter?
tmp3
tmp3 - 9/9/2019, 8:43 PM
@regularmovieguy - Not McWeeny, one of the slashfilm guys hated the script but liked the movie
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 8:44 PM
@FBarnhill

Where does he say it’s “better” because it’s not a typical CBM in any of the interviews?

Marc Maron (podcaster, comedian) doesn’t like comic book movies. And he admittedly took the role in this movie because he wanted to work with Joaquin Phoenix and Robert DeNiro.
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 8:45 PM
@tmp3

Nice, yeah I just saw that. 👍🏻

The hype is real, dude.
tmp3
tmp3 - 9/9/2019, 9:12 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 -
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 9/9/2019, 9:17 PM
@tmp3 - Classic.
KWilly
KWilly - 9/9/2019, 9:11 PM
When it comes to live action Jokers, since I haven't seen Phoenix's yet, I think Cameron Monaghan is the second best one ever. In fact, he'll probably go down as the most underrated one yet.



regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 9:12 PM
From what I’ve heard:

- Best Picture nom is looking better and better
- Best Actor is a lock
- Cinematography and Production Design seem to be in the mix
- Maybe even a Best Director nom for Phillips?
- The hype is real
tmp3
tmp3 - 9/9/2019, 9:18 PM
@regularmovieguy - Dunno about Director. Tarantino, Malick, Bong, Scorsese and Marielle Heller all have better odds. That said, Best Adapted Screenplay nomination looks very good, and Best Score sounds like a lock?
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 9:21 PM
On-Topic:

Christian Bale on Joaquin Phoenix

https://twitter.com/oidsnake/status/1171226057241976832?s=21

Greatness recognizing greatness

regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 9:30 PM
@tmp3

Damn, I haven’t heard much about the score. Saw some horror movie vibes in the reactions and I was wondering how the score would play into that.

And yeah, Best Director is going to have some competition this year. I’m hyped for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Can’t wait to see Parasite.

Has Malick’s movie premiered yet?
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 9/9/2019, 9:51 PM
@Nomis

From what I saw it’s during the climax of the movie...

Get in your hole!

1 2
View Recorder