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EXCLUSIVE: Joker Director Todd Phillips REVEALS why he wanted to make a film on Arthur Fleck's origin
Todd Phillips loved the complexity of Joker and felt his origin would be worth exploring on film since nobody's done that. Joaquin Phoenix brings to life Arthur Fleck's story on-screen in Joker, set to release in India on October 4, 2019.
We're just a few days away from witnessing Joaquin Phoenix deliver his possible Oscar-winning performance as Joker in Joker. Directed by Todd Phillips with screenplay by Phillips and Scott Silver, Joker also stars Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz. Joker looks into the origins of Arthur Fleck becoming Joker. Arthur is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. Longing for any light to shine on him, he tries his hand as a stand-up comic but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty and, ultimately, betrayal, Arthur makes one bad decision after another that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty, allegorical character study.
Talking about why he chose to make an origin film on Joker, Todd revealed, "I love the complexity of Joker and felt his origin would be worth exploring on film since nobody’s done that and even in the canon he has no formalized beginning. So, Scott Silver and I wrote a version of a complex and complicated character, and how he might evolve...and then devolve. That is what interested me—not a Joker story, but the story of becoming Joker."
The filmmaker also got candid about the theme of the film sharing "One of the themes we wanted to explore with the movie is empathy and, more importantly, the lack of empathy that is present in so much of Arthur’s world," Phillips confessed and added, "For example, in the movie you will see the difference in the way little kids and adults react to Arthur, because kids see the world through no lens; they don’t see rich versus poor or understand a marginalized individual the way adults do. They just see Arthur as a guy who’s trying to make them smile. It’s not inherent, we have to learn how to be unaccepting of others and, unfortunately, we usually do."
Finally, talking about what he wishes for people to take back from Joker, Todd concluded, "We often talk about the tip of the iceberg, but we rarely speak about what’s underneath—about what gets you there."
Are you excited to see Joker? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
ALSO READ: Joker: Director Todd Phillips sheds light on a possible sequel to the Joaquin Phoenix starrer
Meanwhile, Joker is slated to release in India on October 4, 2019.
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