Joker: Folie À Deux director Todd Phillips 'wanted nothing to do with DC' during making of the $200million flop
film, a new report has claimed.
The hotly-anticipated sequel to the 2019 billion dollar Oscar-winning film - stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady
Gaga and was considered a surefire hit for Warner Bros Pictures -
but was slammed by critics and failed to ignite at the box office.
The sequel has been roundly criticized for being a musical and 'ignoring' the DC fanbase - with an agent familiar
with Phillips' process telling Variety he 'wanted nothing to do with DC' during the
making of the film, with DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran notably absent from the
film's LA premiere afterparty last month.
A source said: 'If the first movie was about some down-on-his-luck, mentally ill
guy in a downtrodden city, it makes maybe $150 [million]
worldwide. Not a billion. People showed up because that guy was Joker.'
In an apparent snub by Phillips, the opening sequence
of the film does not include a DC Studios logo.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of 31% and a critic score of 32%
The hotly-anticipated sequel to the 2019 billion dollar Oscar-winning film - stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga - seen with Phillips
last month - and was considered a surefire hit for Warners Bros Pictures -
but was slammed by critics and failed to ignite at the box office
A DC spokesman said Gunn was directing the Max series Peacemaker in Atlanta, which had lost a day of production due to Hurricane
Helene, while Safran was sick.
Read More
Joker: Folie À Deux is branded 'bleak' and the 'most disappointing follow-up' by
critics
A Warner spokesman added that a DC logo appears
at the end of the Joker sequel. while Phillips declined to comment to the publication.
Several frictions are said to have developed
between Phillips, DC and Warner- with claims that Michael DeLuca,
Chairperson of Warner Bros. Entertainment, and CEO Pamela Abdy seemed 'unwilling' to say no to Phillips due to his huge past successes.
It is claimed Phillips would 'only' speak with DeLuca
and Abdy rather than Gunn and Safran - who took control of DC two
months before production began on Joker 2 in December 2022.
Gunn and Safran did attend the first director's cut
screening for the studio but Phillips fueled rift speculation when he told a reporter:
'With all due respect to them, this is kind of a Warner Bros.
movie.'
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav also met with Phillips shortly after WarnerMedia and Discovery merged in April 2022
and was 'open to filming in Los Angeles if the director would make the sequel at a lower price point.'
The studio wanted to film in London which would have cost around 20 per cent less.
However, Phillips insisted on filming in LA with the
budget remaining static.
The sequel has been roundly criticized for being a musical and 'ignoring' the DC fanbase - with an agent familiar with Phillips' process telling Variety
he 'wanted nothing to do with DC' during the making of the film, with
DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran notably absent from the film's LA premiere afterparty last month
A Warner spokesman told the publication the studio 'supported the decision to film in Los Angeles'.
A source directly involved with the film said: 'No one
could get through to Todd. And the one thing about genre stuff: If you don't listen and
pay attention to what the fan expectations are, you're going to fail.
Insiders also claim studio bosses did not want to premiere the film
at the Venice Film Festival, but Phillips pushed back - with a Warner
spokesman saying the studio 'fully supported the decision to bring
the film to Venice.
Joker: Folie À Deux has garnered the lowest CinemaScore
in comic book movie history as the film bombed at the
box office on opening night.
It has only made $114million worldwide against its $200million budget.
The psychological musical thriller — which has been criticized as 'bleak' and 'disappointing'
— officially released in theaters on Friday, October 4, but it only raked in $20 million at the domestic box office,
per The Hollywood Reporter.
Phoenix reprised his role as the Joker in the
sequel, which had earned him an Oscar for his portrayal in the 2019 film, while Gaga took on the role
of Harleen Lee Quinzel (Harley Quinn).
However, Joker: Folie À Deux has been given a D rating on CinemaScore — the lowest
score for a comic book movie.
Madame Web — which notably also flopped in theaters earlier
this year and also received terrible reviews — holds a higher score with a C+.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience
score of 31% and a critic score of 32%.
The sequel is projected to rake in less that $50 million at the domestic box office during the entirety of opening
weekend, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Weeks ago, the movie had been projected to bring in around $70 million - but
the number has since drastically dropped.
Joker (2019) notably opened with $96.2 million when the film first released in theaters - and eventually landed a
little over $1 billion in the global box office.
The first movie - which was also directed by Todd Phillips - had a budget of between $55 and $70 million. However, the
budget increased for Folie À Deux to around $200 million.
The 2019 movie garnered praise and positive
reviews from both critics and audiences - and won the Golden Lion during the 76th Venice International Film
Festival.
Joaquin received an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of the Joker (Arthur Fleck) - and the film garnered an additional Academy Award for Best Original Score.
The sequel also screened during the Venice International Film Festival last month in September, where
it earned a 12-minute standing ovation, per Deadline.
A source directly involved with the film said: 'No one
could get through to Todd. And the one thing about genre stuff: If you don't listen and pay attention to what
the fan expectations are, you're going to fail.
However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released in theaters on Friday - and shared their opinions on the sequel, which features musical sequences.
One fan penned, 'Joaquin Phoenix don't deserve this.
what happened to the script?' while another added, 'is it
that bad,' followed by a crying face emoji.
'Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a good choice.
It'd show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck
is,' one typed.
'But with some original songs, that keep everything vague, not just covers.
Also when I heard of the ending I snorted fr.'
A social media user wrote, 'Stop making sequels as musicals if the original wasn't
a musical.'
'Maybe he [Phillips] only had an hour long movie, and decided to randomly add musical scenes to fill the runtime,' one penned.
'Joker downfall really needs to be studied,' another shared, along with a monkey staring out a window.
One fan said, 'the movie sucks. i had to walk out of the cinema,' while another penned, 'After years of disagreement....*Joker 2 releases* Critics [shaking hands] Audience.'
However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released in theaters on Friday -
and shared their opinions over the sequel, which was also a musical
'Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a good choice.
It'd show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck
is,' one typed
'Joker downfall really needs to be studied,' another shared,
along with a monkey staring out a window
'That's way below what we expected,' one wrote in regards to the current Rotten Tomatoes scores.
'People are saying this is the worst sequel ever.'
A fan explained, 'yea this film was bad. it was pretentious and dull.
has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance.'
'It also insults the audience's intelligence. the songs were also underwhelming too.
they shouldn't have let this escape to theaters.'
One shared, 'The audience that loved the first movie is
not the same audience running to see musicals. This was a
gigantic mistake from step 1.'
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter,
Phillips discussed whether he would be interested in making
a third Joker film or a movie centered around Gaga's character.
'It's not really where this movie is headed for me.
I feel like my time in the DC Universe was these two films.'
Ahead of the movie's release, Lady Gaga also dropped an accompanying album titled Harlequin on September
27.
Joker: Folie À Deux has been branded the 'most disappointing follow-up to the Oscar-winning movie' by critics, as
they cast doubt on Lady Gaga's 'thin' role in the film following its release on Friday.
'That's way below what we expected,' one wrote in regards to the current Rotten Tomatoes
scores. 'People are saying this is the worst sequel ever'
A fan explained, 'yea this film was bad. it was pretentious and dull.
has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance'
The 'bleak' sequel, has also received a tepid
reception from fans, with some claiming Lady Gaga's career could
be at risk.
While the same director Todd Phillips was back in the hot seat, critics have said the sequel is just a 'repeat'
of the first hit but with an added musical twist.
Most critics have said Todd failed to use Gaga correctly in the movie and claimed she was only bought in for the musical aspect of it.
While the majority of critics say Joker: Folie À
Deux didn't live up to expectations, others have
dubbed the movie 'bold' and 'brilliant.'
Daily Mail's Brian Viner commended the move as 'bold' and 'brilliant' but said
it lacked any thrill.
The Independent's Geoffrey Macnab said: 'Today Joker
is best remembered as one of the most subversive and original films of the last decade, while its
hugely anticipated sequel is just as bleak and
formally daring as its predecessor'.
Meanwhile, the Irish Times' Donald Clarke gave the movie just two stars
but credited Phillips' work for making a sequel following the first movie's $1billion success.
Financial Times critic Danny Leigh said although Gaga worked hard
to bump the ratings up in the sequel, Phillips appeared to have no
idea what to do with her.
Giving a three star rating, The Guardian's Peter
Bradshaw claimed the movie proves 'claustrophobic' and 'repetitive.'
Joker: Folie À Deux has been branded the 'most disappointing follow-up to the Oscar-winning movie' by critics,
as they cast doubt on Lady Gaga's 'thin' role in the film following its release on Friday; seen in September in London
The Times' Kevin Maher wrote: 'The director Todd
Phillips said there would be no follow-up to the original, but he changed his mind and the
result is a derivative musical'
'This might be the most disappointing follow-up to an Oscar-winning performance since Anthony Hopkins reworked his silky and terrifying Dr Lecter
from for the campy, kitschy.'
Along with Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix, other stars that
had appeared in the sequel include Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beatz and
Steve Coogan.
Joker: Folie à Deux has faced additional backlash from fans as they have claimed that Gaga is running the risk of losing her
acting career.
Lady GagaJoaquin Phoenix
my webpage; จัดดอกไม้งานศพ