Spoilers Joker: Folie à Deux

[JD]

According to a report from Variety (via IGN) Todd Phillips wanted nothing to do with DC while he was making this, and refused to work with James Gunn and Peter Safran, and only worked with the WB movie people.
That seems like kind of a strange attitude to take when you're adapting some of the company's biggest characters. I guess that really shows just how much Phillips actually cared about being authentic to the comics.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Nothing about that surprises me at all. Filmmakers who want to make their own projects are finding that nothing above a certain budget gets made unless it's attached to an IP (unless they're Christopher Nolan), so Todd Phillips' gritty tribute to Scorsese films had to at least pretend it was a DC movie. When the film made a ton of money he had the power to cut loose from the comics even more to make the sequel he and Joaquin Phoenix wanted to make. I guess Warner Bros. figured that as long as they included an inmate called Harley Quinn and a lawyer called Harvey Dent, fans would be as happy as they were with the first movie. No need to involve Gunn and Safran.

 

[Anwar]

According to a report from Variety (via IGN) Todd Phillips wanted nothing to do with DC while he was making this, and refused to work with James Gunn and Peter Safran, and only worked with the WB movie people.
That seems like kind of a strange attitude to take when you're adapting some of the company's biggest characters. I guess that really shows just how much Phillips actually cared about being authentic to the comics.

Phillips didn't care about the comics, he made it clear he was just using the "Joker" name to make his own movie that was a Scorsese homage and some of the other actors said they also were doing the film because they disliked comic book movies and wanted to essentially mock them.

Joaquin Phoenix isn't that nasty, but he outright said something like "Look, if we'd just called the movie Clown or Arthur then most wouldn't have noticed it".

 

[JD]

I had gotten the impression that was the attitude they approached the movie with, and that was part of why I never saw the first one. And I just wasn't interested in it, for while now I've been watching less movies and shows that are just nasty people doing horrible stuff, and it sounded like that was pretty much all these movies are. I'm a huge fan of the comic book Joker, and the versions from things like the '60s series, The Animated Series, and the Arkham games, so if the movie had stuck closer to those versions, I might have been more likely to give it a chance, but once I heard that it literally had nothing to do with the comics or any of those adaptations, I immediately lost interest.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Joaquin Phoenix isn't that nasty, but he outright said something like "Look, if we'd just called the movie Clown or Arthur then most wouldn't have noticed it".

I think movie studios should all get together and agree to not release any franchise movies, sequels or adaptations for one year and see what happens. No comic book films, no video game films, nothing based on books or TV shows or dolls or YouTube skits. Just original ideas that filmmakers actually care about, each with a fair chance of being noticed as there's nothing else to go and see.

It might kill cinemas for good, or it might save the industry. At the very least there won't be a single fan left disappointed.

 

[JD]

That would be an interesting experiment. How long as it been since a completely original movie was a major hit? I'm talking about Marvel, or whatever the equivalent at the time was, amounts of money.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Oppenheimer was pretty huge last year, came close to making a billion. In fact, Christopher Nolan's last few films were all original.

 

[theenglish]

Avatar: The Way of Water. But, at this point, Cameron and Nolan are their own franchises.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Avatar: The Way of Water. But, at this point, Cameron and Nolan are their own franchises.

I was thinking of that, but it's a sequel. The first Avatar definitely wasn't a sequel or an adaptation however.

 

[the G-man]

Springtime for Joker?

You know, I can actually picture a pretty entertaining version of that with Cesar Romaro.

 

[fireproof78]

According to a report from Variety (via IGN) Todd Phillips wanted nothing to do with DC while he was making this, and refused to work with James Gunn and Peter Safran, and only worked with the WB movie people.
That seems like kind of a strange attitude to take when you're adapting some of the company's biggest characters. I guess that really shows just how much Phillips actually cared about being authentic to the comics.

Or, he just wanted his story, his way, and used the money of WB to tell the story he wanted.

 

[Commander Troi]

I had gotten the impression that was the attitude they approached the movie with, and that was part of why I never saw the first one. And I just wasn't interested in it, for while now I've been watching less movies and shows that are just nasty people doing horrible stuff, and it sounded like that was pretty much all these movies are. I'm a huge fan of the comic book Joker, and the versions from things like the '60s series, The Animated Series, and the Arkham games, so if the movie had stuck closer to those versions, I might have been more likely to give it a chance, but once I heard that it literally had nothing to do with the comics or any of those adaptations, I immediately lost interest.

The first one is an interesting character study and Joaquin is amazing in it. But if you're looking for the Joker from the comics, it definitely ain't. I waited to see it until it came to HBO. I'm glad I saw it, but I'm also glad I didn't go to the theater for it.

 

[JD]

I might check it out eventually just to see what all the talk was about, but it's pretty far down on my list.

Oppenheimer was pretty huge last year, came close to making a billion. In fact, Christopher Nolan's last few films were all original.

Oppenheimer is kind of borderline for me since it's a based on real people, so it's still not a totally original idea.

Avatar: The Way of Water. But, at this point, Cameron and Nolan are their own franchises.

I was thinking of that, but it's a sequel. The first Avatar definitely wasn't a sequel or an adaptation however.

I wouldn't count Way of Water, but the original would count since it was a totally original story. I think a few of Pixar, Dreamworks, and Disney all had some animated movies that were original stories that did pretty well.

Or, he just wanted his story, his way, and used the money of WB to tell the story he wanted.

Yeah, but calling it Joker, when it has nothing to do with the character from the comics, kind of feels like they're lying to fans of the comics who are going expecting that character.

 

[fireproof78]

Yeah, but calling it Joker, when it has nothing to do with the character from the comics, kind of feels like they're lying to fans of the comics who are going expecting that character.

They are.

 

[theenglish]

Yeah, but calling it Joker, when it has nothing to do with the character from the comics, kind of feels like they're lying to fans of the comics who are going expecting that character.

That's absolutely correct, which is why I think that this story was originally written as something different than The Joker. As Commander Troi says, it is not a movie about the comics character. It was an amazing story though. After reading comments on this board, I was prepared for the fact that I wasn't going into a comic book movie and was able to really enjoy the movie as being a brilliant piece of work all on its own.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Blu-Ray release December 17th.

 

[Mage]

I wouldn't count Way of Water, but the original would count since it was a totally original story.

Well....... Not totally original.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

Well....... Not totally original.

As original as any modern story told since they've literally all been told before.

 

[Skipper]

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[StarMan]

Anyone seen it yet?

<Skims posts>

Hmm. It doesn't appear so.