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AT THE MOVIES
A supervillain wows
critics, audiences
Comic-book adaptations
are not typical awards-sea-
son fare, but the character-
driven “Joker” is not a typical
comic book adaptation. The
film practically aced the pre-
liminary awards season test,
playing to overwhelming ac-
claim from critics and audi-
ences at top film festivals.
Despite ongoing concern
in the industry that fran-
chises are overcrowding the
theatrical market, “Joker”
had the last laugh, nabbing
top prize with its premiere at
the Venice Film Festival. In
addition to scoring the Gold-
en Lion — and a whopping
eight-minute standing ova-
tion — the drama also se-
cured a spot at the Toronto
International Film Festival,
where it garnered more
praise for Phoenix’s off-kil-
ter performance. (The role
has an Oscar legacy: Heath
Ledger won the supporting
actor award for playing the
Joker in 2008’s “The Dark
Knight.”)
Families of Aurora
shooting victims pen
a letter to studio
Shortly after its success-
ful festival outings, “Joker”
was forced to confront a
tragic period in the fran-
chise’s past. Late last
month, family members of
victims of the 2012 mass
shooting at an Aurora, Colo.,
movie theater reached out to
Warner Bros. to express
fears that a movie centering
on a murderous man in
clown makeup might lead to
a repeat incident.
Loved ones of the vic-
tims, 12 of whom died in a
screening of Christopher
Nolan’s “The Dark Knight
Rises,” urged the studio to
donate to gun-victim organi-
zations and advocate for
gun reform.
“When we learned that
Warner Bros. was releasing a
movie called ‘Joker’ that pre-
sents the character as a pro-
tagonist with a sympathetic
origin story, it gave us
pause,” read the letter,
which was obtained by Vari-
ety. “As anyone who has ever
seen a comic book movie can
tell you: with great power
comes great responsibility.”
Warner Bros.
defends the film
The studio provided a
statement to The Times in
response to the letter, which
was addressed to its new
chief executive, Ann Sarnoff,
the day the note went public.
The company offered its
condolences to the families
and victims of mass shoot-
ings and pointed out its his-
tory of donating to victims of
violence, as well as its sup-
port for bipartisan legisla-
tion to prevent more loss.
“At the same time, Warn-
er Bros. believes that one of
the functions of storytelling
is to provoke difficult con-
versations around complex
issues,” the statement con-
tinued. “Make no mistake:
neither the fictional charac-
ter Joker, nor the film, is an
endorsement of real-world
violence of any kind. It is not
the intention of the film, the
filmmakers or the studio to
hold this character up as a
hero.”LAPD pledges to
monitor screenings
Though Warner Bros.
tried to allay anxieties lead-
ing up to the film’s release,
the LAPD later essentially
validated them by promis-
ing to increase its “visibility”
around theaters showing
the movie on opening week-
end.
“The Los Angeles Police
Department is aware of pub-
lic concerns and the histori-
cal significance associated
with the premiere of ‘Joker,’ ”
the LAPD said in a state-
ment last week. “While there
are no credible threats in the
Los Angeles area, the de-
partment will maintain high
visibility around theaters
when it opens.”
The LAPD’s announce-
ment came after both the
FBI and the U.S. Army is-
sued internal warnings
about possible threats re-
lated to the movie. One of
the warnings from the U.S.
Army Criminal Investiga-
tion Command field office at
Ft. Sill, Okla., which went
public after a memo circu-
lated online, flagged a “cred-
ible potential mass shoot-
ing” at an unknown movie
theater during “Joker’s” Fri-
day release.No press interviews
at the L.A. premiere
Amid building contro-
versy surrounding its fall
tentpole, Warner Bros. re-
scinded access for reporters
planning to cover “Joker’s”
L.A. premiere last week,
alerting them that the cast
and creatives would not stop
for interviews on the red car-
pet.
“A lot has been said about
‘Joker,’ and we just feel it’s
time for people to see the
film,” a Warner Bros. spokes-
person told The Times the
day before the event.
Journalists were still al-
lowed inside the screening
and after-party following the
press-proofed carpet.Theaters crack
down on cosplay
Exhibitors also pledged
to do their part to create safe
spaces for the public to view
the film by prohibiting
moviegoers from attending
screenings dressed as the
pic’s titular villain. AMC
Theatres bans face paint,
masks and toy weapons,
while Landmark Theatres
simply won’t allow cos-
tumes, period.
One theater chain known
for welcoming costumed
fans, Alamo Drafthouse Cin-ema, said it does not plan to
make an exception for
“Joker,” but noted that
“guests in costume are al-
ways subject to search at the
discretion of theater staff at
any time, and may be asked
to leave for any reason.”Alamo Drafthouse
cautions parents
about ‘bad vibes’
Though Alamo Draft-
house hasn’t followed suit
with a dress code for ticket
buyers, the company did
take to social media to re-
mind people of “Joker’s” R
rating. A Facebook post dis-
couraged parents from
bringing their children to
the film, assuring them
there would be “no Batman”
to save the day.
“Parental warning (this
is not a joke),” the PSA read.
“Joker is Rated R and for
good reason. There’s lots of
very, very rough language,
brutal violence, and overall
bad vibes ... It’s a gritty, dark,
and realistic Taxi Driver-
esque depiction of one man’s
descent into madness. It’s
not for kids, and they won’t
like it, anyway.”Phoenix gets (fake?)
ambushed by an
“embarrassing”
outtake
Meanwhile, it was still
business as somewhat usual
for Phoenix, who carried out
at least one press tour duty
by appearing on “Jimmy
Kimmel Live” Tuesday
night. But his relatively light
conversation with the late-
night host turned awkward
when Kimmel played a sup-
posedly never-before-seen
outtake of the actor unleash-
ing a nasty, expletive-ridden
rant on “Joker” cinemato-
grapher Lawrence Sher.
“The constant whisper-
ing, just shut the ... up,
dude,” Phoenix tells Sher in
the viral clip. “I’m trying to,
like, find something real.”
Later in the outtake, the star
accuses Sher of starting a
rumor comparing Phoenix
to Cher and “making fun” of
him for being a “diva.” When
the video — provided by the
director — ended, a visibly
stunned Phoenix attempted
to explain his behavior,
which was “supposed to be
private.”
“This is so embarrass-
ing,” he told Kimmel. “Look,
sometimes movies get in-
tense because you’re a lot of
people in a small space, and
you’re trying to find some-
thing, so it can feel intense,
but ... I’m a little embar-
rassed. I’m sorry about
that.”
By mid-afternoon
Wednesday, the “Kimmel”
clip had amassed more than
a million views on YouTube,
and a rep for Phoenix told
media outlets the whole seg-
ment was a charade — the
outtake was a “joke,” as was
Phoenix’s feigned real-time
reaction.
A joker, indeed.“JOKER,”starring Joaquin Phoenix, is awash in controversy. Our guide is below.
Niko TaverniseWarner Bros. PicturesCourting drama, the
‘Joker’ has arrived
By Christi CarrasIn the months leading up to its much-anticipated release, Warner Bros.’ villainous charac-
ter study “Joker” has proved — perhaps, a little too successfully — that it is no joke. From its
Oscar-buzzy premiere at the Venice Film Festival in August to recent concerns surrounding
moviegoers’ safety on opening weekend, Hollywood, law enforcement and the public have
taken “Joker” nothing but seriously. As the film, directed by Todd Phillips and starring
Joaquin Phoenix, opens wide Friday, here’s a roundup of all the drama it has stirred up.