In the new featurette “Joaquin’s Joker,” Joaquin Phoenix, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Joker in the first film, talks about the direction the sequel took.
“Midway through the shoot of the first one, Todd [Phillips, director] and I both thought what it would be like if we did another film,” shared Phoenix. “Music was a huge part of the first film and really did development of certain parts of the character. We’re always trying to find ways in which the character expresses himself in this film.”
Joaquin Phoenix as Joker/Arthur Fleck CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS/NIKO TAVERNISE VIA WARNER BROS. PICTURES
In another featurette, director Todd Phillips looks back on his discussions with Phoenix about the sequel.
“We went back to the things we liked [about the first film], and one of those things is a romance to Arthur,” said Phillips. “‘Folie à deux’ is an actual term, it’s this idea of a shared madness.”
Adds Lady Gaga, who plays Harley Quinn/Lee, “Some people refer to it as double insanity, a shared delusion. Just an expression of love. When we are in love, sometimes we will do insane things.”
Speaking of Lady Gaga, the global music artist and actress — in a separate featurette titled “My Name is Lee” — recalled her first time watching the original “Joker” before it ever came out.
“It was a very special experience. I had never seen a world created like that before.”
On why Lady Gaga, director Phillips said at CinemaCon in April, “We cast Gaga because she’s magic. I was a producer on ‘A Star Is Born’… That was the first time I really met her and got to watch her work.”
And in the featurette, Phillips talks more about working with the music icon. “She easily slipped into that role,” said Phillips, who also directed the first film. “It’s not like she’s trying to be Harley Quinn from the comic books. She’s Lee in this world.”
Phoenix also praised his co-star saying, “I found her to be without ego and had such a fierce determination to get right in with us. She understood that there had to be a rawness to the character.”
Ahead of the movie’s opening in cinemas, the Grammy-winning artist got fans even more excited about her turn as the iconic character by releasing “Harlequin,” a companion album to “Joker: Folie à Deux,” featuring 13 songs.
“Joker: Folie à Deux,” distributed in the Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures, opens in cinemas today, October 2.
Be the first to comment