Todd Phillips discusses Joker
When Todd Phillips made Joker, he knew he was creating a film that would generate some discussion. What he wasn’t prepared for was the amount of heat he would get from critics for the perceived excessive violence in the film. He expressed his frustration in a recent round table with fellow directors Martin Scorsese, Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig, Fernando Meirelles and Lulu Wang.
I just didn’t subscribe to that [the excessive violence complaint], quite frankly, bullshit thing that was happening in the media where they just pick a movie every so often and declare it means something that it doesn’t. We made a movie about childhood trauma and loss of compassion and lack of love in a person’s life and what that might do, but everybody always wants to talk about the spark and not the powder. The film’s really about the powder, what makes that happen.
Comic book film or not?
Of course if you ask Phillips, he seems unsure whether Joker is actually a comic book film or not. He said as much during the round table:
We were struggling to get Joker made. Which sounds funny, because it exists in the superhero world, but it’s really not one of those movies.
Phillips himself has been nominated for best Director by the Golden Globes for Joker. This goes along with it being nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in Joachin Phoenix and original score. Whether it is a comic book film or not, it is a great film. It will be interesting however to see what happens if it wins best picture at the Academy Awards. Will it be recognized as the first “comic book film” to win best picture? Or perhaps will Phillips hold to his belief that it “isn’t one of THOSE movies?”
What do you think? Was Joker unfairly criticized for its violence? Is it even a comic book film? Share your thoughts on the matter with us at GeekVibesNation.
Source: THR
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
