Introducing Wednesday’s New York Film Festival screening of Joker, director Todd Phillips acknowledged the strong reactions to the film, which finally opens commercially this weekend. “There’…
“That’s the surprising thing to me,” Phillips said. “I thought, isn’t that a good thing, to put real-world implications on violence? Isn’t it a good thing to take away the cartoon element about violence that we’ve become so immune to? I was a little surprised when it turns into that direction, that it’s irresponsible. Because, to me, it’s very responsible to make it feel real and make it have weight and implications.
Phoenix, who has generally been on his best behavior during the initial stage of what is apt to be a long Oscar campaign for his widely hailed lead turn, engaged only sporadically with the discussion. He traded inscrutable inside jokes with the others onstage and at one point repeatedly told moderator Eugene Hernandez, deputy director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, that he couldn’t understand the question he was asking.
After a series of awkward pauses, Phillips drew nervous laughter by joking to the crowd, “You’re getting a real look at what it’s like” to hold a conversation with Phoenix. At times during the 30-minute Q&A, though, the actor focused enough to shed a bit of light on his approach. He and Phillips began by analyzing and discussing videos of people who have disorders that prompt them to laugh compulsively and at inappropriate times. “Obviously, the Joker laugh is iconic,” Phoenix said. “I thought it was a really smart way of approaching that laugh.”
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