The sensational film directed by Todd Phillips “The Joker” with Joaquin Phoenix in the title role did not leave anyone indifferent. Some call it the movie of the decade. Others consider it too cruel and demand to ban it. And others were imbued with the story of Arthur Fleck, enjoying the chaos and unrest caused by his behavior in Gotham. One way or another, Joaquin Phoenix confidently collects all kinds of figurines for the role he played. It has already brought him the Golden Globe, the Critics ’Choice Awards, the SAG Awards, and BAFTA and the Oscars loom ahead. In anticipation of the main film award of the year. I collected for you in the magazine “Furilia” interesting facts about the “Joker” movie that you might not know.
1.Laughter of the protagonist
In the story, Arthur Fleck lives with a sick mother, works as a clown in a small entertainment agency and dreams of a career as a stand-up comedian. He also suffers from a neurological disorder that makes him laugh at the most inopportune moment. Uncontrolled, uncontrollable laughter has become the hallmark of the protagonist.
In preparation for the role of the Joker, Joaquin Phoenix trained by studying videos of people with affective disorders whose laughter is a pathology. The actor wanted to create a hero who would not be associated with him in any way. Before filming began, director Todd Phillips shared his vision of the Joker laugh with Phoenix. In his opinion, he should have practically hurt him. Joaquin practiced various types of laughter and, of his own free will, demonstrated his techniques to the director.
By the way, in the film itself there are at least 3 different versions of laughter: suffering, caused by the illness of the protagonist; typical male laughter and the laugh of real joy that the Joker experiences at the very end of the film.
2. Preparing for a role and improvisation
photo: Twitter
When watching a movie, it is impossible not to notice how exhausted Arthur Fleck is. For credibility, before filming, Joaquin Phoenix sat on an exhausting diet, which resulted in a loss of almost 24 kilograms. According to Vanity Fair magazine, the same doctor who worked with him on the picture “Master” helped the actor lose weight. Upon completion of the filming of the Joker, the Phoenix immediately gained 11 kilograms.
photo: onedio.com
In preparation for the role, Joaquin studied the characteristic movements of silent movie stars such as Buster Keaton and Ray Bolger. But Phoenix refused to borrow the manners of the actors who played the role of the Joker earlier. He motivated his decision at a press conference held on the eve of the Venice Film Festival. According to him, the new film was a new creation, which was not to remind anyone else. That was what was important to him and Todd Phillips. By the way, the director himself was inspired by the film “The Man Who Laughs.”
photo: upsocl.com
The clumsy run of the protagonist also became his hallmark and complemented the whole image. Subsequently, he was even called the “Arthur Run”. In general, the film has a lot of metaphors. For example, the makeup of a clown was purposely made antique, and the red-brown lips were supposed to be associated with the blood that the Joker shed.
According to the main makeup artist Nicky Ledermann, who worked on the creation of images, Arthur Fleck’s crooked grin is additional evidence that nothing is perfect. It will seem ridiculous to someone, not to someone …
photo: thesun.co.uk
There was a place of improvisation in the film. So, the famous Joker dance in the bathroom was not rehearsed and was not staged. Joaquin Phoenix improvised on the go and he did it very well! In addition, the script changed all the time, sometimes right before shooting the next take. Actors immediately had to adapt and maneuver, often improvising dialogues.
photo: buzzfeed.com
Most of all went to Zazi Bitts, who played in the tape a neighbor of Arthur Fleck named Sophie. According to Todd Phillips, with her heroine was the most confusion. The director later praised the actress for her collaboration, noting her ability to improvise. Zazi was enthusiastic about the changes in the script, helping to prescribe the dialogue of her character.
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3. Time and place of filming
The “Joker” for nothing tells about the events that occurred in 1981. The director intentionally transferred the plot to the past in order to protect his creation from the films of the Expanded DC Universe. This is a separate picture, not related to modern events. It talks about the formation of Arthur Fleck and what caused the appearance of his alter ego Joker. By the way, the famous comic book by Alan Moore Batman: The Killing Joke formed the basis of the film about the failed stand-up comedian.
The script for the film was written specifically for Joaquin Phoenix, whom Todd Phillips saw in the title role. The actor got acquainted with him at the end of 2017 and agreed to shoot a large-scale project, when even Joaquin’s mother gave the go-ahead. It is curious that Phoenix was familiar and closely interacted with another performer of the role of Arthur Fleck Heath Ledger. The latter was posthumously awarded the Oscar for his image of the Joker in the movie The Dark Knight in 2008.
Arkham State Hospital in Gotham is featured not only in this film, but also in many other films. In this psychiatric hospital, criminals such as the Joker, Harley Queen, Poison Ivy, Penguin and other characters of the villains universe managed to lie down. Despite the fact that the institution is completely fictitious, its building is quite real. In fact, this is the Brooklyn Army Terminal, located in New York.
The famous staircase also has a specific address. It is located in the Bronx on 167th Street between Shakespeare and Anderson Avenue. After the cinema was released, a real pilgrimage of fans began. She even entered into Google maps, where they designated: “The Joker Ladder.” At one time, filming on the stairs was very hindered by paparazzi who were ready to take the coveted shot at any angle and from any distance. Tired of the interference of photographers, the director of the film himself posted several frames in high quality to the network.
Another attraction from the film was the Wayne Hall Building, which was prototyped by the Hudson County Superior Court in Jersey.
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The scene of the beating of Arthur Fleck in the gateway was specially planned and shot so that it looked like from comics. Another interesting trick was applied to the name of the film, which appears in full screen. Initially, it was shot on film, and then digitized again so that the inscription looked as rough and old-school as possible.
4. Other interesting facts about the film
The idol of Arthur Fleck in the movie is the popular TV presenter Murray Franklin, whose evening show he used to watch every day in the company of his mother. His role was played by the legendary Robert De Niro – a favorite actor of Joaquin Phoenix himself. But here is the paradox, the two practically did not communicate during the filming. This was partly due to the general views of the actors on the filming process. Nevertheless, some tension arose between them.
The fact is that De Niro used to run the stage with the participation of all the actors before it was removed, and Phoenix flatly refused to rehearse anything. Fortunately, the partners in the film managed to come to a friendly agreement and agree, despite opposing approaches to business.
It is also interesting that director Todd Phillips turned to composer Hildur Gudnadouttir with a request to write music for the film before the script was ready, which is a real nonsense in the film industry.
The premiere of the picture took place during the 76th Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2019. She not only won the Golden Lion Award, but also received loud applause. After the final credits, standing spectators applauded for 8 minutes! Later, at the worldwide box office, the movie “Joker” collected over $ 1 billion, taking 7th place in the ranking of the highest grossing films of 2019.
By the Way!
Oscar offered nominees a fully vegan menu – and all because of Joaquin Phoenix
Oscar parties are becoming vegetarian. At the traditional breakfast of the nominees, held the day before in Los Angeles, dishes of animal origin were excluded from the menu.
The Beverly Hills Closed Party hosted by William Morris Endeavor Film Agency Holding on February 7 will also be vegan.
The organizers emphasize that they were inspired by Joaquin Phoenix, who has been following a plant-based diet for many years and advocates for animal rights. This year he will compete for an Oscar in the Best Actor category.
As for the official after-party of the ceremony, the governors’ ball, the menu will be 70% “green”, but it will still include fish and meat dishes.
The 92nd Academy Awards will be held on the night of February 9-10.
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