The director of "Joker", Todd Phillips, opposes criticism "from the far left"



[ad_1]

The director of "Joker", a forthcoming film that has been criticized for his violent and sordid interpretation of the supervillain, strongly rejects critics.

In a recently published interview with The Wrap, Todd Phillips, best known for leading wacky comedies like The Hangover trilogy, said the complaints about his R-rated comic drama are motivated by people looking for reasons to feel aggrieved.

"I think it's because outrage is a commodity, I think it's something that's been a commodity for some time," Phillips told the Web site. entertainment news in an interview published on September 20th. "What is remarkable for me in this speech in this film is the ease with which the far left can look like the far right when it suits their agenda."

"It really opened my eyes," Phillips said.

"Joker", starring Joaquin Phoenix in a crazy troubled comedy in Gotham City, made headlines this week after relatives of people killed in the 2012 morning shootings in Aurora, Colorado, sent a letter to the distributor, Warner Bros., expressing his discomfort.

"When we learned that Warner Bros. released a movie (2) that portrays the character as a protagonist with a story of sympathetic origins, it gave us a break," said the five family members in the letter, according to a copy shared with NBC News from the group Guns Down America.

Families have asked the AT & T-owned film studio to donate funds to support victims of gun violence and to push for weapons reform. in Congress. They have stopped calling the company to cancel the project to release the film on October 4.

Warner Bros. said in a statement to NBC News that armed violence was a major problem and offered his condolences to the families affected by the tragedy. The company said "long-time donations to victims of violence, including Aurora".

"At the same time, Warner Bros. thinks that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues," the studio said in a statement.

"Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker nor the movie is an endorsement of violence in the real world.The film, the filmmakers or the studio do not have the intention to make of this character a hero, "the studio added.

In an email dated September 18, a US military base in Oklahoma warned members of the armed forces that threats had been made against a non-specific cinema in the middle of the "Joker" exit, according to a report by Gizmodo . The army sent another note on Monday, but spokesman Christopher Gray said there was "no information indicating a specific and credible threat to a particular place or place".

The warnings were distributed, Gray said, "as a precaution to help ensure the safety of our soldiers and their families."

"Joker" sparked a debate after winning the first prize at the Venice International Film Festival in August, drawing applause for Phoenix's performance as a sadistic anti-hero Arthur Fleck and a denunciation for his cruel description of his psychological outcome.

Some critics said they were confused by the movie's implications in the real world and how it might be interpreted by radicalized and alienated young men.

"He could easily be adopted as the patron saint of incalculations," wrote Stephanie Zacharek, a film critic for Time magazine, using a shortcut for the misogynist online community who identify themselves as unintentional singles.

"Arthur inspires chaos and lawlessness, but the film suggests that it begins a revolution, where the rich are slaughtered, the poor get everything they need and deserve, and the sad guys who can not have an appointment become murderous heroes, "Zacharek wrote.

Phillips, for one, said in the interview with the Wrap that he was "surprised" by the concerns about the movie's power of provoking.

"Is not it good to have these discussions?" Is not it good to have these discussions about these films, about violence? Why is it a bad thing if the film gives rise to a speech to this subject?"

"We did not make the film to press buttons," said Phillips, who has already described the project as an attempt to capture the hard-and-hard character drama of the 1970s, including "Taxi Driver" and "The King" by Martin Scorsese. of Comedy "- in a cartoon adaptation linked to a mass franchise.

"I literally described to Joaquin [Phoenix] At one point during these three months, for example, "Look at this as a way to slide a real movie into the studio system in the appearance of a cartoon movie," said Phillips at The Wrap newspaper, wanting to glorify this behavior.It was literally: Let's make a real movie with a real budget and we'll call it [expletive] Joker & # 39 ;. That's what it was. "

[ad_2]

Source link