The film won the Golden Lion of the year and then went on to win the world with, among other things, an Oscar for best lead role to Joaquin Phoenix. In Venice, Todd Phillips explains that the difference is noticeable between then and now.
We made the first film a bit under the radar, as much as you can do that with a film called "Joker", he says.
Now it was tougher, with a higher budget, higher expectations, greater pressure from the studio. Now we have everyone's eyes on us, it's hard for me.
In the first film, the audience met the failed stand-up comedian and party clown Arthur Fleck. After being mobbed and harassed, he became the Joker who took part in an uprising in Gotham City and murdered six people.
Songs and dance numbers
When the sequel starts, Arthur is locked up in a mental hospital and waiting for trial. Here he meets Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga, whom he falls in love with. The film contains many songs and dance numbers, often in dream sequences, all with old familiar songs.
But this is actually not a musical, says Lady Gaga.
The songs give the characters something to say. Film and music go together, they have the power to change what people feel. It expresses something to the world, it offers escape, it gives the opportunity to enter someone else's story.
Joaquin Phoenix is unusually talkative today, except when he gets a question about why he suddenly dropped out of Todd Haynes' new film, a project that Phoenix himself had been involved in starting. Now he just says:
The others involved are not here and can't say what they think. It wouldn't help if I said something, so I don't think I'll do it.
Lost weight
In the new film, Phoenix sings helpfully and has a few dance numbers. Phillips explains that it was the dance steps that the Joker did in the first film that inspired him to suggest a sequel with music.
This made the film more complicated. It was long dance rehearsals and I lost weight. But I'm so tired of talking about it, so I won't say how much it was, counters Joaquin Phoenix.
"Joker: Folie à deux" opens in Sweden on October 2.
"Joker", which premiered in 2019, is loosely based on the comic book character Joker. Director Todd Phillips allowed the film to take place in 1981 in a decaying Gotham City. He has said that he and co-writer Scott Silver were inspired by films such as "Taxi Driver" and "The King of Comedy".
"Joker: Folies à deux" is a mix between a psychological thriller and a musical. The film takes place two years after the first film, with Lady Gaga in the female lead role as Harley Quinn. The film is competing for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
