Line #34 Trivia/Joker2019


1	!!Trivia with Their Own Pages
2	[[index]]
3	* [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/Joker2019 What Could Have Been]]
4	[[/index]]
5
6	!!Trivia Tropes:
7	* AdaptationOverdosed: The film features the ''third'' live-action Bruce Wayne in 2019 alone (the others being the final season of ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' and the second season of ''Series/{{Titans\|2018}}'' before, and since joined by a ''fourth'' in ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths\|2019}}''), the third live-action Alfred Pennyworth (after the final season of ''Gotham'' and the first season of ''Series/{{Pennyworth}}'') as well as the third live-action Joker incarnation in the decade (after ''Film/{{Suicide Squad\|2016}}'' and ''Gotham'', and second in 2019 after the latter), although it's kind of fitting for the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' franchise's [[MilestoneCelebration 80th anniversary]]. While we're here, the death of Bruce's parents is reenacted ''yet again''.
8	* ApprovalOfGod: Joker veteran Creator/MarkHamill expressed his utmost praise for the film on Instagram.
9	-->"The awesome Joaquin Phoenix, Todd Phillips and Scott Silver brilliantly reimagine the character as never seen before! 2 thumbs up from that old-school, comic book version... me."
10	* AwesomeDearBoy:
11	** Creator/JoaquinPhoenix has said he wanted to do the film because the idea of it scared him and he liked the challenge. He was also interested in the idea of playing a comic book character without committing to multiple sequels. That said, Creator/ToddPhillips claimed that after the movie's release, Phoenix was the one pitching him ideas for sequels.
12	** Creator/MarcMaron, who has a rather well-documented dislike of modern comic book movies with the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse being the most prevalent, said he agreed to take part in the film because getting a chance to work with Creator/RobertDeNiro and Joaquin Phoenix was too big an opportunity to pass up.
13	* BeamMeUpScotty:
14	** One of the most popular memes derived from the film is of Murray saying, "You're laughing. [X happened], and you're laughing." This is a slight misquote of the actual line, which is formatted as "[X happened], and you're laughing. You're laughing."[[note]]Murray was talking about two cops being in critical condition because of Arthur's actions before he started laughing.[[/note]]
15	** While often associated with this film, neither Arthur nor anyone else says "We live in a society"; the closest we get is Arthur's single use of the word "society" in his rant on Murray's talk show. The meme is actually older, originating with the release of ''[[Film/TheDarkKnight The Dark Knight]]''...which ''also'' doesn't include the line.
16	* ContentLeak: A version of the script leaked in mid-May 2019. It's unclear if was the shooting script or a draft. Whatever it was, it was verified as legitimate when the film released--albeit with some changes.
17	* CreatorsOddball:
18	** You wouldn't expect Creator/ToddPhillips -- the man who brought us the ''[[Film/TheHangover Hangover]]'' trilogy -- to direct a DC comics-based film, let alone such a dramatic one. [[Film/WarDogs This isn't the first time he's directed against type, though]].
19	*** It makes more sense when you consider that Phillips directed the 1993 documentary ''Hated'', concerning the final days of Music/GGAllin, another deeply disturbed man who lashed out at a society he perceived as having let him down.
20	** For Creator/DCFilms itself. The studio was initially created to shepherd the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse, with the focus being on blockbuster franchise films. ''Joker'' is the first comic book film produced by them to deviate from this formula, instead being a standalone ProtagonistJourneyToVillain character study without a {{superhero}}ic figure and no major use of CGI or action scenes.
21	* DearNegativeReader: Joaquin Phoenix talked about reading a [[https://variety.com/2019/film/news/joker-critic-debate-joaquin-phoenix-todd-phillips-1203359213/ review where people with conflicting opinions on the film debated it.]] He admitted to getting some of his pride hurt by the negative reactions but found himself fascinated by how he felt both sides of the argument had good points.
22	* DeletedScene:
23	** The scene of the [[https://youtu.be/6Bt0slFQVI8?list=PLemwFZPH1UMhor6dWb22MNH-1RI0IARLJ leaked filming footage]] that showed Arthur interacting in the street with Randall, with only Randall dressed as a clown. Arthur takes Randall's clown nose and throws it on the ground. The trailer also has shots such as Arthur walking down the hall of his apartment complex in the Joker make-up and outfit, while carrying the flower prop from an earlier scene, which don't appear in the final cut.
24	** Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have gently alluded to the existence of handful of deleted scenes, [[https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/joker-cut-bathroom-scene-too-extreme-r-rating-1202188899/ including a mysterious "bathtub scene"]] that Phillips described by saying "I don't think we can actually include it in an R-rated movie, and it's not because it was pornographic -- it was just ''insane''." For better and for worse, due to Phillips' distaste for extended cuts, it seems highly unlikely that any of the scenes or their content will ever see the light of day.
25	* DirectedByCastMember: The Canadian French dub was directed by Creator/ManuelTadros, who also voiced Alfred.
26	* DoingItForTheArt:
27	** Todd Phillips requested that no [[TheMerch merch]] would be produced around the film due to its nature. When pitching the movie to Creator/WarnerBros executives, he was infamously told by some of them who doubted of its potential that they "can't [[MerchandiseDriven sell pajamas]] with this version of the Joker".
28	** Joaquin Phoenix stated that he always wanted to do a character study of a superhero or supervillain, but didn't want the strings that come attached with being involved in a franchise like the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse (as he turned down the title role for ''Film/{{Doctor Strange\|2016}}''). When he heard that Creator/WarnerBros (which owns Creator/DCComics and all related media) was looking to make a lower-budget standalone film that focused on ComicBook/TheJoker, he became interested in the project since it was so similar to his previous idea.
29	* DVDCommentary: Creator/ToddPhillips has a great one on the Blu-Ray, filled with plenty of unique stories of the filming process and some surprisingly insightful info on the film's various themes and influences.
30	* DyeingForYourArt: According to the director, Joaquin Phoenix lost 52 pounds for his role. It was so serious that filming could only be done once, with no opportunity for reshoots. As noted under WhatCouldHaveBeen, Phoenix did not want to do this.
31	* ExecutiveVeto: Cinematographer Lawrence Sher revealed that he and Creator/ToddPhillips wanted to shoot on 70mm film like ''Film/TheHatefulEight'', ''Film/{{Dunkirk}}'' and ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', partially because Phillips prefers film stock, [[https://www.indiewire.com/2019/11/joker-warner-bros-turned-down-70mm-film-shoot-1202189137/ but Warner Bros. refused to let them, so they had to shoot digital]].
32	* HeyItsThatPlace: For [[Film/BatmanForever the]] [[Film/BatmanAndRobin fourth]] [[Series/{{Gotham}} time]], Webb Institute's Stevenson Taylor Hall was used for Wayne Manor.
33	* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/JoaquinPhoenix and Creator/RobertDeNiro had a clash during the earliest stage of filming. De Niro follows traditional rite of script read-through, a process that Phoenix dislikes. [=De Niro=] insisted that they do it, and Phoenix half-heartedly accepted, mumbling through the entire read-through. They reportedly settled their differences immediately, but on set they hardly ever spoke to each other outside of filming. They maintained that their disagreement was strictly professional, however, and Phoenix went on to say that De Niro is his favorite actor.
34	* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: There are multiple different takes of Arthur's entrance on Murray's show.
35	* IronyAsSheIsCast: Robert De Niro, known for his intense dislike of interviews and appearing on talk shows, plays a talk show host.
36	* OrphanedReference: The AscendedMeme of Joker blaming society for treating him like trash during his "another joke" with Murray Franklin, which was added by Creator/JoaquinPhoenix, makes his previous speech with the audience about the '''system''' choosing what's right and wrong lose some rhythm, as Arthur is meant to have said "system" during the "joke".
37	* TheOtherDarrin:
38	** In Latin America, this film marks the first time ComicBook/TheJoker is not voiced by Creator/JoseAntonioMacias, his usual voice actor since ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', but by Mauricio Perez.
39	** The same goes in Japan, when Creator/HiroakiHirata voices him instead of either Creator/KeijiFujiwara[[note]]Who has voiced him in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' and ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight''.[[/note]] or Creator/TakehitoKoyasu.[[note]]Who has voiced him in ''Film/{{Suicide Squad\|2016}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoBatmanMovie''.[[/note]]
40	* PlayingAgainstType: In the Japanese dub, Joker is voiced by Creator/HiroakiHirata, a role quite unlike the actor's usual forte.
41	* RevivalByCommercialization: The film made the Music/GaryGlitter song "Rock & Roll Part 2" a sensation again with its use in the stairs dance scene. This led to the ''LA Times'' having to clarify that Glitter himself has long since sold the commercial rights to the song in America, and none of the royalties are going into the pockets of a convicted paedophile.
42	* RoleReprise: In the Italian dub, Adriano Giannini dubbed this new incarnation of the Joker after his previous work with Ledger's in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.
43	* SimilarlyNamedWorks:
44	** The 2008 comic book ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo has nothing in common with the film bar the Gotham City setting and title character (whose characterization is also different).
45	** There is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_(2016_film) 2016 Tamil language Indian movie]] titled ''Joker''.
46	** The [[CompletelyDifferentTitle French release title]] of the 2015 film ''Wild Card'' starring Creator/JasonStatham is also ''Joker''. Amusingly, Creator/BorisRehlinger (Statham's usual French dub voice) dubbed the protagonist in both films -- Arthur Fleck/Joker and Nicholas "Nick" Escalante.
47	* SleeperHit: The film's creation was reluctantly approached by Warner Bros. executives due to its very uncharacteristic story for a comic-book movie and potentially controversial content; it took several months for the script to be approved and they gave the production a relatively low budget to try and dissuade the director. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190910075226/https://www.businessinsider.com/joker-projected-to-break-box-office-records-2019-9 Analysts were also cautious due to it being so different from other comic-book movies,]] and while most expected the movie to make a profit regardless, nobody ([[https://seekingalpha.com/news/3509924-warner-bros-bad-call-joker-expensive not even Warner Bros. themselves]]) expected it to be the monster hit it ended up becoming. ''Joker'' became the first R-rated film to [[https://ew.com/movies/2019/11/15/joker-box-office-1-billion-worldwide/ break one billion USD at the international box office]] (and without a Chinese release), and one of the most profitable comic-book movies of all time within a month of its release due to its low budget. There's no wonder it got a sequel officially announced (with the addition of Music/LadyGaga as costar, no less) in 2022, amidst a ruthless restructuring by Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery that saw many costly projects being scrapped otherwise (such as the ''Batgirl'' film).
48	* StreisandEffect: In the months leading up to the film's wide release, it was attacked endlessly by a number of American film critics, journalists, and bloggers who claimed its portrayal of the Joker would inspire "incel"[=/=]"white male resentment" violence and mass shootings. This escalated to the point where they even tried to get the film's release cancelled. As a result of the outcry, many police forces and even the US Army were put on alert on release day, and Warner Bros., tired of the attacks from the press, barred journalists from attending the red carpet premiere. [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity That constant negative publicity and drama only served to increase interest among moviegoers]] to see what had riled up the media so badly.
49	* ThrowItIn:
50	** The scene of Arthur dancing in the bathroom after his first three kills was completely improvised by Phoenix, leading to one of the most memorable quiet moments in the film. In the script, Arthur simply runs into the bathroom, hides the gun, washes his face, and [[MirrorMonologue talks to himself while looking at the mirror]]. However, Phoenix had heard the "Bathroom Dance" composition from Music/HildurGudnadottir and requested to have it played in that scene as he came up with an alternate story beat. The rest is history.
51	** [[https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/joker-refrigerator-scene-improvised-joaquin-phoenix-1202184372/?fbclid=IwAR1AhZOjYdwoqu3vh8BXk4FcczFjTC1I3GKKFZkh7542gGfPCFvPLXwiXLQ The refrigerator scene was improvised]].
52	** During the fateful confrontation between Arthur and Murray, Arthur's scripted line was "What do you get, when you cross a mentally ill loner, with a ''system''...", but Phoenix misremembered the line and said "with a '''''society'''''..." instead, making the scene an unintentional AscendedMeme. Phillips was so satisfied with Phoenix's intense performance that he decided doing another take with the original line wasn't worth it.
53	* TroubledProduction: Clown mask rioter extras used for the subway chase scene reported that they were locked in the subway car for hours against union rules, and all their attempts to bring this up were ignored until some of them even had to urinate out the window. SAG stepped in upon hearing about the situation to closely monitor the production.
54	* TouristBump: The scene where Joker dances on the stairs caused a surge of tourism to the [[https://www.boredpanda.com/joker-stairs-tourist-attraction-new-york/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic actual stairway in the Bronx]].
55	* WordOfGod: According to [[https://movieweb.com/joker-movie-batman-easter-egg/ this article]], the only intentional ShoutOut (or "Easter egg") in the film to previous Batman incarnations was [[Series/Batman1966 young Bruce sliding down the pole of his playset]].
56	* WordOfSaintPaul:
57	** Cinematographer Lawrence Asher confirmed [[https://www.slashfilm.com/joker-cinematographer-interview/ in an interview with /Film]] that Arthur ''did not'' kill Sophie.
58	** Thomas Wayne's actor Brett Cullen [[https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a29384592/joker-batman-twist-related-explained/ believes]] that Arthur is indeed Thomas's son and played the role with this fact in mind.
59	* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: Todd Phillips had to write the script during production.
60
61	!!Assorted Trivia:
62	* ''Joker'' has become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, unadjusted for inflation -- having overtaken ''Film/Deadpool2'' (which grossed $785 million) within its first month of release and grossing over $1 billion (which, to reiterate, makes it the first R-rated movie to do so). It also overtook the unadjusted global gross of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', which had the most successful modern live-action incarnation of the character up to this point. Due to these high returns and its modest budget, some analysts have suggested that ''Joker'' may be the most profitable movie based on comic books ever.
63	* Also notable for being the first comic book adaptation to win the Venice International Film Festival's [[UsefulNotes/LeoneDOro Golden Lion]], beating ''Film/AnOfficerAndASpy'', which was regarded as the favorite of the competition that year. On related note, it is, as of 2020, the highest grossing film to win Golden Lion award and one of big 3 film festival award. [[note]]In case if you are wondering, the highest grossing Golden Bear winner, as of late February 2020, is Creator/HayaoMiyazaki's ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' and the highest grossing [[UsefulNotes/PalmeDOr Palme d'Or]] winner is Creator/BongJoonHo's ''Film/{{Parasite\|2019}}''.[[/note]]
64	* It also scored 11 MediaNotes/AcademyAward nominations, and another 11 MediaNotes/{{BAFTA}} noms, making it the most nominated comic book movie since ''Film/{{Black Panther\|2018}}''. It ended up winning two of said Oscars (Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score for Music/HildurGudnadottir), which also means the Joker is the second character who two different actors won Oscars for playing, after Vito Corleone from ''Film/TheGodfather'' ''Part I'' and ''Part II''.
65	* In Italy, Arthur Fleck is voiced by actor Adriano Giannini, who is Joaquin Phoenix's Italian voice actor in a few other films. His father, actor Creator/GiancarloGiannini, was Creator/JackNicholson's Italian voice actor, including in Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/{{Batman\|1989}}''. So, in a sense, Arthur Fleck is Jack Napier's son there.
66	* The movie's logotype was custom-made by graphic designer Chad Danieley using a wood type letterpress, then digitized. Usually, designers would create a unique logotype by distressing a regular digital font in Photoshop or Illustrator.

Context Trivia / Joker2019