Todd Phillips’ unique comic book movie adaptation “Joker”, due in theaters October the 4th, has indeed gotten an R rating from the MPAA. Phillips isn’t known for his superhero chops, in fact, he’s famous as being the guy who directed “Old School” and “The Hangover.”
Read moreIs Todd Phillips' ‘Joker' Premiering at Venice?
Another day, another Venice Film Festival preview. This time Deadline tries to tackle the upcoming festival, set to take place from August 28th to September 9th. And yet, most of the stuff they tackle is Hollywood-centric, no mention of Reichardt, Zhao, Zeitlin, Kore-eda or the Safdies. Hell, they don’t even want to mention Woody Allen’s “Rainy Day in New York,” even though I have it under good authority that it is definitely premiering on the Lido.
Read more‘Joker' Officially Rated R
This unique DC adaptation, due in theaters this October, has indeed gotten an R rating from the MPAA. Phillips isn’t known for his superhero chops, in fact, he’s more famous as the guy that did “Old School” and “The Hangover.” Regardless, he pitched a gritty, 70s-set Joker movie in the vein of Taxi Driver and got his wish granted by the WB to make the movie.
Read more‘Joker' Trailer: Joaquin Phoenix Stuns In First Look
Well, I told you so. Joaquin Phoenix ACES the role of the The Joker, or at least it looks like it based on the first trailer for Todd Phillips’ Upcoming origin-story “Joker.”
Read moreNot even Joaquin Phoenix Can Save Languidly-Delivered “The Sisters Brothers”
You can usually count on director Jacques Audiard to deliver the goods and, more times than not, he does. I was rather taken by his last four films, (in order of preference, "A Prophet," "Rust and Bone," “The Beat My Heart Skipped," and "Dheepan") all dealing with the dark corners of male masculinity. That's why his latest, "The Sisters Brothers," a grimy, gunky Western filled with absurdist nihilism, suffers from being so, well, un-Audiard-esque.
Set in 1851, the film deals with brothers and assassins Charlie and Eli Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly play the Cowboys), as it languishes its Northwestern setting, deep through the mountains of Oregon, right into a dangerous brothel in the small town of Mayfield, and ending in the gold rush-set landscape of California. Paralleling their story are Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed's lone drifters, them too set on striking it rich in California.
Todd Phillips Releases Image of Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker
The Joaquin Phoenix/Joker movie is actually happening. Phoenix will indeed be playing the clown-terrorist in an origin film directed and co-written by Todd Phillips. Shooting is supposed to begin this fall, if it hasn't already. Phoenix will follow in the footsteps of Caesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Jared Leto (who must be royally pissed this is happening).
If it were up to me, I'd totally scrap the Leto projects and concentrate on Phoenix, who might just be the most talented actor to have ever partaken in this type of movie, and, yes, I am including Heath Ledger, whose legendary performance as The Joker in 2008's "The Dark Knight" will surely be very hard to beat.
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