Joaquin Phoenix has never been eager to face the press. The 49-year-old actor grants few interviews, speaks with great reluctance about his process, and once walked out on a journalist when asked whether his film “Joker” might inspire copycat violence.
Knowing all that, you could already expect tension at the Venice news conference for “Joker: Folie à Deux,” a sequel to the 2019 hit that has Phoenix reprising the comic-book role that won him the Oscar. Still, this meeting with the media was expected to be particularly fraught as Phoenix has not done any press since August, when he dropped out of a film from the director Todd Haynes just days before it was supposed to shoot, scuttling the production and exposing the star to potential legal action.
Hollywood has been buzzing about Phoenix’s murky motivations for weeks, not least because the project — a sexually explicit gay romance co-starring the “Top Gun: Maverick” actor Danny Ramirez — was based on an original idea by Phoenix, who brought the project to Haynes and co-wrote it with the “May December” director.
Would Phoenix be willing to shed any light on the situation while in Venice or would he skip the news conference entirely, as “Don’t Worry Darling” star Florence Pugh did two years ago amid rumors of a feud with that film’s director, Olivia Wilde? While waiting for the conference to begin on Wednesday afternoon, journalists placed bets on whether Phoenix would bail twice.
They were surprised, then, when Phoenix bounded into the room smiling, followed by his director, Todd Phillips, and co-star Lady Gaga. “First of all, hi everyone!” he told the press. “It’s nice to see you.”
Phoenix remained upbeat and unexpectedly willing to answer questions until several minutes into the news conference, when a journalist asked whether he would share his reason for leaving the Haynes film. The actor began to answer, then paused, thinking it over.
“If I do, I would just be sharing my opinion from my perspective, and the other creatives aren’t here to share their piece,” Phoenix said, referring to Haynes and his partners.
He continued: “It doesn’t feel like that would be right. I don’t think that would be helpful, so I just don’t think I will.”
Then he added brightly, “Thank you!”
Since Phoenix dropped out of the Haynes film, it’s been reported that the actor often gets cold feet and nearly bailed on making the first “Joker.” Phillips implied as much when he talked about how he convinced Phoenix to star in a sequel. “If we were really going to do it, it had to scare him in the way the first one did,” Phillips said.
The director admitted to his own nerves in bringing “Folie à Deux” to Venice, since the first film won the festival’s prestigious Golden Lion. “It’s easier to come in as the insurgent instead of the incumbent,” Phillips said.
“Folie à Deux” picks up with Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) imprisoned in Arkham Asylum after killing six people, including one murder committed on live television while he was made up in Joker greasepaint. Though his actions have inspired an underground movement of clownish copycats in Gotham City, Arthur languishes alone in the asylum until he meets Lee (Lady Gaga), who comic-book fans will better know as the Joker’s twisted paramour, Harley Quinn.
Lee claims she’s been locked up after burning down her parents’ apartment and is prone to starting even more conflagrations, whether that’s committing some light arson during the asylum’s movie night or sparking a passion so fiery within Arthur that he begins to imagine musical sequences in which the two of them star. But with Arthur’s court date soon approaching, their risky romance could have dire consequences, especially since Lee seems so determined to nudge Arthur toward his dark alter ego.
The film’s many musical numbers, set to standards like “That’s Life” and “When the Saints Go Marching In,” represent the biggest break from the first “Joker” and were sung live on set at the insistence of Gaga, who muted her powerful belt for the role.
“For me, it was a lot about unlearning technique and forgetting how to breathe and allowing the song to completely come out of the character,” she said.
Phoenix said that though those sequences required even more commitment and preparation than he’d given to the first movie, it was important while shooting to forget “the anxiety and fear” in his head and live simply within the scene: “You just get so caught up in second-guessing yourself and doubts,” he said.
Maybe that second-guessing is simply part of the package when hiring Phoenix, who’s also known for his intensity on set. At the news conference, when Gaga dryly said, “Working with Joaquin was a total breeze,” both of the men next to her chuckled.
Later, Phillips was asked what he felt was the biggest challenge of making the movie.
“Don’t say me,” Phoenix joked.
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