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JokerscreeningandQ&AwithToddPhillips:live-tweets
On Tuesday, Directors UK members gathered for a special screening of Joker, followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Todd Phillips — moderated by Edith Bowman.
Todd talked to Edith about writing the film, his use of music, casting and working with Joaquin Phoenix and so much more. If you weren’t able to attend the event you can catch up with all our live-tweets below!
We’re excited for our special member screening of #Joker, followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Todd Phillips, moderated by @edibow. Follow #DUKjoker for our live tweets after the show! pic.twitter.com/gjZVLXTTI1
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Wow, what a powerful piece of work that was! Now it’s time for the Q&A with Todd Phillips, moderated by Edith Bowman. Follow #DUKjoker for the tweets.
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Edith asks Todd how he hoped and imagined audiences would react to the film. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: I had no idea it would resonate the way it has around the world, but we really swung for the fences. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
On creating the script, Todd says that every movie he’s done has had plenty of changes in the writing stage including Joker. “And then the editing suite is the final kind of writing”. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: It was intimidating creating a backstory for the Joker, because people like that he didn’t have one. But it was also liberating because you were working with a clean slate. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
#DUKjoker pic.twitter.com/N83tCIKl97
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: When I originally pitched it I said I wanted to do a stripped-down, no spandex character study in the comic book space. We approached everything through as realistic a lens as possible. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: Joaquin is an agent of chaos - the idea of being able to go into the comic book space and do something different was appealing to him. Every day in prep we took the script apart, it all went through him. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: I say that Joaquin was the “tunnel at the end of the light”. It was a great partnership. If we could we’d still be shooting, the inmates were really running the asylum with this movie. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: The score informed us in a lot of ways, we had it playing on set, even in the camera operators’ ear pieces. It was a pretty depressing set! #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: The film is not political, it’s humanist. It has an ambiguity that is engaging and is what makes audiences identify with the film. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
On reference points for the film, Todd says they never really sat down and studied Taxi Driver or The King of Comedy, but they did want to create a film that felt like it was from that era. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: We mostly looked back at those 70s classics as time capsules, looking at wardrobe and AD areas. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: Chaplin was another reference. The character of Arthur had a great lightness to him, we almost considered making a silent film! #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Edith hands it over to the audience for questions. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
On how he convinced the studio to make it, Todd’s answer is simple: we kept the budget down! #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
A member asks about what skills Todd took with him from comedy. Todd: For me I don’t think there’s anything specific, it’s still all a question of story. There’s a looseness that followed me from my start in documentaries through comedy and to this. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
On Joaquin’s dancing in the film, Todd says that he and Joaquin came up with it on set. Todd: We were agonising over the next scene, and then I played some music I had on my iPhone to Joaquin - and he just started dancing. We knew then that it was the right way to go. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: We made a conscious decision not to look back at other Joker interpretations, out of respect- so we wouldn’t be paralysed by the thought of the great directors and actors that had come before. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
#DUKjoker pic.twitter.com/JDm7z1T4bg
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: To us the movie is about the power of kindness, it’s about reaching out - we took a lot of time looking at how to treat the issue of mental illness with care. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd on whether he deliberately wanted to portray the character’s beauty. “That’s exactly what we wanted, he’s out of step with everyone but there’s a beauty to him. Also Joaquin has such a beautiful face, I don’t think it would be possible for him not to be beautiful” #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
Todd: My advice to directors is never finish early. Shoot as quick as you can and pick up time and if you have a spare hour - use it! That’s how we got some of great moments, when we had spare time to try stuff. #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019
And that’s a wrap! Thanks so much to Todd for a fascinating Q&A, and massive thanks to Edith for hosting. You can catch Joker in cinemas now! #DUKjoker
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 26, 2019