Red Mosquito

Variety is reporting Todd Phillips wanted “nothing to do with DC” during the making of ‘JOKER 2’

Phillips refused to take any communication from James Gunn and would only liaise with WB heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy about the film.

When asked by a Collider reporter if the production process changed when the pair succeeded DC head Walter Hamada or if they had any input, Phillips replied, “With all due respect to them, this is kind of a Warner Bros. movie.”
And even Warner Bros.’ feedback was sometimes ignored. Sources say Zaslav met one-on-one with Phillips shortly after WarnerMedia and Discovery merged in April 2022 and was open to filming in Los Angeles if the director would make the sequel at a lower price point. (The studio preferred London, where it would have cost about 20% less.)
Phillips insisted on shooting in Los Angeles, and the budget didn’t change.

Insiders say studio brass did not want to debut the film at the Venice Film Festival, as it had done five years ago with “Joker,” but Phillips pushed back.

Phillips also refused to test screen “Joker 2.”

Insiders are now asking "Why spend $200 million to make — and nearly $100 million to market — a tentpole that ignores the DC fan base?"
Such disregard for the base has clearly had repercussions. As DC fans largely ignored Joker 2, the way they themselves had seemingly been ignored by Phillips.

The critics rejected it, and the film tallied a disastrous 33% score on Rotten Tomatoes well before earning a dismal “D” CinemaScore.

The movie was great, misserable yes, but great.

more like Folie a Deuxn't, if you ask me

I'm going today

Jorge wrote:I'm going today

We are all waiting with bated breath

Right now at this very moment he's soaking up the glory of Joker 2.

Haha, I don't really know what to say. A fascinating movie. One thing I know for sure is that I liked it much better than the first Joker. But I don't think it's good. It's really stupid, and very boring for long periods. But also some sequences are absolutely breathtaking. I admire the giant swing. There's a lot going on here. I have to think about it.

Jorge wrote:Haha, I don't really know what to say. A fascinating movie. One thing I know for sure is that I liked it much better than the first Joker. But I don't think it's good. It's really stupid, and very boring for long periods. But also some sequences are absolutely breathtaking. I admire the giant swing. There's a lot going on here. I have to think about it.

Rank the film Jokers

I don't even think this deserves to be called "a big swing". Maybe there's some conceptual big swing going on, but the musical numbers aren't themselves big swings. There's a lot of standing in place and singing old songs I've heard a million times. Very little letting loose

I meant the movie as a whole is a big swing, not the individual musical numbers -- which there are too many of, but several of which are fantastic and much more than "standing in place." The "If My Friends Could See Me Now" and "Gonna Build a Mountain" numbers are so good. Also the one in the courtroom near the end.

My daughter got this from the library and her and my wife sat down to watch it.

My daughter liked the first Joker. My wife did not.

They both liked Joker 2 a lot.


I guess I'll have to watch it and see what's up.

I thought it was fine, but it wasn't particularly shocking like the first one or fun like I would have expected.