If you’re Warner Bros. and you desperately want your DC comic book properties to succeed at the box office but are up against a machine called Marvel Studios, what are you to do? Trying to replicate the competition’s formula resulted in catastrophe (“Justice League”), so you really can’t do that. Apparently, the right answer is make something that Marvel Studios can’t — the new film “Joker.”
That’s the philosophy that seemed to drive Warner Bros. and director Todd Phillips when they were coming up with the idea behind the upcoming comic book film, “Joker.” Phillips, along with his star Joaquin Phoenix, have created an R-rated story about one of the most devious villains in superhero history and did so without the use of one single superhero. It’s been said a million times already, but basically Phillips made the superhero equivalent of “Taxi Driver.”
And according to a new profile in the New York Times, the director explained that the only way to stand out from the Marvel Studios noise is to hit the public with something brand-new.
“You can’t beat Marvel — it’s a giant behemoth,” Phillips said. “Let’s do something they can’t do.”
One of the things that Phillips did that Marvel Studios couldn’t is land Phoenix as the leading man. After a failed attempt by Marvel to sign him to play the title character in “Doctor Strange,” Phoenix needed some convincing to play the Clown Prince of Crime in “Joker.” But after that got worked out, then came the hard part — preparation. And one of the biggest things Phoenix did to prepare for the role was to lose a shocking 52 pounds, creating an emaciated look for the title villain.
“It’s a horrible way to live,” Phoenix said about the weight loss. “I think he should be kind of heavy. Todd was like, ‘I think you should do the real thin person.’”
Another thing that separates “Joker” from the Marvel Studios catalog is the fact that there’s no overarching narrative that extends to multiple films and other franchises. “Joker” is self-contained. However, according to the director, Phoenix wanted it even more isolated from lore than it is.
“He never liked saying the name Thomas Wayne,” Phillips explained. “It would have been easier for him if the movie was called ‘Arthur’ and had nothing to do with any of that stuff. But in the long run, I think he got it and appreciated it.”
The director also explained how Phoenix treated his starring role with the same level of intensity you might expect from the actor, often leaving his co-stars wondering what the hell is going on during filming.
“In the middle of the scene, he’ll just walk away and walk out,” Phillips said. “And the poor other actor thinks it’s them and it was never them — it was always him, and he just wasn’t feeling it.”
It appears that all this hard work from Phillips and Phoenix has paid off handsomely. “Joker” recently won the Golden Lion in Venice and is expected to break $100 million during its opening weekend next month. Perhaps by trying to be the opposite of Marvel Studios, WB has found the secret to its future success.
