In mid-August, a leaked script for Warner Bros. and DC's forthcoming Joker film surfaced online, generating controversy for painting the Batman villain as a sympathetic victim. However, director Todd Phillips says those concerned about the leaked script shouldn't fret too much, as the script was probably an early draft.
The draft that is online is dated April 13, 2018 -- well ahead of when its star Joaquin Phoenix signed on to star in the film in July of last year. Phillips says things changed quite a bit between the time that draft was completed and when production commenced in September of 2018. “They’re in for a big surprise when they see the movie,” he revealed.
Phillips also explained how he had to jump through “many hoops” on the project, but Warner Bros. essentially let him do what he wanted once they reached an agreement on a budget. "They were incredibly bold in just saying, ‘Ok there are no rules just go do your thing," he explained. It's unclear just when he got the final go ahead for the script and what actually changed as he negotiated with the studio.
Early reviews are praising Joker and Phoenix's performance, in particular. While most of those reviews didn't go into specifics so as to avoid spoilers, many did describe Joker as sympathetic.
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais and Shea Whigham. The film arrives in theaters Oct. 4.
(via AP News)