Joaquin Phoenix Gossip

It’s official, Joker is a hit, setting a new October opening weekend record with a $96 million opening weekend. This is more than Justice League ($93.8 million). Joker is a hit, Justice League is a flop, and the difference lies mostly in their budgets and a little bit in their ratings. R-rated movies are never expected to perform as well as more audience-friendly PG-13 movies, though we have seen a number of R-rated blockbusters recently (the Deadpool and It franchises). Full Story

That title in and of itself is newsworthy considering who we’re talking about: Joaquin Phoenix, one of the most press-averse actors in the business, willingly participating in an interview with Vanity Fair that covers his work life, his love life, his family life, including mentions of his late brother, River. Full Story

If ever there was a movie that does not live up to its hype, it is Todd Phillips’ much debated Joker. A stripped down, deconstructed comic book movie, Joker is supposedly the most inflammatory, dangerous, provocative film of the year—of the era!—a movie that is maybe causing a moral panic and fanning the flames of the culture war. Full Story

Joaquin Phoenix is currently one of the frontrunners for Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Joker. We have seen him seemingly becoming more comfortable promoting the film and, perhaps, his campaign Full Story

Bradley Cooper was not on the list of expected attendees at last night’s TIFF premiere of Joker, which just won the Golden Lion in Venice and is now an Oscar contender in several categories, including Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix. There are many layers to this Bradley Cooper relationship with Joker. Full Story

Following the Joker world premiere at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend, Joaquin Phoenix is now officially a contender for Best Actor Oscar. Up to this point, which is early, but not as early as you think considering the Oscars are at the beginning of February in 2020 which shortens the season, experts had Antonio Banderas as a frontrunner for his performance in Pain and Glory. Full Story

The Venice Film Festival kicks off next week, and with it comes the world premiere of Joker, followed by a North American premiere at TIFF. Ahead of both of those things, we have a new trailer to absorb. The first trailer was promising Full Story

Two years ago we learned that cinema’s best misanthropic boy, Todd Phillips, was developing a Joker origins movie no one asked for. Then Joaquin Phoenix was named as the star Full Story

On Friday director Todd Phillips released a camera test of Joaquin Phoenix in his Joker makeup and it is certainly a look. My first thought was that he looks like Pogo the Clown, aka John Wayne Gacy. My second thought was that he sort of looks like the mask Heath Ledger’s Joker wore in the bank robbery scene Full Story

Opening this weekend is the latest in the budding sub-genre of sensitive, revisionist Westerns (following on the heels of Slow West and Damsel Full Story