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Lady Gaga gives her co-star some pointers.
Joker: Folie A Deux star Joaquin Phoenix shared had some advice that Lady Gaga gave him about singing while working on the film. He talked to Empire Magazine about the highly-anticipated comic book follow-up. Now, his Arthur Fleck is far from a professional performer in the first Joker movie. But, the actor is stepping out of his comfort zone in a major way this time around. Phoenix said, “Gaga was always very encouraging of just, ‘Go with what you feel, it’s fine’. For somebody who’s not a performer in that way, it can be… uncomfortable to do that, but also very exciting”. Having that level of support probably helped a lot considering the star isn’t a classically trained singer. Also, one of the most obvious advantages of the first Joker movie was the “realistic” feel of the story.
Having Arthur just randomly, become a Broadway style singer might have been jarring. Phoenix joked, “I do seem to remember [Gaga] spitting up coffee the first time I sang, so that felt good, that was exciting and made me feel confident.”
“It was important to protect that with poor phrasing and occasional bum notes,” he continued. “Arthur grew up hearing his mother play these songs on the radio. He’s not a singer, and he shouldn’t sound like a professional singer. He should sound like somebody that’s taking a shower and just bursts out into song.
Joker Is Not Changing Too Much For The Sequel
Joker won’t be out here battling Batman yet.
– DC Entertainment/Empire)
Keeping that same vibe from the first Joker was absolutely paramount for director Todd Phillips. Before San Diego Comic-Con concluded, the filmmaker also talked to Empire about keeping Arthur in that same lane as the previous movie. We all know the Clown Prince of Crime becomes a big thorn in Batman’s side over time. It seems like a natural thought to kind of elevate him in Joker: Folie A Deux. But, Phillips is resisting that urge because his version of the villain isn’t some criminal mastermind. At least, he’s not there yet. “We would never do that,” Phillips previously explained. “Because Arthur clearly is not a criminal mastermind. He was never that.”
“Arthur has become this symbol to people,” Phillips added. “This unwilling, unwitting symbol now paying for the crimes of the first film, but at the same time finding the only thing he ever wanted, which was love. That’s always what he’s been about, even though he’s been pushed and pulled in all these directions. So we tried to just make the most pure version of that.”
Do you think Phoenix will have a chart-topping duet with Gaga? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!