Joaquin Phoenix (Joker): the actor speaks out on his departure from this gay love film

Spotted at the Venice Film Festival to support Joker 2 alongside Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix was questioned about the controversy he has on his back, which concerns his sudden departure of a film.

Joaquin Phoenix applauded after Joker 2

After Napoleon, Joaquin Phoenix returns to the forefront with Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the acclaimed first opus (Golden Lion at Venice) centered on Batman's iconic enemy, and in which the actor will give the reply to Lady Gaga, invested for the occasion in Harley Quinn.

The film was presented on Wednesday, September 4 at the Venice Film Festival, and received a real standing ovation of eleven minutes, watch in hand. We recall that Todd Philips' film sees the trial of Arthur Fleck, which follows the murder he committed in Joker. Built like a musical film, the project was highly anticipated, and will be released in theaters on October 2.

Joaquin Phoenix questioned on a big controversy

Applause that contrasts with the controversy currently surrounding the American actor. Indeed, last August, the 49-year-old actor suddenly left the production of a Todd Haynes film just 5 days before filming,leading to the closure of the production. A feature film that focused on an intense homosexual romance in the 1930s, which the actor was to live with Danny Ramirez, who could be seen in Top Gun: Maverick, and who will be in the cast of the next Captain America 4.

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For the film, the director had gathered a substantial budget and assembled a team to be able to start filming this August 2024 in Guadalajara, Mexico. A «nightmare” for the whole team according to producer Christine Vachon. Variety, which took up the story, suggests that the actor would have  “become scared”, perhaps of the subject.

Joaquin Phoenix on his departure from a gay romance movie directed by Todd Haynes, at a Venice press conference for #JokerFolieADeux #Venezia81 pic.twitter.com/jsmsBapEBB

September 4, 2024

Joaquin Phoenix talks about his departure from a gay romance movie directed by Todd Haynes, at a Venice press conference for #JokerFolieADeux #Venezia81

So of course, Joaquin Phoenix was expected at the Venice Film Festival to give answers on this about-face. Unfortunately,he was very evasive. “If I were to answer you, I would just tell you why from my point of view. But the other people behind the project are not here, they can't do the same, so it wouldn't seem right for me to do it. So I won't do it,” he replied.

This is a real disaster surrounding a project whose “financing depended on the casting of Phoenix”, according to several sources who spoke to with the magazine IndieWire. “An actor who withdraws from a film five days before shooting leaves many people in the lurch.” A silence that therefore raises questions in Hollywood, but which annoys many, especially producers. The actor would be accustomed to this fact according to the Hollywood Reporter, which took an interest in his case in a long article.