00:00Marie, one small thing. When you bring me out, can you introduce me as Joker?
00:09Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips are finally speaking out about the controversy
00:12surrounding Joker during a screening of the film at the New York Film Festival.
00:16The Joker star and film director addressed the media headlines that have been calling
00:19concerns to the film's dark and violent elements, saying that they don't see the
00:23on-screen violence as irresponsible. Phillips noted,
00:26"...to me, I thought, isn't it a good thing to put real-world implications on violence?
00:30Isn't it a good thing to take away the cartoon element of violence that we've become so
00:34immune to?" The director admitted he was surprised by the public's claims about the film, adding,
00:39"...to me it seems actually very responsible to make it feel real and make it have weight
00:43and implication." Many have condemned the film's gruesome violence and voiced their apprehension
00:48to even see the film after three mass shootings this summer, along with the mass shooting
00:52that took place seven years ago at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora,
00:56Colorado. In the wake of the public's unease, the LAPD and NYPD, as well as other markets,
01:01are taking extra precautions and deploying officers to theaters in their city that are
01:05screening the DC film. During the post-screening Q&A, Phillips maintained his stance that the
01:10movie speaks for itself.
01:11There's been so much conversation around the movie by people who haven't seen the movie.
01:15People who say,
01:16"...I haven't seen the movie. I'm not going to see the movie. I don't need to see the movie."
01:19And then they write two pages about the movie.
01:22Meanwhile, Phoenix told the audience that while he typically doesn't consider what's going to happen
01:25after a movie's been made, he took some time to decide whether or not to take on the role
01:30of the Joker, saying he let his family read the script ahead of time.
01:33"...I gave all my sisters the script and my mom. My whole family read it, and we had a lot
01:37of discussions about it." Warner Bros. also responded to the public outcry with a statement
01:41that said in part,
01:43"...make no mistake, neither the fictional character Joker nor the film is an endorsement
01:46of real-world violence of any kind."
01:49For more on this story, head to THR.com. And until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter News,
01:53I'm Neha Joy.
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