Joker trivia: 70 amazing facts about the new movie

Joker is the name of the new Todd Phillips directed movie, starring Joaquin Phoenix. It is about the origin story of the famous Batman villain.

So let’s unveil some trivia and facts about this new film!

1. Joker is a 2019 American psychological thriller film
2. It is directed by Todd Phillips
3. He co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver
4. The film, based on DC Comics characters, stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker
5. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
6. It is intended to launch DC Black
7. A series of DC-based standalone films
8. The film, which acts as an origin story for the Joker, is set in 1981 and follows Arthur Fleck
9. A failed stand-up comedian who turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City
10. Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, and Frances Conroy appear in supporting roles
11. Phillips conceived Joker in 2016
12. And wrote the script with Silver throughout 2017
13. The two were inspired by 1970s character studies and the works of Martin Scorsese (who was initially attached to the project as a producer)
14. The graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) served as the basis for the film’s premise
15. But Phillips and Silver otherwise did not look to specific comics for inspiration
16. Phoenix became attached to the project in February 2018 and was cast that July
17. While the majority of the cast signed on by August
18. Principal photography lasted from September to December 2018 and took place in New York City, Jersey City, and Newark
19. Joker was the first live-action Batman franchise film to receive an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America
20. Due to its violent and disturbing content
21. Joker premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2019
22. There it won the Golden Lion, the festival’s highest prize
23. It is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on October 4, 2019
24. The film received positive reviews from critics
25. With particular praise for Phoenix’s performance
26. The film will not play at the Aurora, Colorado movie theater where the 2012 mass shooting occurred during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises
27. Three families of victims, as well as the mother of a witness, signed a letter to Warner Bros. with the request
28. Warner Bros. restricted press access to the red carpet at the United States premiere on September 28, 2019 to photographers only
29. Additionally, Landmark Theaters has prohibited moviegoers from wearing Joker costumes during its run
30. And the Los Angeles Police Department will increase police visibility at area theaters
31. Though it has “not received any specific threat”
32. In August 2019, BoxOffice magazine analyst Shawn Robbins wrote that he expected Joker to gross $60- 90 million during its opening weekend in North America
33. Following the film’s premiere, BoxOffice predicted Joker could open to $70- 95 million domestically
34. Later updated to $85- 105 million
35. Robbins suggested it could become the first October release to open to over $100 million
36. And surpass the record set by Venom in 2018
37. However, Comscore’s senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian thought the film would open closer to $50 million because it is not a “typical comic-book movie”
38. Three weeks prior to its release, official industry tracking projected the film would debut to $65- 80 million
39. With some estimates going as high as $90 million
40. Between 2014 and 2015, Joaquin Phoenix was interested in acting in a low-budget “character study” type of film about a comic book villain like the DC Comics character Joker
41. Phoenix had previously declined to act in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
42. Because he would have been required to play the roles he was offered, like the Hulk and Doctor Strange, in multiple films
43. He did not believe his idea for a film should cover the Joker, however, as he believed that character had been depicted in a similar way before, and tried to think of a different one
44. Phoenix’s agent suggested setting up a meeting with Warner Bros., but he declined
45. Similarly, Todd Phillips had been offered to direct comic-based films a number of times, but declined because he thought they were “loud” and did not interest him
46. According to Phillips, Joker was born from his idea to create a different, more grounded comic book film
47. Phillips pitched the idea for Joker to Warner Bros. after his film War Dogs premiered in August 2016
48. He proposed that DC Films differentiate its slate from the competing Marvel Studios’ by producing low-budget, standalone films
49. After the successful release of the standalone feature Wonder Woman (2017), DC Films decided to deemphasize the shared nature of its DC-based film franchise, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU)
50. In August 2017, Warner Bros. and DC Films revealed plans for the film, with Phillips directing and co-writing with Scott Silver
51. And Martin Scorsese co-producing with Phillips
52. The announcement of the film was met with mixed reactions
53. Jared Leto, who portrays the Joker in the DCEU, was reportedly displeased with the existence of multiple different contemporary Joker characters
54. By September 2017, Warner Bros. was considering casting Leonardo DiCaprio as the Joker
55. Hoping to use his frequent collaborator Scorsese’s involvement to lure him
56. But by February 2018, Phoenix was Phillips’s top choice for the role
57. Phillips later said that Phoenix was the only actor he considered
58. Padraig Cotter of Screen Rant noted that since the film was a standalone story
59. Phoenix would not have to appear in sequels as he would have in the Marvel offer
60. Phoenix said when he learned of the film, he became excited because it was the kind of film he was looking to make
61. Describing it as unique and stating it did not feel like a typical “studio movie”
62. However, it took Phoenix some time to commit to the role, as it intimidated him
63. Principal photography commenced in September 2018 in New York City
64. Under the working title Romeo
65. Shortly after filming began, De Niro, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Josh Pais, and Douglas Hodge were announced to have joined the film, with Cullen replacing Baldwin
66. Bradley Cooper also joined the film as a producer
67. The director of photography was Lawrence Sher, with whom Phillips had previously collaborated with for his Hangover films
68. On September 22, a scene depicting a violent protest took place in Brooklyn
69. Although the station was modified to look like Bedford Park Blvd
70. In late September 2018, filming of robbery scenes took place at the First Central Savings Bank in Astoria, Queens