Elvis Presley, a poverty-stricken truck driver who became one of the most famous people of the 20th century, said once as an icon of pop culture: “The image is one thing and the person is another.” It is very difficult to live up to an image, so to speak.” In his own way, Arthur Fleck – the protagonist of 2019 joker and its upcoming sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux – can understand. After all, he was just a struggling comedian and party clown until his murder spree in Gotham City inadvertently inspired an anarchic social movement. In the sequel, Arthur is a supervillain to some and a superstar to others.

“I think that in the first film he really wanted to be heard and had the wrong idea about being heard. I think at first he just wanted to be heard by a social worker, but at some point it became perverse in a way and he wanted mass recognition,” says Joaquin Phoenix. who won the Oscar for Best Actor for “Joker.”recently told IGN. “That's kind of the result of that, the idea of ​​celebrity and what do you do when you've created this image in this character and you have to live up to it.”

Phoenix used rock stars other than Elvis to illustrate his point. “What do you do when you’re in a band like? KISS or something and you've created this character and you have to go on stage and there's all this pyrotechnics and you're doing all this theatrical shit and then at some point you're like, “I just want it to be quiet because I want.” be myself?' What happens when someone falls in love with you as this character, and how do you do it justice?

“I think this is something we all do in one way or another, or we all present this image as we walk through the world. And sometimes you just think, “I just want peace.” And I was curious: What would happen to someone who has made such a splash in the world if he just wanted peace, he just wanted an authentic connection with someone would like to have? I think that was part of the inspiration for it.”

(You're craving it) Near you: Joker's fans

The first Joker film ended with a personality cult forming around Jokerwith violent protests plunging Gotham City into chaos. The latest trailer for Joker 2 reveals that Joker's followers went on violent rampage not just in Gotham, but across the country. To his followers, Joker is an almost messianic figure, a revolutionary and martyr whose clown face they have adopted in protest against the institutional corruption that oppresses them. But only through the events of this sequel will his believers begin to get to know the real man behind the makeup: Arthur Fleck. Will they like who they find?

“I think they wanted Joker, and I think he realizes that at some point,” Phoenix said. “I think there is a moment where he may regret the decisions he made.”

Todd Phillips, the director and co-writer of both Joker films, reiterated this in a separate chat with IGN. “It's kind of like this idea when someone becomes an icon and we impose things on that person as a group, as a society, as a medium, whatever. We impose things on this person that they may not be able to live up to. And then what’s the worst case scenario when you finally find love in your life, or think you find it, but that person is in love with the character you are portraying and not the person you are?”

The person who falls in love with Joker is Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, played by Lady Gaga. When Arthur first meets her, Lee is a fellow patient at Arkham State Hospital, his biggest fan, and a kindred spirit. It's (insane) love at first sight (although there is some). lots of fan theories about what really happens between them in the film).

“I think he might be a little more withdrawn at first. Certainly I don't think he has any expectation that he will have any connection with anyone. “It’s definitely unexpected,” Phoenix said. “The beautiful thing is that Lee comes in and we see him come alive in that moment and through the music, and we see that moment where they see each other. And there’s something hopeful and really exciting about that that feels different than the first film.”

Bewitched (Bothered and Bewildered): Joker & Harley

As Lady Gaga recently told IGN, “Joker is what gives Arthur wings, and Lee brings that out of him.” In a way, she helps give him wings as he embraces a side of himself that makes him less afraid might. To me, it’s almost like him protecting himself.”

Lee was drawn to Joker by his intense indignation at a society that has abandoned or outright ignored troubled souls like him. “She's one of the people who was taken with his message about Murray Franklin,” Phillips explained, referencing Joker's on-air rants and subsequent murder of the talk show host, played by Robert De Niro in the first film.

“This happens all the time with good and bad people. And I don't know that it was his celebrity that she was attracted to. I think she was drawn to the message or what he was saying, even though he ended up doing it in a very left-footed way,” Phillips said. “I don’t think it hurt that he was famous too. I mean, you see it in the culture. People start writing letters to this person. She is something like that. She fell in love.”

Gaga, who simply refers to her interpretation of Harley Quinn as Lee, said her character's passion for Joker is overwhelming: “I would say Lee's love for Joker borders on moments where she knows exactly who she is and moments , that she's in.” has erased herself because she's so madly in love with and obsessed with this person, and that makes her completely different. Lee would, shall we say, act and behave as she needed to in order to get his attention, to keep him, to be close to him.

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