After wowing critics at an early screening in L.A. (myself included), JOKER did the same at the Venice Film Festival, garnering an 8-minute standing ovation and stirring up more buzz for the film, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix. Now, the film has taken Venice's top honor, the Golden Lion, taking it yet another step forward in critical acclaim. Phillips was on hand to accept the award, as was Phoenix, who took the stage in support of the film. Take a look at Phillips full acceptance speech below!
JOKER has already started to set the Internet world afire, based solely on early reviews, and with more screenings coming up at TIFF (you can expect a review from Chris Bumbray, who is once again covering for us) you can bet the farm that buzz will continue to grow. Some of that buzz may not fall into the realm of "positive" as many people (mostly who haven't even seen it) are already writing think pieces and weaponizing it for their politics (exactly what I said would happen in my early review). However, that tends to be a trait of a noteworthy film. If you can get people talking about and debating your film then there's certainly something worthwhile there. I look forward to everyone being able to see the film for themselves and get in on the action.
JOKER laughs its way into theaters on October 4th.