Joaquin Phoenix is in the midst of the press cycle as the star of Todd Phillips' upcoming Joker film, but apparently not all of his interviews have been a laugh.
UPDATE (9/24, 1:13 p.m. EST): following an outcry, Joker will not screen at the Aurora theatre where a mass shooting took place in 2012.
Phoenix reportedly walked out of an interview with The Telegraph after a reporter asked him about the potential for the film to inspire real-life violence.
Film critic Robbie Collin describes Phoenix's Joker as a character who could be "the latest online message-board extremist to take his grievances murderously viral" if it wasn't for the film being set in the '80s. But when he brought this up to Phoenix, the actor stammered and then stood up and walked of the interview.
Collin describes the response to his question as such:
'Why?' he eventually mutters, his lip curling up at one side. 'Why would you…? No… no.' Then he stands up, shuffles towards me, clasps my hands between his, and walks out of the door.
After an hour of pleading with a public relations handler, Phoenix returned to the interview. He explained that the question of real-life violence had genuinely never crossed his mind, and he just panicked when he was asked about it.
Phoenix never really answered the question, but the interview nevertheless resulted in a lengthy profile. Read the full piece here via The Telegraph.
Joker hits theatres on October 4.
UPDATE (9/24, 1:13 p.m. EST): following an outcry, Joker will not screen at the Aurora theatre where a mass shooting took place in 2012.
Phoenix reportedly walked out of an interview with The Telegraph after a reporter asked him about the potential for the film to inspire real-life violence.
Film critic Robbie Collin describes Phoenix's Joker as a character who could be "the latest online message-board extremist to take his grievances murderously viral" if it wasn't for the film being set in the '80s. But when he brought this up to Phoenix, the actor stammered and then stood up and walked of the interview.
Collin describes the response to his question as such:
'Why?' he eventually mutters, his lip curling up at one side. 'Why would you…? No… no.' Then he stands up, shuffles towards me, clasps my hands between his, and walks out of the door.
After an hour of pleading with a public relations handler, Phoenix returned to the interview. He explained that the question of real-life violence had genuinely never crossed his mind, and he just panicked when he was asked about it.
Phoenix never really answered the question, but the interview nevertheless resulted in a lengthy profile. Read the full piece here via The Telegraph.
Joker hits theatres on October 4.
