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Filmmaker Todd Phillips, previously known for his raunchy comedy movies, made two movies detailing the origin of DC’s infamous villain, The Joker. The first movie, titled Joker, was released in 2019 and starred Joaquin Phoenix in the title role. A box office hit, it received mixed reviews from critics, but it won Phoenix an Academy Award and was nominated for ten other Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Last summer, the sequel titled Joker: Folie à Deux, was not nearly as commercially successful or as positively received compared to its predecessor.
Lady Gaga, who stars as Joker’s love interest, Harley Quinn, recently spoke out about people who negatively received the Joker sequel. She stated:
People just sometimes don’t get things. It’s that simple. And I think to be an artist, you have to be willing for people to sometimes not like it. And you keep going even if something didn’t connect in the way that you intended.
When commenting about the fear of failure in relation to Joker: Folie à Deux‘s negative reception, Gaga claimed that this can be most harmful to a person. She elaborated by stating:
When that makes its way into your life, that can be hard to get control of. It’s part of the mayhem.
Renowned filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino, also positively commented on Joker: Folie à Deux, specifically highlighting Joaquin Pheonix’s acting by advocating that Pheonix gave “one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
Joker: Folie à Deux did not receive any Oscar nominations, but it was nominated for seven Razzies.