Lady Gaga recalls the “liberating” experience of ripping up the ‘Joker 2’ script again and again
Lady Gaga has spoken about the experience of ripping up the Joker: Folie à Deux script on set, describing it as “liberating”.
The new film follows the success of Joker in 2019, which earned widespread critical acclaim and an Academy Award win for star Joaquin Phoenix. The actor returns in the title role, while Gaga takes on the character of his love interest, Harley Quinn.
Now, Gaga has opened up about the experience of working with Phillips and Pheonix behind the scenes, recalling how the trio would rip up scripts together before rewriting them from scratch.
“We’d very often meet in Joaquin’s trailer,” Gaga recalled during a conversation with Variety, “and sometimes we would just tear the script up and start all over. It was a really cool, liberating process.”
Phillips also reflected on this process, describing Phoenix as “the tunnel at the end of the light.”
“You think, ‘Okay, this scene works, let’s just go shoot it.’ And Joaquin’s like, ‘No, no, no, let’s just have a quick meeting about it,'” he remembered, “And it’s three hours later and you’re rewriting it on a napkin.”
The director praised Gaga for her ability to keep up with the antics of her co-star, stating that she “holds her own, both off camera when we’re in the trailer tearing things apart — which she probably spent the night before learning — but also on camera. It was not a small feat.”
The trailer for the sequel arrived in July, providing a first glimpse at Gaga as Harley Quinn. She provides a fresh take on the character, who has previously been played by Margot Robbie in the DCEU. Phillips has compared Gaga’s portrayal of the character to Charles Manson in the way she attracts idolisation.
Gaga isn’t the only new addition to the cast. Brendan Gleeson takes on the role of a guard at Arkham Asylum, where the Joker and Harley first meet, while Catherine Keener plays the Joker’s lawyer.
The sequel also introduces a new musical element to the film franchise. The trailer provides a first glimpse at this. Unveiled in July, it shows Gaga and Phoenix, as the Joker and Harley, singing an eerie rendition of ‘Get Happy’ together.
Joker: Folie à Deux premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 4th. It will also compete for the Golden Lion at the competition. The film is set for widespread release on October 2nd, 2024.
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