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[turps]

Hello there, Mikey Way. Please keep posting pics from one of my favourite eras where you look hot as all hell. I do appreciate it a lot.

We've been to see Joker today. What a film, gritty, unnerving, disturbing and if Joaquin Phoenix doesn't get a handful of awards I'll be very surprised.

We were supposed to meet Corey afterwards for a catch-up and something to eat, but he's not well and is working tonight so I told him to stay in bed and we'll meet up on his next day off instead.

Came home and stopped off to buy a traditional ox sandwich from the Feast. Personally, I'm always dubious if it is actually ox, and James always complains that they're dry. But, it's a Feast tradition, even if I haven't had one since I was a kidlet.

It's the fireworks tonight, but I think I'll just watch them from the front doorstep. I'm tired and a bath followed by my pjs and wrapped in a fluffy dressing gown watching the fireworks from home sounds more appealing than battling the crowds.

I'm trying to talk myself out of buying this dress. It has foxes on it and I love it a lot. But at the same time, I really don't need more dresses. But, foxes! There's also one with pandas on in the sale....

Comments

[glitteryv]

Yeah, I think that Mikeyway's super domestic life kinda snuffed my lust for him? Like, I still find him pretty and I'm deffo eager to see him back onstage. Yet, at the same time, I don't feel that swoosh of >:) I used to feel some years ago. Unlike, say, Frank whom I still find hot AF. I dunno.

Okay, the Joker stuff...

So, the movie had its premiere at a film festival late summer and won the grand prize. That's around the time that the pushback against it began in social media. Some ppl were saying that the movie could potentially glorify white angry dudes and give them a bigger platform that agreed with the idea of violence being the best thing ever. I'm over-simplifying but that's the gist of it.

The media took notice of this and amplified that notion of the movie being DANGEROUS and CONTROVERSIAL. And they tied this narrative to the 2012 mass shooting that occurred at a Batman screening in Colorado.

Meanwhile, no one (except for folks who had attended the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival) had seen the movie at this point.

AND THEN THE PRESS TOUR BEGAN. Which turned out to be something of a disaster. At one point, Joaquin walked out of an interview because he was perplexed to be asked about the (potential) correlation between the violence in the movie + its message vs. the online backlash. Per what I remember, Joaquin did v. minimal press afterwards and things got so dire that WB's PR department didn't allow a single interview during the US premiere of the movie in late September. IIRC, photographers were allowed but no one asked Joaquin et al any questions.

MEANWHILE, Todd Phillips (the director of this movie as well as raunchy comedies like the Hangover trilogy) went in to the HARD defensive. He said that he purposely moved away from a genre he loved (comedy) because everyone was being too PC and comedy was dead (which isn't true).

He also said that he had a v. specific idea for what kind of movie he wanted to make (w/r/t the Joker) so he 'fooled' the studio to give him money for a comicbook movie...and then went about stripping all of the comicbook element off that because comicbook movies are trash (paraphrasing but he really did put down the genre).

Among the last things he said was in line of him being an ARTISTE and folks (who hadn't seen the movie) were whiny brats.

So, his attitude seriously put me off. I totes get why he felt like he had to stand up for his movie since some ppl went way off about how the movie was THE WORST (TM)...but the ppl commenting the loudest hadn't seen the movie.

HOWEVUH, there's no reason why he couldn't have just said "listen, give it a chance. Maybe it's your thing, maybe it's not your thing but I hope ppl approach this film with an open mind", etc.

ETA: I think Joaquin will get Best Actor nominations in all the awards, but I really doubt he'll get the Oscar. This year is super packed with really good performances and, as good as his might've been in the Joker, it wasn't the only good one.

[turps]

Sorry for the late reply, but I wanted to reply to this as I appreciated the in-depth response a lot.

MEANWHILE, Todd Phillips (the director of this movie as well as raunchy comedies like the Hangover trilogy) went in to the HARD defensive. He said that he purposely moved away from a genre he loved (comedy) because everyone was being too PC and comedy was dead (which isn't true).

I was going to say Todd sounds like a bit of a dick, but the more I think about it the more I think he's a huge dick. You're right, there's nothing wrong at all with defending a film you've directed but the way he did so was ridiculous. It sounds like he far more damage than the actual movie itself.

I'm really interested in the awards season this year. I still think Joaquin played a fantastic part, but I agree, there were a lot of other standouts, too.

Can I ask, do you work somehow in media or are you just interested in the film industry? You've told me so much info this year gone about promo and stuff going on in movies and I really love that you do. I know I like different things to you at times, but you're still my film guru.

[glitteryv]

He is deffo a jackass. Tho, given the way things run in Hollywood, his assholery is generally considered 'mild'. Like, luckily for him, the movie made bank ($1B) so he can continue being a jerk, I guess?

One of the most exciting things about this season is that there aren't any definite faves. Like, last year it was ALL ABOUT the gorram A Star is Born (which I loathed), Green Book (same), and ROMA (which was pretty good.) There's a certain, I dunno, chaotic vibe to what is still in the running.


Can I ask, do you work somehow in media or are you just interested in the film industry?

LOL, no. Something like 20 years ago, I did dreamed about becoming a film critic but Life got in the way. Mostly, I really love movies and am endlessly fascinated by the behind-the-scenes stuff as well. I am deffo far from a film industry insider.

<3