Michael Moore just went off in defense of the Joker movie, and director Todd Phillips was grateful for the strong support from such an unlikely champion.
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore won an Oscar for Bowling for Columbine, following the Combine High School shootings and gun culture in the U.S. He's known for taking hard left stands on political and cultural issues. He also bashed American Sniper, but that's a different story.
Right now, he's taking a hard stand on Joker -- strongly in support of the movie, despite or actually because of the timely issues it addresses. Those issues have sparked fears of inciting violence, but Michael Moore's lengthy social media post implores people to watch the R-rated Joker and "take your teens."
Michael Moore started by mocking the idea that we should be afraid of Joker when there's so much real-life horror going on in the world.
I would suggest the opposite: The greater danger to society may be if you DON’T go see this movie. Because the story it tells and the issues it raises are so profound, so necessary, that if you look away from the genius of this work of art, you will miss the gift of the mirror it is offering us. Yes, there’s a disturbed clown in that mirror, but he’s not alone — we’re standing right there beside him. Joker is no comic book movie. The film is set somewhere in 1970s Gotham/New York City, the headquarters of all evil: the rich who rule us, the banks and corporations whom we serve, the media which feeds us a daily diet 'news' they think we should absorb.
Check out the full post, which includes thank you shout-outs to Joaquin Phoenix, Todd Phillips, and studio Warner Bros.:
Todd Phillips has been fielding criticism and support from all sides since Joker first screened in Venice. He was clearly pleased with Michael Moore's strong defense of the movie, adding this simple comment to Moore's post:
Wow. Thank you for this.
Todd Phillips doesn't seem to spend a ton of time on Instagram, but he has been promoting Joker, and officially opened it to world judgment on October 4:
He's getting a lot of positive feedback, and the reactions to Joker do seem to be either very positive or very negative. I guess that's why it ended up with a B+ CinemaScore -- some moviegoers probably gave it an A or A+ while others probably balanced with Cs or Ds. Or maybe after all the build-up, some fans really did just kinda think it was good but not a "masterpiece" or a travesty.
These Fake Joker Signs At Movie Theaters Are Getting Out Of Hand
Joker just had a record-breaking opening weekend for an October movie, so it's safe to say all the chatter out there served to help sell tickets. Keep up with everything still heading to the big screen this year with our 2019 movie release date schedule.
