Joker: Folie À Deux director Todd Phillips 'wanted nothing to do with DC' during making of the $200million flop film, a new report has claimed.<br>
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The hotly-anticipated sequel to the 2019 billion dollar Oscar-winning <br>
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film - stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga and was considered a surefire hit for Warner Bros Pictures <br>
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- but was slammed by critics and failed to ignite at the box office.<br>
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The sequel has been roundly criticized for <br>
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being a musical and 'ignoring' the DC fanbase - with an agent familiar with Phillips' process telling Variety he 'wanted nothing to <br>
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do with DC' during the making of the film, with DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran notably absent <br>
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from the film's LA premiere afterparty last month.<br>
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A source said: 'If the first movie was about some down-on-his-luck,<br>
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mentally ill guy in a downtrodden city, it makes maybe $150 [million] worldwide.<br>
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Not a billion. People showed up because that guy was Joker.'<br>
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In an apparent snub by Phillips, the opening sequence of the <br>
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film does not include a DC Studios logo.<br>
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On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of 31% and a critic score of <br>
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32%<br>
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The hotly-anticipated sequel to the 2019 billion dollar Oscar-winning film - stars <br>
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Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga - seen with Phillips last month - and was considered a surefire hit for Warners Bros <br>
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Pictures - but was slammed by critics and failed to ignite at the box office <br>
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A DC spokesman said Gunn was directing the Max series Peacemaker in Atlanta, which had lost a day <br>
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of production due to Hurricane Helene, while Safran was sick. <br>
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Joker: Folie À Deux is branded 'bleak' and the 'most disappointing follow-up' by critics<br>
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A Warner spokesman added that a DC logo appears at the end of the Joker sequel.<br>
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while Phillips declined to comment to the publication. <br>
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Several frictions are said to have developed between Phillips,<br>
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DC and Warner- with claims that Michael DeLuca, Chairperson of Warner <br>
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Bros. Entertainment, and CEO Pamela Abdy seemed 'unwilling' to say <br>
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no to Phillips due to his huge past successes.<br>
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It is claimed Phillips would 'only' speak with DeLuca and Abdy rather than Gunn and Safran - who <br>
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took control of DC two months before production began on Joker 2 in December 2022.<br>
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Gunn and Safran did attend the first director's cut screening for the studio but Phillips fueled rift speculation when he <br>
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told a reporter: 'With all due respect to them, this is kind of a Warner Bros.<br>
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movie.'<br>
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Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav also met with Phillips shortly after WarnerMedia and Discovery merged in April 2022 and was 'open to filming <br>
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in Los Angeles if the director would make the sequel at a lower price point.'<br>
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The studio wanted to film in London which would have cost around 20 per cent <br>
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less.<br>
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However, Phillips insisted on filming in LA with the budget remaining static. <br>
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The sequel has been roundly criticized for being a musical and 'ignoring' <br>
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the DC fanbase - with an agent familiar with Phillips' process <br>
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telling Variety he 'wanted nothing to do with DC' during the making of the <br>
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film, with DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran notably absent from the film's LA premiere afterparty last month<br>
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A Warner spokesman told the publication the studio 'supported the decision to <br>
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film in Los Angeles'.<br>
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A source directly involved with the film said: 'No one <br>
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could get through to Todd. And the one thing about genre stuff:<br>
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If you don't listen and pay attention to what the fan expectations are, you're going to fail.<br>
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Insiders also claim studio bosses did not want to <br>
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premiere the film at the Venice Film Festival, but Phillips pushed back - with a <br>
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Warner spokesman saying the studio 'fully supported the decision to bring the film to Venice.<br>
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Joker: Folie À Deux has garnered the lowest CinemaScore in comic <br>
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book movie history as the film bombed at the box office on opening <br>
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night. <br>
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It has only made $114million worldwide against its $200million budget. <br>
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The psychological musical thriller — which has <br>
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been criticized as 'bleak' and 'disappointing' — officially released in theaters on Friday, October 4, but it <br>
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only raked in $20 million at the domestic box office, per The Hollywood Reporter. <br>
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Phoenix reprised his role as the Joker in the sequel, which <br>
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had earned him an Oscar for his portrayal in the 2019 film, while Gaga <br>
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took on the role of Harleen Lee Quinzel (Harley Quinn). <br>
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However, Joker: Folie À Deux has been given a <br>
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D rating on CinemaScore — the lowest score for a comic book movie. <br>
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Madame Web — which notably also flopped in theaters earlier this <br>
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year and also received terrible reviews — holds <br>
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a higher score with a C+.<br>
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On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of 31% and <br>
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a critic score of 32%. <br>
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The sequel is projected to rake in less that $50 million at the domestic <br>
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box office during the entirety of opening weekend, per The Hollywood Reporter. <br>
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Weeks ago, the movie had been projected to bring in around $70 million - but the <br>
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number has since drastically dropped. <br>
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Joker (2019) notably opened with $96.2 million when the film first <br>
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released in theaters - and eventually landed a little over $1 billion in the <br>
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global box office. <br>
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The first movie - which was also directed by Todd Phillips - had a budget of between $55 and $70 million. However,<br>
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the budget increased for Folie À Deux to around $200 million. <br>
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The 2019 movie garnered praise and positive reviews from both critics and audiences - and won the Golden Lion during the 76th Venice International Film <br>
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Festival. <br>
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Joaquin received an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of the Joker (Arthur Fleck) - and <br>
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the film garnered an additional Academy Award for Best Original Score. <br>
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The sequel also screened during the Venice International Film <br>
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Festival last month in September, where it earned a 12-minute standing ovation, per Deadline. <br>
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A source directly involved with the film said: 'No one could get through to Todd.<br>
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And the one thing about genre stuff: If you don't listen and pay attention to what the fan expectations are,<br>
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you're going to fail.<br>
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However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie <br>
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released in theaters on Friday - and shared their opinions on the sequel, which <br>
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features musical sequences. <br>
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One fan penned, 'Joaquin Phoenix don't deserve this.<br>
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what happened to the script?' while another added, 'is it that bad,' <br>
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followed by a crying face emoji. <br>
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'Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a good choice.<br>
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It'd show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck is,' one typed. <br>
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'But with some original songs, that keep everything vague, not just covers.<br>
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Also when I heard of the ending I snorted fr.' <br>
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A social media user wrote, 'Stop making sequels as musicals if the original wasn't a musical.' <br>
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'Maybe he [Phillips] only had an hour long movie, and decided to randomly add musical scenes to fill the runtime,' one penned. <br>
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'Joker downfall really needs to be studied,' another shared, along with a monkey staring out a window. <br>
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One fan said, 'the movie sucks. i had to walk out of the cinema,' while <br>
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another penned, 'After years of disagreement....*Joker 2 releases* Critics [shaking hands] Audience.' <br>
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However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released in theaters on Friday - and shared their opinions over <br>
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the sequel, which was also a musical<br>
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'Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have <br>
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been a good choice. It'd show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck is,' one typed<br>
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'Joker downfall really needs to be studied,' another shared, along with a monkey staring out a window<br>
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'That's way below what we expected,' one wrote in regards to the current <br>
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Rotten Tomatoes scores. 'People are saying this <br>
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is the worst sequel ever.' <br>
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A fan explained, 'yea this film was bad. it was pretentious <br>
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and dull. has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance.' <br>
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'It also insults the audience's intelligence. the songs were also underwhelming too.<br>
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they shouldn't have let this escape to theaters.' <br>
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One shared, 'The audience that loved the first movie is not the same audience running to see musicals.<br>
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This was a gigantic mistake from step 1.' <br>
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During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter,<br>
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Phillips discussed whether he would be interested in making a <br>
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third Joker film or a movie centered around Gaga's character. <br>
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'It's not really where this movie is headed for me. I feel like my time in the DC Universe was <br>
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these two films.' <br>
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Ahead of the movie's release, Lady Gaga also dropped an accompanying <br>
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album titled Harlequin on September 27. <br>
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Joker: Folie À Deux has been branded the 'most disappointing follow-up to the Oscar-winning movie' by critics,<br>
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as they cast doubt on Lady Gaga's 'thin' role in the film <br>
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following its release on Friday. <br>
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'That's way below what we expected,' one wrote in regards to the <br>
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current Rotten Tomatoes scores. 'People are <br>
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saying this is the worst sequel ever'<br>
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A fan explained, 'yea this film was bad. it was pretentious and dull.<br>
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has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance'<br>
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The 'bleak' sequel, has also received a tepid reception from fans, with some claiming Lady Gaga's career could be at risk.<br>
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While the same director Todd Phillips was back in the hot seat,<br>
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critics have said the sequel is just a 'repeat' <br>
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of the first hit but with an added musical twist.<br>
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Most critics have said Todd failed to use Gaga correctly in the movie and claimed she <br>
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was only bought in for the musical aspect of it.<br>
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While the majority of critics say Joker: Folie À Deux didn't live up to <br>
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expectations, others have dubbed the movie 'bold' and 'brilliant.' <br>
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Daily Mail's Brian Viner commended the move as 'bold' and 'brilliant' <br>
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but said it lacked any thrill. <br>
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The Independent's Geoffrey Macnab said: 'Today Joker is best remembered as one of the most subversive and original films of the last decade, while its <br>
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hugely anticipated sequel is just as bleak and <br>
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formally daring as its predecessor'.<br>
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Meanwhile, the Irish Times' Donald Clarke gave the movie just two <br>
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stars but credited Phillips' work for making a sequel following the first movie's $1billion success.<br>
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Financial Times critic Danny Leigh said although Gaga worked hard <br>
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to bump the ratings up in the sequel, Phillips appeared to have <br>
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no idea what to do with her. <br>
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Giving a three star rating, The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw claimed <br>
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the movie proves 'claustrophobic' and 'repetitive.'<br>
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Joker: Folie À Deux has been branded the 'most disappointing follow-up to the <br>
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Oscar-winning movie' by critics, as they cast doubt on Lady Gaga's <br>
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'thin' role in the film following its release on Friday; seen in September in London <br>
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The Times' Kevin Maher wrote: 'The director Todd Phillips <br>
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said there would be no follow-up to the original, but he changed his <br>
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mind and the result is a derivative musical'<br>
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'This might be the most disappointing follow-up to an Oscar-winning performance since Anthony Hopkins reworked his silky <br>
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and terrifying Dr Lecter from for the campy, kitschy.' <br>
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Along with Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix, other stars that had appeared in the sequel include Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beatz and Steve Coogan. <br>
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Joker: Folie à Deux has faced additional backlash from fans as they have claimed that Gaga is running <br>
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the risk of losing her acting career. <br>
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Lady GagaJoaquin Phoenix<br>
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Joker: Folie À Deux director