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The People's Joker

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The People's Joker
The Joker dancing, surrounded by a cloud of green smoke and faces of other characters in the film, an inhaler gripped by a gloved hand is in front of them all
Directed byVera Drew
Written by
  • Bri LeRose
  • Vera Drew
Produced byJoey Lyons
Starring
CinematographyNate Cornett
Edited byVera Drew
Music by
  • Justin Krol
  • Quinn Scharber
  • Danni Rowan
  • Elias and the Error
Production
company
Haunted Gay Ride Productions
Release date
  • September 13, 2022 (2022-09-13) (TIFF)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The People's Joker is a 2022 American queer coming-of-age[1] parody superhero film directed by Vera Drew, and written by Drew and Bri LeRose. The movie premiered on September 13, 2022, at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, but planned re-screenings of the movie were canceled due to "rights issues".[2] The movie unofficially parodies characters from the Batman comics, and the main character is a transgender woman based on the Joker, played by Drew. The film also features Scott Aukerman, Tim Heidecker, Sarah Sherman, David Liebe Hart, Robert Wuhl, and Bob Odenkirk in supporting roles.

Plot

Joker the Harlequin is a transgender woman and aspiring comedian in Gotham City. She teams up with The Penguin and enters an emotionally manipulative relationship with another transgender character called "Mr. J".[2][3]

Cast

Production

In late 2019, co-writer Bri LeRose encouraged Drew to re-edit the film Joker. While working on the re-edit, Drew began to think about how the characters reflected her own life, stating "I knew I needed to do some sort of big creative project around gender, comedy, and mom issues".[4][5] Drew originally planned to re-edit "every single Batman movie" along with other films to make the movie, but those scenes were later edited out.[6] Drew crowdsourced both the budget for the production and the artwork; more than 100 artists provided backdrops and character animation for the film.[4]

Release

According to Drew, "a media conglomerate" sent her "an angry letter (misreported as a 'cease and desist') pressuring to not screen" shortly before the premiere.[7][5] Some media outlets assumed this to be Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company to DC Comics, but neither Drew nor Warner Bros. have confirmed this.[2][8]

On September 14, 2022, a day after the film had premiered, subsequent screenings of the film were canceled. The website for TIFF stated, "The filmmaker has withdrawn this film due to rights issues".[9] The film has attempted to receive copyright exemption under fair use for being a parody,[1][10][11] and a title card displayed before the movie began stated "Any copyright or trademark infringement was not done intentionally", among other things.[8] In a statement to Variety, Drew said: "We’re looking for buyers and distribution partners who will protect us and make this film accessible to trans people and their families everywhere".[8]

On September 21, Drew also pulled the film from other film festivals where it had been slated to screen, although it was unclear whether this was motivated by another copyright infringement threat or simply to help the film gain a distribution deal.[12]

Reception

Peter Debruge of Variety described the movie as "reflect[ing] the deliberately outrageous, ironically distanced variety found in internet memes and Adult Swim series" and as "using millennial meta-irony ... to critique the institutions [Drew] once held dear".[13] Katie Rife of Polygon stated, "in an age where corporate IP has become a de facto religion in global cinema culture, The People’s Joker is a blasphemous Molotov cocktail of a movie, with a unique and valuable point of view. And it’s hilarious, too".[2] Jude Dry of IndieWire gave it a B+ and wrote: "Underneath the satirical madness lies a genuinely moving story of self-acceptance, self-love, and the inspiring act of an artist stepping into her power. All jokes aside, the people deserve to see it."[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Vlessing, Etan (2022-09-14). "TIFF: 'The People's Joker' Pulled From Toronto Fest Over "Rights Issues"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  2. ^ a b c d Rife, Katie (2022-09-14). "Trans parody The People's Joker shut down over 'rights issues'". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  3. ^ Adams, Sam (2022-09-14). "I Saw the "Trans Joker Movie" That Might Never Be Seen Again. It's Really Something". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  4. ^ a b Bradley, Laura (2022-09-14). "Inside the Rogue Joker Movie Warner Bros. Doesn't Want You to See". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  5. ^ a b Watercutter, Angela. "'The People's Joker': A New Take on the Batverse You May Never See". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  6. ^ "The People's Joker, queer film set in Gotham City, pulled from TIFF over copyright concerns". CBC. September 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Chitwood, Adam (September 16, 2022). "'The People's Joker' Filmmaker Says She Was Pressured Not to Screen in Toronto by 'Angry Letter' From 'Media Conglomerate'". TheWrap. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Ravindran, Manori (2022-09-14). "'People's Joker,' Queer Movie Set in Batman Universe, Pulled From TIFF Over 'Rights Issues'". Variety. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  9. ^ "The People's Joker". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  10. ^ Leston, Ryan (2022-09-14). "Unofficial Joker Movie that Featured Bob Odenkirk, Pulled From Festival". IGN. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  11. ^ "I think flouting the Joker's copyright is funny, and I'm tired of pretending it isn't". The Verge. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  12. ^ Larry Fried, "The People’s Joker: Director Vera Drew Cancels All Remaining Festival Screenings". That Shelf, September 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Debruge, Peter (2022-09-16). "'The People's Joker' Review: Trans Comic Finds Her Truth in Unauthorized Batman Parody". Variety. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  14. ^ Dry, Jude (17 September 2022). "'The People's Joker' Review: Trans Joker Spits Alt Comedy Truth in Scathing Satire". IndieWire.
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