Actor Joaquin Phoenix recently spilled the beans about a deleted scene from Joker, which he initially felt was ‘one of the best scenes’ of the film. Director Todd Phillips, meanwhile, has said that he thinks deleted scenes are called that for a reason. “I hate f*****g extended cuts. I hate deleted scenes… They’re deleted for a reason.” He added that he would not be showing any deleted scenes from the film. “The movie that exists is exactly the movie I want it to be and I will never show a deleted scene,” he said.
In an interview to Collider, Phoenix said, “There was a scene that, that during the shoot we thought was one of the best scenes and we loved his behavior in the scene, and I’d always really liked the scene. And Todd told me and said, ‘We’re cutting that scene out.’ And at first I thought, like, ‘Wait a minute, what do you mean you cut that scene out?’ And then of course I saw it, and it was very obvious. It has to go.”
The scene in question was a second meeting between Arthur Fleck and his co-worker Randall, after Arthur is let go from his clown agency job. In the final cut that was released, Arthur exits the building after messing with a sign, and ‘punching out’. Phillips said that cutting out the scene was ‘a heartbreaker’ and that it “might’ve been the last scene I cut out.”
Phoenix added, “That’s just what’s so cool about movies, right? You can have a great scene, it’s something that makes sense, but the movie is the collection of all of these scenes and they have to work together to tell the story, and it actually made that whole sequence so smooth.”
Joker, which opened to mixed reviews, is performing remarkably well at the box office and has crossed the Rs. 50 crore mark in India.
The film offers a new take on the origin story of the rise of Batman's maniacal arch-enemy, painting a dark portrayal of a would-be stand-up comedian's descent into madness.
While Phoenix has received rave reviews for his portrayal of the iconic Batman villain, the film has been facing flak amid fears that it could trigger violence. It opened the floodgates for discussion on topics ranging from mental health to gun control.
Apart from Phoenix, the movie also features Robert De Niro, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.
