VENICE, Italy —
Five years after “Joker” won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, director Todd Phillips can’t help but be a little nervous about returning for a sequel.
“Joker: Folie à Deux,” one of the most anticipated films of the 81st edition of the festival, premiered Wednesday and attendees gave the film and its stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga an 11-minute standing ovation.
“It feels good, it feels right to be back in Venice. It felt like the logical take-off point for us,” Phillips said ahead of the premiere. “I’m a little bit more nervous this time. It’s a lot easier to go into something as the insurgent than the titular character.”
Lady Gaga poses upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ during the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.
(Joel C Ryan/Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
A sequel seemed more like a joke than an inevitability to Phillips and Phoenix while they were making the first film. For one thing, Phoenix isn’t the kind of actor who jumps into a “franchise.” But then the idea of exploring the music that Phoenix’s character, Arthur Fleck, hears in his head came up. It would have to be as unexpected and bold as the first, they thought.
That first installment had resonated in ways no one expected: It grossed more than $1 billion at the box office and earned Phoenix the best actor Oscar. One of his fans was Gaga, who said it “really touched me deeply” and showed her something she had never seen.
The streets outside the Sala Grande theatre were packed with Gaga fans hoping to catch a glimpse of her on the red carpet. Gaga arrived in a Christian Dior haute couture gown and an elaborate Philip Treacy headdress evoking a funeral veil.
Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky pose upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ during the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.
(Vianney Le Caer/Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
“Joker: Folie à Deux” finds Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck incarcerated and awaiting trial for his crimes. The last film ended after he shoots late-night host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) on live television, which has made him a god to a certain sector of society, including Gaga’s Harley Quinn, whom he meets. The two immediately fall in love and turn to music to express themselves.
Both Phoenix and Gaga sang live for the film, with an off-camera pianist who, she said, felt like another actor in the scene in a way.
“For me it was about unlearning technique and forgetting how to breathe and allowing the song to come completely out of the character,” Gaga said. “It gives the characters a way to express what they need to say.”
Phoenix, who initially resisted the idea of singing live, added: “Part of the joy, at least for me, was taking these songs that were classic and trying to find a way to make them specific to the characters.”
Lady Gaga, center, arrives at the press conference for the film ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ during the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.
(Joel C Ryan/Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
They also learned several choreographies over the months for different musical numbers, including a waltz in the rain. But even with training and practice, they said, things tended to change on the fly.
“We all really thrived in the moment and in the chaos of it all,” Gaga said. “We had to find it every day. What was the truth of the scene, what was the honest moment.”
She added: “You can learn a song, learn a routine for a dance… But that’s not always the most honest thing to do in front of the camera.”
Phoenix recently made headlines for dropping out of a Todd Haynes movie several days before it was set to begin filming. He declined to elaborate on the situation, saying it wouldn’t be fair to the other creatives involved who weren’t available to comment. He also said he didn’t want to focus on the weight he lost to play Arthur Fleck. During the press tour for the latter film, he expressed regret for speaking too much on the subject.
Gaga made a grand entrance at the Lido on Wednesday, several hours before the red carpet premiere. Fans and photographers clamored along the docks outside the Excelsior Hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of her arrival. She stuck her head out of a private water taxi, alongside Phillips and Phoenix, as nearby fans chanted “Gaga! Gaga! Gaga!” in unison.
She blew kisses to excited fans, stopped to sign several autographs and accepted flowers from an eager onlooker. She wore a chic black Dior dress, a beret and sunglasses that complemented her blonde hair.
In a festival lineup packed with Hollywood A-listers including Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Brad Pitt, Gaga is one of a kind with the ability to create a memorable moment on the red carpet.
Six years ago, for “A Star Is Born,” she made a splash playing the role of a movie star, giving the festival some of its most indelible shots in recent memory. Remember her sitting on the side of the private water taxi in a black Jonathan Simkhai gown, blowing kisses to fans and photographers? Or her dramatic pale pink feathered Valentino Couture dress that seemed to pop even more against the rainy backdrop?
Reviews for the new film will be released in just a few hours, which could dictate the film’s trajectory in the coming months and whether it becomes another Oscar contender or another billion-dollar blockbuster.
The sequel to “Joker” is once again competing for the festival’s main prizes against films such as Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door” and Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer.” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” and Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl.” The awards will be presented on the last day of the festival, September 7.
“The hard part about this is you feel eyeballs on you,” Phillips said. “You just have a different pressure.”
