Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux may have flopped in theaters, but it’s won the heart of at least one prominent director. Quentin Tarantino has come out in support of the Joker sequel, which he praises as a “f*** you” to both comic book movie fans and to Warner Bros., the studio that released the film.
During an appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino said he saw Folie à Deux in a nearly empty IMAX theater and he couldn’t stop laughing.
“I thought it was really funny,” said Tarantino. “I know I’m laughing at scenes that other people wouldn’t be laughing it.” He went on to compare Phillips to the Joker himself for spending so much money on the film.
“The Joker directed the movie,” contends Tarantino. “The entire concept, even him spending the studio’s money–he’s spending it like the Joker would spend it… He’s saying f*** you to the movie audience. He’s saying f*** you to Hollywood. He’s saying f*** you to anybody who owns any stock at DC and Warner Brothers.”
Tarantino also indicated that he saw the influence of his one of his earliest films, Natural Born Killers, which he wrote for director Oliver Stone in 1994.
“As much as the first [Joker] was indebted to Taxi Driver, this seems pretty f***ing indebted to Natural Born Killers, which I wrote,” related Tarantino. “That’s the Natural Born Killers I would have dreamed of seeing. As the guy who created Mickey and Mallory, I loved what they did with it… I loved the direction he took. I mean, the whole movie was the fever dream of Mickey Knox.”
Joker: Folie à Deux is now out on digital outlets on October 29, with a 4K and Blu-ray release scheduled for December 17.
