Venice Film Festival: Did Joaquin Phoenix really tell Lady Gaga that Joker 2 was “horrible”?

The standing ovation of Todd Phillips' film is scrutinized from all angles on social networks, greatly amusing Internet users.

Two years ago, a video of the presentation of Don't Worry Darling at the Venice Film Festival was making the rounds on social networks, with some believing they detected a spit from Harry Styles towards Chris Pine. Olivia Wilde's film was then particularly in the spotlight, the director being accused of not having behaved professionally on this shoot, to the point that its lead actress, Florence Pugh, refused to promote it. She did appear on the film's red carpet, but always far from the director, and did not participate in her press conference. Then the spitting affair went so far that Pine publicly denied having been the target of his playing partner. Atmosphere…

Florence Pugh, Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles and Chris Pine: tensions in Venice

This year, it's the tour of the sequel to Joker, Folie à deuxwhich was complicated. If Lady Gaga And Joaquin Phoenix have participated well in its first screening at the Venice Film Festivallast month, they didn't really convince the public. A disappointment all the greater since the first opus was generally well received, going so far as to reach a billion dollars in revenue worldwide.

Everything seemed to be going well, with a spectacular red carpet, Gaga sporting an incredible “bat dress” and laughing on the arm of his playing partner. But once the screening was over, the atmosphere radically changed.

Todd Phillips' blockbuster immediately received negative reviewsand these opinions have multiplied since – moreover, it got off to a bad start at the international box office. His presentation on the Lido also coincided with Phoenix's departure from another project, which he had initiated, with Todd Haynes (Carol, May December). The actor had offered to tell a daring gay romance in the 1930s in the United States, before getting scared, just a few days before filming. His abandonment at the last minute nipped the film in the bud, causing significant financial losses and putting around a hundred people from the technical team out of work.

Is there a Joaquin Phoenix problem in Hollywood?

At the Mostra, the press conference organized shortly after the preview was quite tense, with Joaquin notably refusing to justify his departure from Todd Haynes. The two actors seemed uncomfortable, responding without much enthusiasm to questions about Joker 2 : she was notably asked about her new weight loss to play Arthur Fleck again, and she had to justify the choice of having focused on the musical comedy genre for this sequel. The successful actress and singer has since released a new album related to the Joker and his romance with Harley Quinn, but her fans still noticed that she was not as involved in this promo as for that ofA Star is Born.

Why were the duo so reluctant to promote Joker: Folie à deux ? Is it because, like part of the public, they didn't like the result? A video has been making the rounds on the web for several days, with Internet users trying to read the lips of Joaquin Phoenix speaking to Gaga during the “standing ovation” which followed the screening of Joker 2 at the Mostra.

Did he really say to her: “It’s horrible!” ? To which she would have replied: “No, not at all, don’t say that”shaking your head negatively? And if so, was he talking about the film or the applause? This tradition can last a very long time – it was particularly intense for Pedro Almodovar and his team, who also won the Golden Lion this year for The Room Next Door. Concerning Folie à deuxthe standing ovation lasted precisely 11 minutes, but Phoenix broke down after 9 and left the room before the applause ended.

Is Lady Gaga a real actress, or just a singer who sometimes acts?

Taken from another angle, the exchange was “translated” by an Internet user, who used an AI to try to decipher the words shared between the two stars of the film. Artificial voices were then added to the extract. Unless you are an expert at reading lips, it is impossible to know whether this corresponds precisely to what was said that evening, but the words “translated” here fit well with the gestures of Gaga, who does not seem to agree with her playing partner. Did Joaquin really hate the end of the film? “It could have been different”the AI ​​makes him say. “I loved it”Gaga would then retort, leading to a disapproving pout from the actor. Then, approached by the filmmaker, Joaquin congratulates him… then saying the complete opposite of what he would have confided to Stefani!

Joker: Folie à deux is currently in cinemas, and the film clearly does not leave the public indifferent. Here is its trailer: