Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix basked in the applause at the Venice Film Festival as Todd Phillips' highly anticipated sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, received an 11-minute standing ovation.
Joaquin Phoenix arrived early, mingling with fans and taking selfies, while Todd Phillips borrowed a paper fan from a guest to stay cool. Lady Gaga’s entrance caused a frenzy, with paparazzi scrambling to get the perfect shot.
One fan, holding a sign that read, “Gaga I just wanna hold your hand for a while,” added to the excitement. Lady Gaga, dressed in a stunning gown, needed help navigating the carpet, signing autographs and engaging with fans.
As Lady Gaga descended the stairs from her balcony seat after the film, she continued signing autographs, nearly sparking a stampede as fans chanted “Gaga, please!” Phoenix, overwhelmed by the applause, left the theater after nine minutes. He and Gaga were seen deep in conversation during the ovation, and Gaga hugged her fiancé Michael Polansky twice amid the celebration.
Joker: Folie à Deux is a follow-up to Todd Phillips' 2019 film Joker, which also premiered at Venice, winning the prestigious Golden Lion and earning over $1 billion worldwide. The film went on to win two Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir, with a total of 11 Oscar nominations, making it the first DC film to be nominated for Best Picture.
Set two years after Joker, the sequel introduces Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and incorporates a unique musical element. The film’s synopsis reveals that Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck, now a patient at Arkham State Hospital, falls in love with music therapist Lee (Gaga). The two share musical delusions while Arthur's followers begin a movement to free him.
Five years after winning Venice’s top prize, Phillips returned with mixed emotions. “It feels right, it feels correct to be back in Venice... On this one, I’m a little more nervous. It’s a lot easier to come into something as the insurgent rather than the incumbent.”
Initially, Phillips and Phoenix didn’t see a sequel as inevitable, but they became intrigued by exploring the music Arthur hears in his head. The success of Joker surprised them, including Gaga, who said the film “really deeply moved me.”
Lady Gaga arrived at the premiere in a Christian Dior Haute Couture gown and a striking Philip Treacy headpiece, with crowds of fans eagerly awaiting her. In Folie à Deux, Arthur Fleck, awaiting trial for his crimes, becomes a god-like figure to some, including Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn, who falls in love with him. The pair sing live on screen, accompanied by a pianist, with Gaga stating, “It gives the characters a way to express what they need to say.”
Joaquin Phoenix, initially hesitant about live singing, eventually embraced it: “Part of the joy... was taking these songs that were standards and trying to find a way that they were specific to the characters.” Both stars spent months learning choreography, including a rain-soaked waltz, though they found spontaneity during filming. “We had to find it every day,” Gaga remarked. “You can learn a song, learn a routine for a dance… but that’s not always the most honest thing to do on camera.”
Lady Gaga, dressed in Dior Haute Couture, blew kisses to fans, signed autographs, and accepted flowers, evoking memories of her iconic red carpet appearances for A Star Is Born.
The standing ovation set high expectations for the film, which competes for the festival's top prize against the likes of Pedro Almodóvar's The Room Next Door, Luca Guadagnino's Queer, Pablo Larraín's Maria, and Halina Reijn's Babygirl. Todd Phillips acknowledged the pressure, stating, “The hard part of this is you feel eyeballs on you. You just have a different pressure.”
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The film is set to release on October 4, and early reviews will determine its Oscar potential and box-office success.
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