A new film about Joker ? Instead, let’s talk about a parody of the famous Batman character and iconic villain. Unfortunately, while the work is commendable, it poses some problems for DC Comics and Warner rightsholders. Broswho reacted in their own way.
The Revival of The Joker
The film Joker by Todd Philips, released in 2019, was a real success (best actor for Joaquin Phoenix and best music for Hildur Guðnadottir at the 2020 Golden Globes and Oscars). It helped develop the genesis of Batman’s greatest villain, after the failure of Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide squadand 11 years after the marvelous interpretation of fire Heath Ledger in Batman: THey Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan.
The super villain has the coast since a sequel to Joker is in development, joker: Madness at Of themof which the cast begins to reveal itself (Lady Gaga in Harley quinn or Brendan Gleesonwhich interprets theaurora Alastor Moody in the saga Harry Potter). A very ambitious film since it will tell love story “crazy woman“ between the joker and harley quinnunder the angle of the musical.
Tea People’s Jokera parody film of the character
Capitalizing on the Joker’s genesis allows DC and Warner to give the supervillain some length. But a recent movie went even further, since in addition to recounting the beginnings of the character, it serves as parody and questions his sexual identity. Here is what says Tea People’s Jokerdirected by transgender screenwriter Vera Drew.
The People’s Joker follows the coming of age of a young Joker uncomfortable in his body. In full uncertainty with his sexual identity, he decides to start a career as a comedian in the city of Gotham, and faces the ambient mockery. This trans joker is inspired by the life of its creator Vera Drew while wanting to be a tribute to the Batman universe, to stand-up comedians and community trans. We find there parodies and references to the various Joker appearances in the DC Universe, as highlighted in the trailer below.
In any case, the project caught the eye of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which is currently taking place in Canada, and celebrated its world premiere at a premiere screening. However, other planned projections have been withdrawn. The cause ? Problems related to Copyright.
Attempt to circumvent copyright
The information was provided by Vera Drew in person during an interview at varietythen whena Twitter post : “I have no idea what’s going on today and my team is asking me not to say anything of course so I’ll keep it vague. Whatever happens in the next few hours, I want you to know that if you’ve waited and urge to watch our film, you will soon be able to do so. Stay tuned and stay with me. Need your help.”
If no details regarding this withdrawal have been communicated, we imagine an intervention by DC Comics and Warner Bros. for copyright infringement by Drew. No doubt the screenwriter knew what he exposed itself by drawing from the DC repertoire, in particular by openly parodying the Joker of Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix. Moreover, one can also read in the trailer that neither DC Comics nor its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery not’have authorized the work. So why did you produce the film anyway?
Vera Drew used the strategy of “fair worn” which permits the use of a copyrighted production for the purposes of criticism, commentary or reporting. The desire for parody in this specific case would therefore be included in the fair worn. However, not everything is so simple, since the parody work must be very close to the original. A matter that still needs to be clarified. We will have to wait for additional information to determine the precise causes of this censorship.