Entertainment
The People’s Joker director promises more screenings despite being pulled from Toronto International Film Festival-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro
The trans Joker movie has hit a stumbling block.
Joaquin Phoenix plays The Joker in the official DC movies (Picture: DC Comics/Warner Bros./REX/Shutterstock)
The People’s Joker director Vera Drew has refused to back down after her movie was pulled from Toronto International Film Festival.
The trans filmmaker has defiantly hit back and claimed she received an ‘angry letter’ from an unnamed ‘media conglomerate’ despite arguing the movie falls ‘under parody/fair use’ with its depiction of the iconic DC Comics villain.
Batman’s greatest rival – whose rights are held by Warner Bros. – was given an exciting new twist for The People’s Joker, with a queer identity and simply known as ‘an unfunny aspiring clown’.
However, after its premiere in Toronto, the film was pulled and the festival announced: ‘The filmmaker has withdrawn this film due to rights issues.
‘We apologize for any inconvenience. Current ticket holders will receive an email from TIFF Customer Relations with information on their purchase.’
Now, Drew has responded with a statement on Twitter and detailed her future plans for the film.
She wrote: ‘The eve of our premiere… a media conglomerate that shall remain nameless sent me an angry letter (misreported as a “cease and desist”) pressuring not to screen.
‘Any other film festival would have pulled us immediately, but after being fully transparent with TIFF, we agreed to premiere as planned while scaling back our later screenings to mitigate potential blowback.
‘It was disappointing (especially since I went to great lengths with legal counsel to have it fall under parody/fair use) but I made this choice to protect our film’s future and to protect our new friends at TIFF who have been some of TPJ’s biggest advocates.’
Drew promised more screenings, while noting the team are looking for ‘a distribution partner’ to support them.
She continued: ‘The People’s Joker will screen again very soon at several other festivals worldwide.
‘We are humbly seeking a distribution partner who believes in what we are doing, will protect us, and will eventually help us make this film accessible to trans people and their families everywhere.’
Meanwhile, Warner has its own licensed movie featuring the Crown Prince of Crime on the horizon, as Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role in musical sequel Joker 2: Folie A Deux.
Metro.co.uk has contacted representatives for DC and Warner Bros. for comment.
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