Leto on reinventing Joker; Robin backstory; Affleck writing Batman script
Suicide Squad: Jared Leto tried to reinvent Joker like actors do for Hamlet
Jared Leto is the first to admit that he hasn’t quite pinned down his feelings about playing one of comic lore’s most iconic villains - the Joker in Warner Bros.’ coming DC Comics adaptation Suicide Squad. Leto puts a tattooed spin on the anarchic clown prince of crime, a ring leader of sorts for the group of baddies brought together to execute incredibly risky missions - ones that will most likely get them killed - in exchange for clemency. With the movie’s release months away, the actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman is still figuring out how to articulate his approach to assuming the mantle of Batman’s greatest foe. “I haven’t formulated a lot of my thoughts on this,” he tells EW.
One thing the Oscar winner is clear on, though, is the magnitude of bringing the Joker to the screen. The role, of course, was last brought to the screen by the late Heath Ledger in director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight; the actor won a rare posthumous Oscar for his performance. Before that, it was Jack Nicholson who famously wore a broad grin in Tim Burton’s Batman.
“The work that’s been done on this character by so many people before me has been so impactful, so incredible, so much fun, so profound, so risky, that it’s a very special thing to be asked to take on that responsibility,” Leto says.
Before filming on Suicide Squad began, Leto knew he wanted to put his own stamp on the Joker. “You just knew you had to do something different. You had to make it your own. That happens all the time. Whether you’re a composer working on a piece of music that was written a century ago, or you’re an actor on stage, reinterpreting a play, it’s very common these days. Directors take on great works of cinema, actors reinterpret roles, that’s been going on for a great deal of time. From Scarface to Hamlet. In some ways it’s really interesting to reinterpret, redefine.
“It a weighty thing to do. But it’s exciting. The Joker is one of those roles. He was written brilliantly when he was first shared with the world 75 years ago, or something crazy like that. And I think I’m just really grateful I had the opportunity.”
Source: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/31/jared-leto-suicide-squad-joker-hamlet
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"In my mind, it was that Robin had died about 10 years earlier in some run-in with a young Joker," Snyder told IGN. "So that was an interesting thing to me. Sorta a fun backstory to play with."
Source: http://www.newsarama.com/28637-zack-snyder-on-when-robin-died-hints-at-what-darkseid-is-hunting-for-in-justice-league.html
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Another BEN AFFLECK-Solo BATMAN Report Surfaces
Reports of a Ben Affleck-written Batman solo film have ‘risen’ again.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, talent agency William Morris Endeavor's co-CEO Patrick Whitesell told the Hollywood trade in an interview that while the actor will cameo in August’s Suicide Squad, and is contracted to Justice League Part 1 and 2, "there's a script that he's written that is a really cool [Batman] idea, so that's out there as an option."
This follows reports last year during Comic-Con International that the actor-director-writer was developing a standalone Batman project with DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns that Affleck would also direct.
Affleck, who reportedly rewrote parts of Batman v Superman while on set, later said directing a solo Batman movie would "be a dream."
"If I could make it work, yeah, Obviously that would be like a dream," he said, responding to questions about the Comic-Con report. "The trick is, as to any movie, is to make sure that you - if you’re going to direct it - that you can make it good. You’ve got to have the right idea and the right take on it… Broadly speaking, it’s something I’d be open to, for sure. It’s a very exciting idea."
As Newsarama argued Wednesday, Batman v Superman heavily hints at a key story involving Batman, the Joker and the death of a Robin, and it might be more of a surprise if that story is never told on screen than if it is. Here is what we wrote then:
It is hard to believe Warner Bros. cast Jared Leto as the Joker to be “very special guest star” in Suicide Squad, and even harder to believe they’re leaving the story about how he apparently killed a Robin to background flavor.
While we haven’t heard much in the way of follow-up to those rumors of a Ben Affleck directed and co-written-with-Geoff Johns solo Batman movie, a standalone Batman film makes way too much sense to dismiss.
Despite the critical drubbing, fans do seem to be responding fairly positively to Affleck as Batman (and Jeremy Irons as Alfred) and we don’t believe J.K. Simmons was cast as Jim Gordon just for a small Perry White-like role in Justice League either.
Warner Bros. revisiting the dynamic that fueled their most successful DC adaptation to date is a no-brainer if there ever was one, particularly if it’s something of an adaption of “A Death in the Family” and/or The Killing Joke, but the question is, when?
Most key dates for the next four years are already reserved by Disney/Marvel, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. themselves and Affleck will be busy with the Justice Leagues.
2021 seems a looong ways away, particularly considering Affleck is no longer a 30-something.
Source: http://www.newsarama.com/28624-another-ben-affleck-solo-batman-report-surfaces.html
Jared Leto is the first to admit that he hasn’t quite pinned down his feelings about playing one of comic lore’s most iconic villains - the Joker in Warner Bros.’ coming DC Comics adaptation Suicide Squad. Leto puts a tattooed spin on the anarchic clown prince of crime, a ring leader of sorts for the group of baddies brought together to execute incredibly risky missions - ones that will most likely get them killed - in exchange for clemency. With the movie’s release months away, the actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman is still figuring out how to articulate his approach to assuming the mantle of Batman’s greatest foe. “I haven’t formulated a lot of my thoughts on this,” he tells EW.
One thing the Oscar winner is clear on, though, is the magnitude of bringing the Joker to the screen. The role, of course, was last brought to the screen by the late Heath Ledger in director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight; the actor won a rare posthumous Oscar for his performance. Before that, it was Jack Nicholson who famously wore a broad grin in Tim Burton’s Batman.
“The work that’s been done on this character by so many people before me has been so impactful, so incredible, so much fun, so profound, so risky, that it’s a very special thing to be asked to take on that responsibility,” Leto says.
Before filming on Suicide Squad began, Leto knew he wanted to put his own stamp on the Joker. “You just knew you had to do something different. You had to make it your own. That happens all the time. Whether you’re a composer working on a piece of music that was written a century ago, or you’re an actor on stage, reinterpreting a play, it’s very common these days. Directors take on great works of cinema, actors reinterpret roles, that’s been going on for a great deal of time. From Scarface to Hamlet. In some ways it’s really interesting to reinterpret, redefine.
“It a weighty thing to do. But it’s exciting. The Joker is one of those roles. He was written brilliantly when he was first shared with the world 75 years ago, or something crazy like that. And I think I’m just really grateful I had the opportunity.”
Source: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/31/jared-leto-suicide-squad-joker-hamlet
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Click to view"In my mind, it was that Robin had died about 10 years earlier in some run-in with a young Joker," Snyder told IGN. "So that was an interesting thing to me. Sorta a fun backstory to play with."
Source: http://www.newsarama.com/28637-zack-snyder-on-when-robin-died-hints-at-what-darkseid-is-hunting-for-in-justice-league.html
---
Another BEN AFFLECK-Solo BATMAN Report Surfaces
Reports of a Ben Affleck-written Batman solo film have ‘risen’ again.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, talent agency William Morris Endeavor's co-CEO Patrick Whitesell told the Hollywood trade in an interview that while the actor will cameo in August’s Suicide Squad, and is contracted to Justice League Part 1 and 2, "there's a script that he's written that is a really cool [Batman] idea, so that's out there as an option."
This follows reports last year during Comic-Con International that the actor-director-writer was developing a standalone Batman project with DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns that Affleck would also direct.
Affleck, who reportedly rewrote parts of Batman v Superman while on set, later said directing a solo Batman movie would "be a dream."
"If I could make it work, yeah, Obviously that would be like a dream," he said, responding to questions about the Comic-Con report. "The trick is, as to any movie, is to make sure that you - if you’re going to direct it - that you can make it good. You’ve got to have the right idea and the right take on it… Broadly speaking, it’s something I’d be open to, for sure. It’s a very exciting idea."
As Newsarama argued Wednesday, Batman v Superman heavily hints at a key story involving Batman, the Joker and the death of a Robin, and it might be more of a surprise if that story is never told on screen than if it is. Here is what we wrote then:
It is hard to believe Warner Bros. cast Jared Leto as the Joker to be “very special guest star” in Suicide Squad, and even harder to believe they’re leaving the story about how he apparently killed a Robin to background flavor.
While we haven’t heard much in the way of follow-up to those rumors of a Ben Affleck directed and co-written-with-Geoff Johns solo Batman movie, a standalone Batman film makes way too much sense to dismiss.
Despite the critical drubbing, fans do seem to be responding fairly positively to Affleck as Batman (and Jeremy Irons as Alfred) and we don’t believe J.K. Simmons was cast as Jim Gordon just for a small Perry White-like role in Justice League either.
Warner Bros. revisiting the dynamic that fueled their most successful DC adaptation to date is a no-brainer if there ever was one, particularly if it’s something of an adaption of “A Death in the Family” and/or The Killing Joke, but the question is, when?
Most key dates for the next four years are already reserved by Disney/Marvel, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. themselves and Affleck will be busy with the Justice Leagues.
2021 seems a looong ways away, particularly considering Affleck is no longer a 30-something.
Source: http://www.newsarama.com/28624-another-ben-affleck-solo-batman-report-surfaces.html