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Back to Hollywood Breakdown

Hollywood Breakdown

Already courting controversy, 'Joker' looks to open huge

Todd Phillips' super-villain origin story 'Joker' already won top prize at Venice. But now there are fears the dark and violent movie could incite actual violence.

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KCRW placeholderBy Matthew Belloni • Oct 4, 2019 • 4m Listen

Warner Bros. 'Joker' is poised for a big box office success on its opening weekend, but there are worries that this violent, R-rated super-villain story could incite real violence. The controversial film got great reviews out of Venice, but viewers should know it is a very dark movie that offers a sympathetic portrayal of a damaged, violent character. There's talk that Warner Bros. had fears about the movie early on and thus gave it a small budget, but Todd Phillips was able to work within that number, and now the studio likely has an Oscar contender on its hands.

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    Matthew Belloni

    founding partner of Puck News

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    Kim Masters

    partner/writer at Puck News, host of KCRW's “The Business.”

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    Kaitlin Parker

    Producer, 'The Business' and 'Hollywood Breakdown'

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