The Joker Thread - Part 1

[AndyTrevino]

For some reason I wanna see The Joker wear sunglasses more often.

 

[antsman41]

I really want that perfect mix of 'The Man Who Laughs' and Brubaker/Rucks's Gotham Central Joker for design/vibes.

With an Inner-Psychological depth like 'John Doe', 'Jack Torrance', and Edmund Emil Kemper...
...one half calm, businesslike, and introverted.

With an Outer-Personality like 'Freddy Krueger', 'Frank-N-Furter', and Ted Bundy...
...one half theatrical, sexual, and inviting.

Heath pulled it off in way, especially the on/off aspect. But, in the Reeves world... package it into that '30s gangster template with touches of '80s slasher films and so forth.

 

[Art Vandelay]

For some reason I wanna see The Joker wear sunglasses more often.

A more colorful take on Christopher Lloyd's character in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? could look cool.

 

[Art Vandelay]

 

[AndyTrevino]

A more colorful take on Christopher Lloyd's character in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? could look cool.

Yeeeeeeeah. Either like that or Jeremiah Valeska (the only good part of Gotham tbf). They're also a gear option for him in MK11, and he wore a pair in the graphic novel, 'Joker'.

 

[Mr. E Nygma]

Seems I'm the only one in this thread who still unapologetically loves Nicholson as the Joker.

Well maybe @hellblazer103 also loves his take. I'm not sure.

He's the best. Ever.

 

[AndyTrevino]

Seems I'm the only one in this thread who still unapologetically loves Nicholson as the Joker.

Well maybe @hellblazer103 also loves his take. I'm not sure.

I still enjoy him, and like Shauner said, it's probably the only time I'll be okay with a non-skinny Joker, but as cool as he is, Nicholson tends to play himself in almost everything he's been in.

 

[C. Lee]

Seems I'm the only one in this thread who still unapologetically loves Nicholson as the Joker.

Well maybe @hellblazer103 also loves his take. I'm not sure.

I loved Nicholson's Joker....he was appropriately loony.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I find Nicholson much more interesting as Napier than he is as Joker. There's an interesting character arc there where you can tell Napier is barely holding back from being a complete maniac and once he's become Joker he's just absolutely unleashing his id but I feel like his motives get gradually murkier and less interesting around when he starts macking on Vale.

 

[Captain Tired]

I still enjoy him, and like Shauner said, it's probably the only time I'll be okay with a non-skinny Joker, but as cool as he is, Nicholson tends to play himself in almost everything he's been in.

Didn't you very recently admit that you hadn't even seen Nicholson in much beyond Batman and maybe The Shining?

 

[shauner111]

I still enjoy him, and like Shauner said, it's probably the only time I'll be okay with a non-skinny Joker, but as cool as he is, Nicholson tends to play himself in almost everything he's been in.

And we love to see it! Nicholson is one of my fav actors of all time! He wasn’t too different than himself as the Joker but that didn’t matter because Nicholson IS the Joker. Michael Uslan coloured his photo in green, white and purple back in 1980 (a pic from The Shining) because he was the DaFoe pick back then. Certain actors just scream the Joker and Jack was always that guy. He just happened to gain weight by 1989 and nobody had the guts to tell to drop weight. It worked for that 50 year old gangster version IMO. It’s cool they cast a wiry looking dude to play his younger self in the flashback.

The way Jack behaves, he was the clear pick for the character in the 80’s. And he didn’t have to transform his voice or mannerisms to fit the character. It was already there in place.

 

[The Vafrous]

If Oliver Jackson-Cohen or Alexander Skarsgard dropped some weight, I honestly think they would be good candidates. Obviously they're not in my top 5 or even 10 picks for the role. Just a random thought.

 

[AndyTrevino]

Didn't you very recently admit that you hadn't even seen Nicholson in much beyond Batman and maybe The Shining?

I've also seen him in A Few Good Men, The Departed, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. I like him, but he always seems to do the "smooth-talkin' guy" thing that only he can really make work.

The first one doesn't really "wow" me very much, but those other two are quite nice.

 

[Captain Tired]

I remember the 'Nicholson played himself' criticism only really gained steam in the wake of TDK, when a lot of Ledger fans seemed to think that they had to tear down his predecessors in order to add value to a self-evidently great performance. Never really bought into it, myself.

I mean if your criteria for him playing himself is that he always plays a 'smooth-talkin' guy', then the Joker is quite obviously not that. Nicholson's Joker is not a slick charmer or a silver-tongued devil, he's a wild dog with absolutely nothing behind the eyes.

The one time I see his Joker displaying something that even approaches rational thought is when Bruce Wayne tries to out-crazy him in Vicki Vale's apartment. For my money, he's neck and neck with Phoenix for being the most mentally unbalanced Joker in live-action. I've come to think of it as a very underrated portrayal.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Jack is kinda just playing himself, but Cary Grant said playing yourself is one of the hardest things an actor can do.

 

[Captain Tired]

God, this is the kind of unintentionally backhanded stuff you hear during the special Olympics.

 

[AndyTrevino]

God, this is the kind of unintentionally backhanded stuff you hear during the special Olympics.

It DOES kinda feel like they're being insulted sometimes, at least to me.

 

[AndyTrevino]

Bring back the purple suits and bleached skin

 

[SwordOfMorning]

If Oliver Jackson-Cohen or Alexander Skarsgard dropped some weight, I honestly think they would be good candidates. Obviously they're not in my top 5 or even 10 picks for the role. Just a random thought.

I actually think Jackson-Cohen is a better, more interesting actor than a lot of the bigger names that get bandied around, we just still perceive actors who work primarily in TV as inherently low rent compared to film stars. Don't think Joker plays to Skarsgaard's strengths.

 

[AndyTrevino]

I actually think Jackson-Cohen is a better, more interesting actor than a lot of the bigger names that get bandied around, we just still perceive actors who work primarily in TV as inherently low rent compared to film stars. Don't think Joker plays to Skarsgaard's strengths.

I've been guilty of this line of thinking lately. I just have a hard time envisioning a primarily TV-associated actor (not Cohen necessarily though) being cast as The Joker alongside Robert Pattinson as Batman.

I just think someone who's mainly in movies has a better chance of getting the part.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I've been guilty of this line of thinking lately. I just have a hard time envisioning a primarily TV-associated actor (not Cohen necessarily though) being cast as The Joker alongside Robert Pattinson as Batman.

I just think someone who's mainly in movies has a better chance of getting the part.

Oh I agree, I just don’t think that necessarily should be the case.

 

[AndyTrevino]

Oh I agree, I just don’t think that necessarily should be the case.

I think it really depends on the "status" of the rest of the cast.

 

[The Vafrous]

Who was it who had the theory about Barry Keoghan's Stanley Merkel becoming the Joker? Anyway, its really grown on me and I like the idea, especially if he's a corrupt cop who moonlights as a mob enforcer etc. Hell, even the idea of good cop falling into a fat of chemicals and emerging as The Joker is something I'd be fine with it. Just glad to have an actor of Keoghan's calibre in the film.

 

[AndyTrevino]

Who was it who had the theory about Barry Keoghan's Stanley Merkel becoming the Joker? Anyway, its really grown on me and I like the idea, especially if he's a corrupt cop who moonlights as a mob enforcer etc. Hell, even the idea of good cop falling into a fat of chemicals and emerging as The Joker is something I'd be fine with it. Just glad to have an actor of Keoghan's calibre in the film.

That was ol' Shauny boy

 

[antsman41]

Barry would be so great at the internal darkness, meets outlandish evil.