Movies

'Joker' director reveals Robert De Niro was sent a pipe bomb on the first day of filming


You might expect that the set of Joker – a film about DC Comics’ Clown Prince of Crimewould have its fair share of hi-jinks. But director Todd Phillips couldn’t believe it when legendary actor Robert De Niro was sent a pipe bomb on the first day of filming.

In an exclusive interview with Empire magazine, the filmmaker recalled how the incident was discovered to be part of the ‘MAGA bomb’ wave, that saw individuals who had publicly spoken out against President Donald Trump being threatened with explosive packages.

Read more: First teaser trailer for ‘Joker’ sees Joaquin Phoenix descend into madness

“We had FBI guys showing up to search the set,” Phillips remembered. “And I thought, ‘Oh god, what’s he gonna be like?’ And he comes in like it’s nothing, just ready to rock, knew his s**t. He’s amazing.”

Featuring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular supervillain, Joker is set to be an origin story – although it won’t be one that fans of the character will recognise.

“We didn’t follow anything from the comic-books, which people are gonna be mad about,” Phillips – who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver told the same publication. “We just wrote our own version of where a guy like Joker might come from.

“That’s what was interesting to me. We’re not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker. It’s about this man.”

Read more: Jared Leto really wants to play The Joker again

In the Warner Bros. outing, the Joker is Arthur Fleck, a stand-up comedian whose mental health deteriorates due to a string of increasingly bad gigs and his complicated relationship with his mother (played by American Horror Story’s Frances Conroy).

In the psychological thriller, De Niro plays talk show host Murray Franklin, whom Fleck kidnaps during his downward spiral.

Also starring Brian Tyree Henry Marc Maron and Zazie Beetz, Joker will be released in UK and US cinemas on 4 October.



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