Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix Sang All Their Songs Live on the Set of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’

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As a die-hard fan of the Joker saga who has spent countless hours dissecting every frame of the original movie, I must say that the upcoming sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” has me both excited and puzzled. The idea of a jukebox musical with Phoenix and Gaga lending their vocal talents is intriguing, to say the least. However, Todd Phillips’s attempts to clarify that this isn’t a traditional musical but rather a film where actors sing parts of their dialogue feels like splitting hairs.

Looking forward to one of this year’s most eagerly awaited sequels and films, titled “Joker: Madness Duet“, is set to hit theaters on October 4, 2024. As the release date draws nearer, more details about the movie are trickling out. It’s confirmed that Todd Phillips will return as director and co-writer, with Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role from the first film. Joining him will be Lady Gaga, who will take on the character of Harley Quinn; however, the plot is expected to follow a unique direction.

The film has been labeled as a “jukebox musical,” though Phillips clarified that it’s not a traditional musical but rather a movie featuring actors who intermittently sing lines of dialogue. Nevertheless, the news that Lady Gaga and Christian Bale will be singing in the film has piqued fans’ interest for quite some time.

During a chat with Variety, Phillips shared an interesting fact: Neither Phoenix nor Gaga lip-synced, instead they sang live on the film’s set. This live performance turned out to be quite a challenge for the post-production team.

According to Phillips and his cast, it might be challenging for us to accept that the upcoming “Joker” sequel is not a musical, despite their efforts to explain that it’s more of a movie where characters sing their lines instead of a traditional musical. In an interview with Variety, Phoenix clarified this by stating, “I made sure we never sang the songs as one would in a typical musical.”

As for Phillips, here are his comments on this:

“We didn’t aim for vibrato or pitch-perfect tones. (…) It’s essentially Arthur struggling to express himself verbally, so he expresses through singing instead. (… ) For Joaquin, a big part of it is about feeling the emotion in the moment rather than planning it out in a recording studio weeks before filming.”

Source: Variety

Lady Gaga also provided her own opinion on the music-making process which was quite unorthodox:

“Pondering the circumstances under which two individuals might spontaneously burst into song during a conversation, we questioned where this music was originating since it seemed inaudible to anyone else except the characters. Neither Arthur nor Lee are trained singers, so their singing abilities should not be extraordinary (unless perhaps in a fantastical context). Our aim was to authentically portray their shared madness through a storytelling method that resonated. We believe that everyone has a unique and private bond with music, as it serves as the soundtrack for our inner emotional experiences, which are usually unheard by others. This is what we strove to represent in Arthur and Lee’s characters – their internal music.”

Source: Variety

hey there! as a gamer diving into this unique musical experience, I gotta admit, things are a bit off the beaten path compared to regular musicals. Yet, I can’t help but feel curious about how it’ll sound in the final cut – the editing team had their work cut out for them, merging live recordings with pre-existing music. It’s no walk in the park when the actors aren’t singing along to the tunes – so yeah, I’m intrigued, hoping that this unconventional approach might pay off and deliver an authentic, fresh take on musical storytelling.

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2024-09-01 16:13