Paul Schrader’s hateful remarks for ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’: ‘I left’

Paul Schrader seems like he didn’t even like a bit of Joker: Folie À Deux.

In a detailed conversation with Jeremy O. Harris for Interview Magazine, the filmmaker and screenwriter bluntly criticised the musical follow-up to the 2019 Joker, which he went to watch but was disappointed.

The movie stars Joaquin Phoenix as a comedian Arthur Fleck, who failed in life and career and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn.

“I saw about 10 or 15 minutes of it,” the Oscar-nominated director said. “I left, bought something, came back, saw another 10 minutes. That was enough.”

Somewhere else in the interview, Schrader called Joker 2 a “really bad musical.” Upon Harris’ further inquiry on why he disliked the movie, the critic got candid on why he thought it was “so bad.”

“I don’t like either of those people,” he said openly. “I don’t like them as actors. I don’t like them as characters. I don’t like the whole thing. I mean, those are people who, if they came to your house, you’d slip out the back door.”

Seems like Schrader’s not the only one not interested in the movie, as Joker 2 is flopping globally with just $165.3 million made into its second weekend at the box office, after its Oct. 4 premiere.