Post by Leonard(o) on Jan 10, 2007 17:34:49 GMT
latinoroy said:
It has been decided for months now that the next Batman movie, a sequel to last summer's Batman Begins, will mark the return of the Joker to the silver screen. For decades the Joker has proven to be the villain that everyone sees as being Batman's opposite number. The contrast between the two shows exactly how well one works as the other's foil. Batman has co-opted the visage of something dark and terrible to use in his quest to saveGotham, while the Joker has perverted a jovial children's icon by establishing himself as the clown prince of crime.
The makers of the next Batman film have chosen a much more menacing demeanor for Joker this time around, one that involves less hooting and hollering and more grinning from underneath the brim of his fedora like a Cheshire cat. The Joker is rumored to be placed as somewhat of a wild card within Gotham's underground, a disturbing figure working towards the downfall of both the mob and the caped crusader.
With Batman Begins, the makers of the film showed the plausibility of the Batman mythos if it were to happen in our reality. While watching the film it didn't seem that unrealistic for a man with the proper training and resources to wage a one-man war on crime. This proved to be a key factor in the critical success of the movie. If the film makers aren't careful, the addition of a brightly colored killer clown into the movie could ruin this layer of plausibility.
In modern times, there has been at least one well publicized instance in which a serial killer disguised himself as a clown. (I'm referring of course to the late John Wayne Gacy.)
It is then most plausible that a serial killer would adopt such a visage, rather than the leader of a crime ring as the Joker was depicted as in the original movie series. Joker is also something of a domestic terrorist in regards to his frequent poisoning of Gotham's citizens with his deadly laughing gas. It would probably be easier to imagine the new Batman hunting down a crazed serial killer/domestic terrorist than it would be to see him thwarting the crimes of a prankster/gang leader.
Besides his motivations, Joker's sense of style will need to be modified to aesthetically fit the new Batman movies. The Joker is one of the most visually oriented characters in the world of comics. He has always been a very flamboyant character, and since the new Batman movie series is moving the franchise away from the over the top, cartoon world of the previous two movies, Joker's look should probably be adapted into something a bit more serious.
Several months ago, artist Lee Bermejo submitted a couple of drawings to Batman-On-Film.com of how he envisioned future Batman movies should portray their villains. The piece that Bermejo did on the Joker was particularly terrifying. In the drawing, Bermejo proposed that Joker's smile be the cause of gruesome mutilation. He also went a step further by adding vertical scars over the Joker's eyes, furthering the killer clown, horror movie effect. Bermejo showed Joker sporting worn-out retro street clothes (inspired by the character Tyler Durden from the movie Fight Club) and long locks of wild curly hair.
The first thing that comes to mind when looking at this drawing is that it could be a real person. Not because of the how incredibly realistic Bermejo was able to make the drawing, but because of how simple and effective Bermejo's concept is. The piece instantly creates a disturbing back story for itself. Since this Joker isn't shown with green hair and a purple zoot suit, it gives the impression that this man was at one point a regular looking street criminal that has since suffered a terrible mutilation and is now completely deranged.
This approach lends itself nicely to the new, more plausible Batman film franchise. However, the Joker's style, as extravagant as it is, is worth retaining for what it adds to the character. Perhaps the best way to adapt his style into something more serious and realistic is to push it in the opposite direction from Bermejo's concept. Rather than toning it down to the level of a fashion savvy street criminal, it might be interesting to see what happens when the Joker goes a little overboard, past the level of comic book villain and into the realm of serial killer pop star.
In The Man Who Laughs, the 1928 movie starring Conrad Veidt in a role that inspired the creation of the Joker, there is one shot in particular where Veidt's character looks like some sort of androgynous vampire.
By taking this approach and adding various pop culture influences, it is possible to conceive of a Joker that works as a seductive sociopath and prides himself on his image and beauty as much as his lust for killing. After all, it's hard to imagine that a man who runs around in bright purple outfits and calls himself the "clown prince" wouldn't be a little bit vain.
The additional influence from pop culture would also work to aid the believability of the character since it is tapping into something the audience would see outside of the film. The best places to draw inspiration from would be Prince in the movie Purple Rain, Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka in the recent Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and creepy pop star Michael Jackson. Alan Cumming's portrayal of Saturninus in the Julie Taymor adaptation of Shakespear's Titus seems to hit the nail right on the head.
The Joker's adaptation into the new Batman movie series will re-shape the character into a darker version of the villain than we have ever seen before. The way he is depicted in the movie is sure to influence the way he is depicted in future comic books and television shows and so therefore must be respectful to the essence of the character. At his core, Joker is the embodiment of everything that Batman is fighting against.
Gotham City at night is the most dangerous place that you could ever find yourself, and the Joker is the king of Gotham's night time world. He's a sadistic creature straight from the nightmares of tormented children, the same kind of nightmares that Bruce Wayne created Batman to ward off.
I like the idea and the concept of the picture. It makes him seem really crazy by mutilating himself. Can't wait to see what they really do with the charater.
Solely because the new Joker sounds badass