Recall | Joker's Improvised Bathroom Dance. Iconic scene Arthur Fleck (2019) @recall3550 | Uploaded July 2020 | Updated October 2024, 1 day ago.
Joker director Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix improvised the now-iconic scene where Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), on the run after gunning down three Wall Street types on the subway, takes refuge in a bathroom before slinking into an elegant dance that serves as the emergence of Joker. As scripted, a panicked Arthur flees into a bathroom, discarding his murder weapon inside a grate before scrubbing his face clean of his identifying clown makeup. In Joker: Vision & Fury, a 22-minute behind-the-scenes featurette included on the Joker home release special features, Phillips and Phoenix reveal the origins of the scene in the finished film:
“We had scripted a scene where Arthur runs into the bathroom and he has to get rid of this gun that he’d been given that was now evidence, and so he pulls the grate off the bathroom wall and he hides his gun in there. And then he kind of washes his face, the makeup off his face, and all this stuff,” Phillips says. “When we got in the bathroom that day, it was just me and Joaquin, and we’re standing there [saying], ‘Should we put it in this grate?’ We just start talking about, ‘Does Arthur care about evidence? And does Arthur even know enough [to do that?] What, did he see this in a movie? Why is it even in his language to do that?’”
Phoenix recalls the scene, filmed in only the second or third week of shooting, was “really a defining moment both for the character but also for me and Todd’s dynamic of working together.”
EXT. STREET, ROBINSON SQUARE PARK - NIGHT
Joker hauls ass out of the subway and makes a mad dash across a busy street, horns honking. Running as fast as he can past piles of garbage, he takes a sharp turn high-tailing into a small, run-down needle park, disappearing into the darkness.
PUBLIC BATHROOM, ROBINSON SQUARE PARK - NIGHT
Joker runs into the bathroom, locks the door behind him and SUDDENLY EVERYTHING HITS HIM ALL AT ONCE--
He throws up into the dirty toilet, puking his guts out. He finishes, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. And pulls the gun out of his waist, looking around for someplace to throw it out. Under the sink he sees a rusted, metal grate hanging off the wall covering some pipes.
Before he bends down, Joker catches his reflection in the smudged mirror. Sees himself holding the gun in his hand. Beat. He raises the gun to his head and pulls the trigger. Click. It's empty.
He gets down on his knees, sweat dripping off his face, pulls the grate away from the wall. And tosses the gun away inside. Moves the grate back in place.
Joker stands back up and turns on the faucets. Rinses out his mouth. Looks at his smudged reflection as he starts washing the clown make-up off his sweaty face.
Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix (Arthur Fleck \ Joker), Robert De Niro (Murray Franklin), Zazie Beetz (Sophie Dumond), Frances Conroy (Penny Fleck), Brett Cullen (Thomas Wayne), Shea Whigham (Detective Burke), Bill Camp (Detective Garrity), Glenn Fleshler (Randall), Leigh Gill (Gary)
Production Companies:
BRON Studios (in association with) (as BRON Creative)
DC Entertainment
DC Comics
Creative Wealth Media Finance
Joint Effort
Village Roadshow Pictures (in association with)
Warner Bros.
#Joker2019 #Joker #DC #DCComics
Twitter: @Recall37066525
Joker director Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix improvised the now-iconic scene where Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), on the run after gunning down three Wall Street types on the subway, takes refuge in a bathroom before slinking into an elegant dance that serves as the emergence of Joker. As scripted, a panicked Arthur flees into a bathroom, discarding his murder weapon inside a grate before scrubbing his face clean of his identifying clown makeup. In Joker: Vision & Fury, a 22-minute behind-the-scenes featurette included on the Joker home release special features, Phillips and Phoenix reveal the origins of the scene in the finished film:
“We had scripted a scene where Arthur runs into the bathroom and he has to get rid of this gun that he’d been given that was now evidence, and so he pulls the grate off the bathroom wall and he hides his gun in there. And then he kind of washes his face, the makeup off his face, and all this stuff,” Phillips says. “When we got in the bathroom that day, it was just me and Joaquin, and we’re standing there [saying], ‘Should we put it in this grate?’ We just start talking about, ‘Does Arthur care about evidence? And does Arthur even know enough [to do that?] What, did he see this in a movie? Why is it even in his language to do that?’”
Phoenix recalls the scene, filmed in only the second or third week of shooting, was “really a defining moment both for the character but also for me and Todd’s dynamic of working together.”
EXT. STREET, ROBINSON SQUARE PARK - NIGHT
Joker hauls ass out of the subway and makes a mad dash across a busy street, horns honking. Running as fast as he can past piles of garbage, he takes a sharp turn high-tailing into a small, run-down needle park, disappearing into the darkness.
PUBLIC BATHROOM, ROBINSON SQUARE PARK - NIGHT
Joker runs into the bathroom, locks the door behind him and SUDDENLY EVERYTHING HITS HIM ALL AT ONCE--
He throws up into the dirty toilet, puking his guts out. He finishes, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. And pulls the gun out of his waist, looking around for someplace to throw it out. Under the sink he sees a rusted, metal grate hanging off the wall covering some pipes.
Before he bends down, Joker catches his reflection in the smudged mirror. Sees himself holding the gun in his hand. Beat. He raises the gun to his head and pulls the trigger. Click. It's empty.
He gets down on his knees, sweat dripping off his face, pulls the grate away from the wall. And tosses the gun away inside. Moves the grate back in place.
Joker stands back up and turns on the faucets. Rinses out his mouth. Looks at his smudged reflection as he starts washing the clown make-up off his sweaty face.
Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix (Arthur Fleck \ Joker), Robert De Niro (Murray Franklin), Zazie Beetz (Sophie Dumond), Frances Conroy (Penny Fleck), Brett Cullen (Thomas Wayne), Shea Whigham (Detective Burke), Bill Camp (Detective Garrity), Glenn Fleshler (Randall), Leigh Gill (Gary)
Production Companies:
BRON Studios (in association with) (as BRON Creative)
DC Entertainment
DC Comics
Creative Wealth Media Finance
Joint Effort
Village Roadshow Pictures (in association with)
Warner Bros.
#Joker2019 #Joker #DC #DCComics
Twitter: @Recall37066525
