>But it is kind of the left that called the movie out just
>based on the trailer alone, like months before it actually
>dropped.

The script leak played a huge role in the backlash, because many people had been worrying since before the trailer dropped. Then, when it did, that poured a bit of gas on the fire, to be sure-- but even then, the "outrage" didn't really hit its stride until the first reviews started dropping. That's when those who may have been privately concerned started going public. And then when the FBI story hit, shit *really* took off to the next level.

>I almost feel bad for him (as bad as I can feel for any big
>Hollywood name...which is not very). The left is throwing him
>under the bus, and yet defending himself and his movie makes
>it seem like he made the movie for the right.

He also just needed to say the same things WB and Joaquin said: "depiction doesn't equal endorsement." That's it. That's all they've said. And that's all they needed to say. But he can't resist trying to fire back at those who question his film. Which is so fucking stupid.

>You can not make some Travis
>Bickle shit in today's climate and not expect to catch a
>boiler room's worth of heat for it.

He's trying to make a Scorsese movie, right? But look at two of Scorsese's most recent, Wolf of Wall Street and Silence. Both got blasted by some folks who claimed those films were something they weren't. But Scorsese didn't come out and try to roast people for their bad interpretations. He just talked about the movie.

Phillips's problem is he is neither the filmmaker nor the thinker that Scorsese is. Scorsese sees criticism as a net good for cinema, and Phillips sees criticism as an impediment. Scorsese's dealt with backlash the types of which Phillips couldn't even fucking *dream* of, and he's handled it with grace for the most part, because he knows that his films have very clear morals and statements at day's end.

Meanwhile, Phillips is coming out with "artists should be able to say what they want!" Forgetting that critics saying what they want is exactly what's pissing him off. All of these "freedom of speech" people are so fucking thoughtless, because they don't believe in freedom of speech-- they believe in the idea that they should be able to say and do whatever they want and get paid to do it without ramification.

And ultimately, Joker is EASILY gonna cross 100 mil at the box office. So his protests look even *stupider.*