Lady Gaga on the set of ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ in New York City on March 26, 2023.Photo:Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
A viral moment whenLady Gagawas seen kissing a female extra on the set ofJoker: Folie a Deuxdidn’t make the final film. Director Todd Phillips is now explaining why.During filming for the sequel back in March 2023, Gaga was spotted walking up courthouse stairs when she stops and plants a kiss on a woman in the crowd playing a protester. Footage of themoment went viral on social mediaas fans speculated how the scene would appear in the final film.However, that instance and a few other Gaga moments from the trailers didn’t make the final cut.Phillips, 53, toldEntertainment Weeklythat Gaga, who plays Lee, a grittier version of Harley Quinn, improvised the same-sex kiss that day on set.About not including the moment, Phillips explained, “It had dialogue in it, and, all of a sudden, I wanted it to be more of a music and vibe moment. For that moment to have played, it needed dialogue behind it. Meaning, the woman said something, and then Gaga stopped and did this thing, and it just kind of got in the way of the moment.“Folie a Deuxis, in fact, a musical, and also starsJoaquin Phoenixas Arthur Fleck, now on trial for murder after the events of the 2019 original — which won Phoenix an Oscar for Best Actor and earned $1 billion at the worldwide box office.Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in “Joker: Folie a Deux”.Warner Bros. Entertainment IncNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Phillips recently toldThe Hollywood Reporterthat Gaga, 38, signed on to the project without reading a completed script: “I think we sent her half the script, and she texted me pretty quickly that she was really into it, that she loved it and everything you want to hear. And then I went out to her house, and we met about what it was going to be, the rest of it, because we hadn’t written it yet.“In August, Gaga toldVarietyabout the bold risks Phillips and the filmmakers were taking withFolie a Deux.“Todd took a very big swing with this whole concept and with the script, giving the sequel toJokerthis audacity and complexity. There’s music, there’s dance, it’s a drama, it’s also a courtroom drama, it’s a comedy, it’s happy, it’s sad,” she said. “It’s a testament to [Todd] as a director, that he would rather be creative than just tell a traditional story of love.“Todd Phillips, Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 4, 2024.Elisabetta A. Villa/GettyIn an interview withVogue, Gaga added that the team was often rewriting scenes on set.“We’d very often meet in Joaquin’s trailer and sometimes we would just tear the script up and start all over. It was a really cool, liberating process,” said theA Star Is Bornactress.Phillips added, “You think, okay, this scene works, let’s just go shoot it. And Joaquin’s like, ‘No, no, no, let’s just have a quick meeting about it,’ and it’s three hours later and you’re rewriting it on a napkin. What’s great about Lady Gaga is that she really holds her own both off camera when we’re in the trailer tearing things apart — which she probably spent the night before learning — but also on camera. It was not a small feat.“Joker: Folie a Deuxis in theaters now.
A viral moment whenLady Gagawas seen kissing a female extra on the set ofJoker: Folie a Deuxdidn’t make the final film. Director Todd Phillips is now explaining why.
During filming for the sequel back in March 2023, Gaga was spotted walking up courthouse stairs when she stops and plants a kiss on a woman in the crowd playing a protester. Footage of themoment went viral on social mediaas fans speculated how the scene would appear in the final film.
However, that instance and a few other Gaga moments from the trailers didn’t make the final cut.
Phillips, 53, toldEntertainment Weeklythat Gaga, who plays Lee, a grittier version of Harley Quinn, improvised the same-sex kiss that day on set.
About not including the moment, Phillips explained, “It had dialogue in it, and, all of a sudden, I wanted it to be more of a music and vibe moment. For that moment to have played, it needed dialogue behind it. Meaning, the woman said something, and then Gaga stopped and did this thing, and it just kind of got in the way of the moment.”
Folie a Deuxis, in fact, a musical, and also starsJoaquin Phoenixas Arthur Fleck, now on trial for murder after the events of the 2019 original — which won Phoenix an Oscar for Best Actor and earned $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in “Joker: Folie a Deux”.Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Phillips recently toldThe Hollywood Reporterthat Gaga, 38, signed on to the project without reading a completed script: “I think we sent her half the script, and she texted me pretty quickly that she was really into it, that she loved it and everything you want to hear. And then I went out to her house, and we met about what it was going to be, the rest of it, because we hadn’t written it yet.”
In August, Gaga toldVarietyabout the bold risks Phillips and the filmmakers were taking withFolie a Deux.
“Todd took a very big swing with this whole concept and with the script, giving the sequel toJokerthis audacity and complexity. There’s music, there’s dance, it’s a drama, it’s also a courtroom drama, it’s a comedy, it’s happy, it’s sad,” she said. “It’s a testament to [Todd] as a director, that he would rather be creative than just tell a traditional story of love.”
Todd Phillips, Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 4, 2024.Elisabetta A. Villa/Getty
Elisabetta A. Villa/Getty
In an interview withVogue, Gaga added that the team was often rewriting scenes on set.
“We’d very often meet in Joaquin’s trailer and sometimes we would just tear the script up and start all over. It was a really cool, liberating process,” said theA Star Is Bornactress.
Phillips added, “You think, okay, this scene works, let’s just go shoot it. And Joaquin’s like, ‘No, no, no, let’s just have a quick meeting about it,’ and it’s three hours later and you’re rewriting it on a napkin. What’s great about Lady Gaga is that she really holds her own both off camera when we’re in the trailer tearing things apart — which she probably spent the night before learning — but also on camera. It was not a small feat.”
Joker: Folie a Deuxis in theaters now.
source: people.com