‘Mank’ Director David Fincher Says Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker Was Trapped ‘in a Betrayal of the Mentally Ill’
The Telegraph. Also Read: David Fincher's 'Mank' Scores Early Raves: 'Luxuriant Cinephile Swoon of a Movie'“I don’t think anyone would have looked at that material and thought, Yeah, let’s take [‘Taxi Driver’s’] Travis Bickle and [‘The King of Comedy’s’] Rupert Pupkin and conflate them, then trap him in a betrayal of the mentally ill, and trot it out for a billion dollars,” he said.The film grossed over $1 billion at the box office, scored two Oscars and nine other nominations, and became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.“I’m sure that Warner Bros thought at a certain price, and with the right cast, and with De Niro coming along for the ride, it would be a possible double or triple,” Fincher added.