'The Joker': Extras mistreated during delayed shoot flag issue
For those unaware, Warner Bros. has an upcoming movie, 'The Joker', which explores the origin story of the clown prince of Gotham. It will release on October 4, 2019. The DC villain will be played by acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix and will be directed by Todd Phillips. However, the film recently ran into trouble as shooting delays created problems for the extras on set.
'The Joker' movie's extras filed a complaint with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) for mistreatment. Troubles arose when extras were locked in a train car for over three hours while shooting a scene at the Brooklyn subway station. After two hours, when they started banging on subway doors to use the washroom, they were denied. Finally, they resorted to urinating on the subway tracks.
The SAG takes such complaints pretty seriously and though they have not made an official statement, reportedly they have sent a rep to follow up on the matter and monitor the set. Warner Bros. themselves are also looking into what happened on the tracks.
Ironically, the scene garnered a lot of attention and praise from fans before what went on behind the scenes reached public limelight. The subway sequence showed Phoenix's Joker calmly smoking a cigarette and walking away from some commotion as the police seem to be running towards it. It sets a good example of how the deranged clown's actions will be portrayed in the film.
