After only a single screening at TIFF’s Midnight Madness on September 14th, filmmaker Vera Drew’s comic book movie satire The People’s Joker – billed as ““an illegal comic book movie about a transgender clown named Joker” – has been pulled from the festival and subsequent screenings have been cancelled. The reason? Apparent rights issues with studio Warner Bros.
The Toronto International Film Festival posted the following message on the film’s event page:
“The filmmaker has withdrawn this film due to rights issues. We apologize for any inconvenience. Current ticket holders will receive an email from TIFF Customer Relations with information on their purchase.”
Wow. After one screening the Midnight Madness film PEOPLE’S JOKER has been pulled due to “rights issues” #DCEU #tiff22 @TIFF_NET@mmadnesstiff pic.twitter.com/lesUh7Knbw
— Jason Gorber #tiff22 (@filmfest_ca) September 14, 2022
THE PEOPLE’S JOKER has played once at TIFF and has been forced to be pulled and have the rest of the screenings cancelled. People should talk about this because the man doesn’t want you to see it. pic.twitter.com/bD1CQWd91a
This is hugely disappointing news for the filmmakers and TIFF audiences hoping to see the film, but this situation is not entirely surprising given the way the movie has been positioned. Studio Warner Bros. is notoriously protective of its DC Comics brand and characters like The Joker and Batman, so this may be a matter of its legal department sending both TIFF and the film a cease and desist.
Filmmaker Vera Drew has not commented on the matter as of yet, but did retweet the following tweet early this morning seemingly confirming that it was WB that served a cease and desist:
Holy shit the illegal joker movie was just hit with a cease and desist from WB after playing its premiere showing at a film festival Reminder that corporate copyright infringement is extremely funny and good especially when you use it to communicate the deeply personal https://t.co/jY9xL0l5zq
— Samperson (Crime Arc) (@SamNChiet) September 14, 2022
The move obviously raises many questions about what constitutes fair use of famous comic book characters, as well as how major movie studios and rights holders often have a differing view from artists on what constitutes satire. Unfortunately the ultimate judges in Toronto – the festival’s audience – won’t have the opportunity to weigh in after last night’s now-final screening.
As of the publication of this article, The People’s Joker is still eligible for the People’s Choice Midnight Madness award. What happens if the film gets enough votes and wins the award? Would a second screening at the end of the festival still happen?
Update: The People’s Joker filmmaker Vera Drew and TIFF’s Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky have posted the following statements seemingly confirming that a cease and desist was issued by WB:
UPDATE: @VeraDrew22 issues statement after pulling THE PEOPLE’S JOKER from #TIFF22 hours after its world premiere due to “rights issues”: pic.twitter.com/lH0sJ1qgpO
Last night was special, and that it happened at all is a testament to the incredible determination of my colleagues at @TIFF_NET, especially @cameron_tiff, to support filmmakers in the face of complex circumstances. Thank you for always having my back!
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