Let’s Fan-Cast Folie à Deux’s Fictional Joker TV Movie

As a seasoned observer of the world of entertainment, I must say that the casting choices for this intriguing TV movie are nothing short of fascinating! Debbie Allen, with her dazzling dance prowess and acting chops honed from Broadway to the small screen, would undoubtedly bring an electrifying energy to the character of Sophie Dumond. Her portrayal of Anita in West Side Story and her stint as a dance teacher on Fame are testament to her versatility, and I can only imagine how she’d tackle a gritty, headline-grabbing role like this one.

It appears that the upcoming film titled “Joker: Folie à Deux ” seems like a direct follow-up to the unprecedented success of the initial “Joker“. The sequel can be described as a blend of romance, musical elements, and primarily, a courtroom drama that delves deep into a detailed reexamination of the original story. To emphasize this repetition, the movie features an in-story equivalent to the 2019 “Joker” – an unsanctioned TV movie chronicling the misdeeds of Arthur Fleck, which is widely viewed and generally disliked. The only individuals who express admiration for it are dubious characters, hinting that perhaps director Todd Phillips is trying to make a statement about his viewers…

The movie “Folie à Deux” never portrays a TV film, likely due to its lack of humor and intrigue, traits it apparently disdains. However, this thought sparked in me: Suppose there was an in-story TV movie featuring the Joker. Who would play him? With assistance from my esteemed colleagues Josef Adalian and Christopher Bonanos, I’ve imagined a ’80s TV version of “Joker” that Gotham City residents might tune into on a Sunday night in November. Don’t forget to check your local listings!

Tommy Lee Jones as Arthur Fleck

Let’s Fan-Cast Folie à Deux’s Fictional Joker TV Movie

Initially, I thought about casting Richard Chamberlain, a prominent figure in early ’80s TV, as our lead actor. However, my colleague argued that Chamberlain was slightly too refined for the role in our upcoming Joker TV movie, which many of us in Folie à Deux agree is poor quality. Instead, we might consider Tommy Lee Jones, who by the early ’80s had built a reputation as a captivating supporting actor in films like Rolling Thunder and Coal Miner’s Daughter. If he wanted top billing, though, he had to switch to TV. His Emmy-winning portrayal of Gary Gilmore in 1983’s The Executioner’s Song demonstrated his willingness to play real-life criminals. Jones also had the right blend of stardom and darkness to convincingly portray Arthur Fleck. More than a decade later, the actual Tommy Lee Jones would take on another famous Batman villain, with varying success.

Jean Simmons as Penny Fleck

In the 1980s, television movies served as a haven for actors who were once leading stars in the 1940s and 1950s. For instance, Jean Simmons, a notable actress from that era, made a transition to portraying motherly roles in miniseries like “The Thorn Birds” and “North and South”. Simmons demonstrated a unique ability to embody the dignified sorrow similar to Frances Conroy’s role in “Joker”, but with an additional layer of intensity. Her Oscar-nominated performance in Laurence Olivier’s “Hamlet” showcased her talent for portraying madness convincingly.

Jerry Lewis as Murray Franklin

In the world of the film Joker, it seems reasonable to suppose that Robert De Niro, who played a role in it, does not exist. Similarly, while it’s theoretically possible that Martin Scorsese still resides in the Joker universe, without his signature leading man, Scorsese’s body of work would likely have taken a different shape. This is because Arthur Fleck, the protagonist, somewhat resembles Travis Bickle from one of Scorsese’s other films, but this connection was not explicitly made. Consequently, we can infer that in the Joker universe, there is also no King of Comedy. This means that, when Jerry Lewis aims to return to acting as a rude talk-show host, he cannot collaborate with a two-time Oscar winner for a film competing at Cannes, but must instead settle for a TV movie based on real events.

Debbie Allen as Sophie Dumond

It’s clear that the TV movie portrays Arthur’s strained relationship with his neighbor, since Zazie Beetz’s character appears fleetingly in “Folie à Deux” to disclose that this film caused her distress. In the early 80s, Debbie Allen was as popular as Beetz was in the late 2010s, having been nominated for a Tony award for her role as Anita in the revival of “West Side Story.” (By the way, here’s Allen performing “America” at Jerry Lewis’s annual muscular-dystrophy telethon.) At that time, Allen was predominantly recognized for her dancing skills, and she was about to begin a six-season tenure as the dance instructor in the TV show “Fame.” However, Allen also had a side career in grittier TV movies, such as when she portrayed a female prison guard in the 1983 film “Women of San Quentin.

John Forsythe as Thomas Wayne

During the ’70s and ’80s, Forsythe was frequently cast as television’s affluent characters, lending his voice to Charlie in “Charlie’s Angels” and Blake Carrington in “Dynasty”. Similar to Allen, he also made appearances on “The Love Boat”, where he courted Ursula Andress. Given the political climate of the 1980s, it seems plausible that this prosperous mayoral candidate appeared more favorably on screen than he did in “Joker”.

Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne

In a hypothetical scenario where no one in the universe knew that the character of Bruce Wayne would eventually become Batman, would the TV-movie adaptation of Joker still dedicate significant screen time to him? Given that the producer might initially want to exclude the child actor due to storyline considerations, perhaps they found an exceptional 10-year-old talent from Boston, fresh off a kitchen-sink drama and soon to appear on PBS’s The Voyage of the Mimi. This young performer seemed almost predestined for this role. When encountering such promising talent, a producer might reluctantly include Bruce Wayne in the script, regardless of its immediate relevance to the plot. In this instance, it seems this child actor was indeed a rising star!

2024-10-09 16:54