Warner Bros. Entered Joker Into Competition At Venice Film Festival

While Black Panther was the first ever comic book film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, it seems that Warner Bros. wants to go one step further with Joker. In an interview with Variety, Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera revealed that the studio has entered the film into competition at the Venice Film Festival at director Todd Phillips’ request, instead of letting it play out of competition like A Star is Born did last year.

He said: “Yes, as usual they said they wanted to be in a more protected situation. But then [director] Todd Phillips said: ‘I don’t care if I run the risk of not winning. Why shouldn’t I go in competition when I know what we’ve I’ve got on our hands?’ I have to say, Warners was convinced pretty rapidly, because it’s a really surprising film. It’s the most surprising film we’ve got this year…This one’s going straight to the Oscars even though it’s gritty, dark, violent. It has amazing ambition and scope.“