Happy now? Everyone is talking about 'Joker'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There may be no such thing as bad publicity, but the spotlight on "Joker" is testing the limits of that old cliche.

The origin story about the classic Batman villain has inspired pieces both in defense of and against the movie. It's been hailed as the thing that's going to finally get Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar and also decried for being "dangerous," ''irresponsible" and even "incel-friendly." Last week, some parents of victims of the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting even wrote to the Warner Bros. CEO asking for support for anti-gun causes. The studio issued a statement in response saying that the film is not "an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind."

In his 80 years as part of the culture, the Joker has always had a way of getting under people's skin — whether it's because of who the character appeals to, what he represents or even the stories actors tell about how they got into character. But perhaps the biggest irony of all this time around is that for all the discourse and hand-wringing, the film has yet to even open in theaters. That doesn't happen until Thursday night.

It's made for a complicated release for the high-profile film, which got off to a triumphant start premiering at and then winning the top award from the Venice Film Festival. And while reviews are mostly positive, it's also been heavily scrutinized and put the filmmakers on the defensive. Director and co-writer Todd Phillips doesn't mind the discussion.

"I'll talk about it all day," he said. "I'm not shy about it."

He just wishes people would see the movie before drawing conclusions.

"It's a little troubling when people write think pieces without having seen it. And even in their think pieces write, 'I don't need to see it to know what it is.' I find it astounding, to be quite frank, how easily the far left can...