'Joker' Director Todd Phillips Says He Stopped Making Comedies Like 'Hangover' Because of "Woke Culture"

Todd Phillips, director of The Hangover, Old School, and Road Trip says the modern social media climate stifles comedies.

The newest issue of Vanity Fair features a profile of Joker star Joaquin Phoenix. The film's director, Todd Phillips, spoke on the challenges of pitching the Joker to Warner Bros when his directorial background is based in comedy.

WATCH: First Joker Trailer Unveiled, Watch Joaquin Phoenix Transform Into The Iconic Batman Villain

During his conversation, he talked about the state of comedy:

“Go try to be funny nowadays with this woke culture,” he says. “There were articles written about why comedies don’t work anymore — I’ll tell you why, because all the fucking funny guys are like, ‘Fuck this shit, because I don’t want to offend you.’ With all my comedies — I think that what comedies in general all have in common — is they’re irreverent. So I go, ‘How do I do something irreverent, but fuck comedy? Oh I know, let’s take the comic book movie universe and turn it on its head with this.’ And so that’s really where that came from.”

READ: Joker Met with 8-Minute Standing Ovation (and Plenty of Oscar Buzz) at Venice Premiere

Joker is scheduled to be released this Friday, October 4, 2019.

SOURCE: Vanity Fair

H/T: BuzzFeedNews