On Thursday, a theater in Huntington Beach showing Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker was temporarily closed after a credible threat was reported to the police.
In the weeks ahead of Warner Bros.’ releasing Joker, moviegoers have expressed concern about potential threats from troubled individuals who could be inspired by the Joaquin Phoenix film to commit acts of violence. On Wednesday, the Hunting Beach Police Department received information about a possible threat concerning the opening of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker at the Century Theater in Huntington Beach, California.
Authorities deemed the threat credible enough to provide a uniformed police presence to the theater and close venue on Thursday night “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the Hunting Beach Police Department. The Century Theater canceled the final two screenings of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.
Following an investigation, police concluded the theater could reopen and resume operations on Friday, with the first showing for Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker on that day having been listed for 10:10 a.m. For the remainder of the opening weekend, the Huntington Beach Police Department will provide patrols at Century Theater.
Here is the official synopsis for Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker:
Director Todd Phillips “Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone fictional story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fracturedsociety. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night…but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.
Directed by Todd Phillips from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.
Joker will be released in theaters on October 4, 2019.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
