Lady Gaga says she makes films to ‘help people feel good about life’
Lady Gaga has said she made the decision to star in films including Joker: Folie A Deux to “help people feel good about life” and allow them to “escape into another world”.
Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, will play the Joker’s love interest Harley Quinn in the new film, which will see her sing as well as act.
The 38-year-old was speaking ahead of the Todd Phillips movie’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, five years after the first Joker film won the coveted Golden Lion.
Speaking of why she chose to move into acting, Gaga said: “The reason I started making music when I was really little was because I just had something to say, and trying to figure out how to do that.
“One of the reasons I love music and I love movies so much is the stories that you get to tell, and the way that we get to express something to the world that will hopefully help people feel good about life and give them a moment to escape into another world to fall into somebody else’s story.
“I think that what I really meant to say is that I believe that movies have a tremendous power to change the way people feel, and that’s part of why I love to create.”
Gaga went on to say that working with Joaquin Phoenix had been “a total breeze” and said she had decided to work on the film due to its “interesting story”.
She added: “I think we all really thrived in the moment and in the chaos of it all, this is such an interesting story.
“The way that Todd tells this story, I think if you’re imagining what this movie is like, and then you go see it, you’ll realise that you couldn’t have possibly thought of it on your own.
“And in order to make that happen we had to find it everyday, what was the truth, what was the honest moment in each scene, and how did it tell a story.
“Quite frankly I think we really want all of you to decide for yourselves when you see the film, what it means to you.”
The Bad Romance singer was joined at the festival by co-star Phoenix, who revealed he had a dream about performing as the Joker, which led to him calling Phillips.
He said: “The dream is not what inspired the movie, the dream was just, I had this dream that I was performing as the Joker doing songs, and I just called Todd and said there might be something there, and there wasn’t.”
Phoenix, 49, was also asked why he dropped out of Todd Haynes’ gay romance film, but declined to comment on why.
He said: “I think if I do, I would just be sharing my opinion, from my perspective, and the other creatives aren’t here to say their piece, and it just doesn’t feel like that would be right.
“I’m not sure how that would be helpful, so I just don’t think I will.”
Joker: Folie A Deux will be released in UK cinemas on October 4, and follows the story of the Joker and Harley Quinn meeting while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital, after he is released the pair embark on a doomed romantic adventure.
