Joaquin Phoenix went looking for real-life inspiration when crafting his Joker laugh. From the start, the upcoming thriller has not been described as a normal comic book outing. "It's not a superhero movie, a super villain, or a human being with special powers," says Phoenix when talking about his unique DC project, which premieres at the Venice Film Festival at the end of this month. The actor has likened it to a character study ever since it was officially announced he was on board to play the Clown Prince of Crime.

Joker director Todd Phillips has already warned fans that they aren't going to be getting a comic book-accurate representation of the villain. This has already alienated some DC fans and intrigued a number of others who are excited to see what Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix concocted. When asked about preparing for the role, Phoenix notes he started with the laugh. He explains.

"I started from here. I saw videos showing people suffering from pathological laughter, a psychic dysfunction that makes (laughing} uncontrollable."

When asked about what he wishes to accomplish with Joker, Todd Phillips is looking past the world of comic books. "With this film, we are not inviting people to rebel. But let's try to explain why people could, or should, start a revolution," says the director. While Joaquin Phoenix doesn't like the villain's tactics, he does like the purpose behind his mission, which many viewers will see when the movie finally hits theaters this fall. From the early reactions from those lucky enough to see the movie, it will be a contender at the Academy Awards.

When Joaquin Phoenix's name started being mentioned for Todd Phillips' Joker, many fans were quick to dismiss the whispers as rumor. Phoenix has had his name unofficially attached to a number of superhero movies over the years, but when looking at the roles the actor has taken over the years, it doesn't seem plausible he would want to do a stereotypical superhero movie. As it turns out, Phillips was exactly on the same page and they got to work quickly after the contract ink dried.

Joker is a low budget project and will not follow a specific comic book story. Joaquin Phoenix was left up to his own devices to craft the character of Arthur Fleck, who won't be fighting Batman. Instead, he'll be fighting society and he might just start a revolution along the way. Specific story details are still under wraps for the time being, but from the looks of things, Joker is going to a gritty and grounded take on the Clown Prince of Crime, which sounds like a breath of fresh air when thinking about someone else taking on the usual version of the villain we've become so accustomed to over the years. The interview with Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips was originally conducted by Republica.