THE PEOPLE'S JOKER Trailer: Superhero Parody And Queer Coming-of-Age Flick Announces North American Theatrical Dates

Los Angeles-based distributor Altered Innocence has released the new theatrical trailer for Vera Drew’s genre-defying breakout feature debut THE PEOPLE’S JOKER and announced the first round of North American theatrical dates. Drew directed, edited, co-wrote, and stars in the queer coming-of-age fair use superhero world parody that opens at IFC Center in NYC on April 5th, with Drew in attendance for opening weekend, and expands to over twenty cities in the coming weeks.

 

THE PEOPLE’S JOKER’s theatrical expansion includes support from Alamo Drafthouses across the nation and openings in Los Angeles (4/12 Landmark's Nuart Theatre with Drew in attendance for opening weekend, 4/19 Alamo Drafthouse Cinema DTLA, and 4/19 at Vidiots for a one-night-only screening with Drew in attendance), Austin (4/12 Austin Film Society, 4/13 Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar), Denver (4/12 Sie FilmCenter, 4/19 Alamo Drafthouse Sloans Lake), San Francisco (4/12 Roxie Theater, 4/19 Alamo Drafthouse Mission), Seattle (4/17 Northwest Film Forum, 4/24 The Beacon Cinema), Washington (4/19 Alamo Drafthouse Bryant Street and Crystal Street), Chicago (4/26, Music Box Theatre, with Drew in attendance for opening weekend), and more. All theatrical listings for the US and Canada can be found at www.alteredinnocence.net/thepeoplesjoker.

 

In the absurdist autobiographically-inspired dark comedy that boldly reimagines the Joker’s origin, a painfully unfunny aspiring clown (Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin) grapples with her gender identity while unsuccessfully attempting to join the ranks of Gotham City’s sole comedy program in a world where comedy has been outlawed. Uniting with a ragtag team of rejects and misfits, Joker the Harlequin forms an illegal anti-comedy troupe that puts her on a collision course with the devious caped crusader controlling the city.

 

THE PEOPLE’S JOKER features cameos from comedy multi-hyphenate Tim Heidecker, award-winning actor Bob Odenkirk, Maria Bamford (Netflix’s Big Mouth, Adult Swim’s Teenage Euthanasia), and Scott Aukerman (Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis co-creator and host of the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast), with Vera Drew, Lynn Downey (Amazon Prime Video’s Daisy Jones & The Six), Nathan Faustyn (SADDLED), and Kane Distler, in his film debut, making up the film’s core cast. With her own life as a trans woman and artist motivating the film’s story and theme, the script was co-written by close creative collaborator Bri LeRose (Netflix’s Magic for Humans and Chad & JT Go Deep).

 

The film followed its buzzy world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival in the Midnight Madness section with a U.S. premiere at the 2023 Outfest LA Film Festival, where it was awarded a Special Mention in the North American Narrative Feature competition, with subsequent American festivals including Fantastic Fest, Denver International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, and the Seattle Queer Film Festival, among others, and international bows at the Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival, SXSW Sydney, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and more. At both the Seattle Queer Film Festival and Oslo/Fusion, the film was awarded top honors in the narrative feature competitions, with Seattle Queer’s jury applauding its “unapologetically rebellious and iconoclastic spirit” and “totally immersive—even transcendent—theatrical experience.” 

 

Shot entirely on green screen, the work of over 200 independent, predominantly queer creators —artists, musicians, and animators— elevates the instantaneously illustrious feature beyond genre pastiche to an overflowing richness of mixed-media visuals across 2D, 3D, stop-motion, and more forms of animation.

 

Based in Los Angeles and born in Chicago, Vera Drew boasts frequent collaborations with Tim Heidecker’s Abso Lutely Productions and prolific status in the alt-comedy world. Prior to THE PEOPLE’S JOKER, Drew earned a 2019 Primetime Emmy nomination for Showtime’s Who Is America? as the show’s lead editor, with other notable editing credits including Netflix’s I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, An Evening with Tim Heidecker, and Comedy Bang! Bang!. Additionally, Drew co-wrote, edited, and executive produced Tim and Eric’s Beef House and directed Adult Swim’s Our Bodies and I Love David, as well as the twelfth season of On Cinema at the Cinema. 

 

The film is produced by Joey Lyons (HBO’s John Early: Now More Than Ever) and executive produced by Richie Doyle (DAD & STEP-DAD), Conor Hannon (FX’s Dear Mama), and Riccardo Maddalosso (ARMAGEDDON TIME, HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE). Nate Cornett (ABOVE THE CLOUDS) lensed while the film’s wide array of aesthetics is owed to production designers Noah Stijl, Rosie Sanders, Maggie Forest, Courtney McIntosh, Amy Smoot, Yesenia Rego, Shannon Pollak, Cory Porter, AT Pratt, and Ashley Brown. Justin Krol & Quinn Scharber, Ember Knight, Danni Rowan, and electronic composer Elias and the Error composed the original score. The film was partly financed by crowdfunding.

 

David Liebe Hart (TIM AND ERIC'S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE), Griffin Kramer (HAPPY TIMES), Christian Calloway (Twin Peaks: The Return, DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS), Ember Knight (KING OF LA), Dan Curry (head writer for The Eric Andre Show), Cricket Arrison (GIVE ME PITY!), Eliot Glazer (Broad City), Sandy Honig (Adult Swim’s Three Busy Debras), Alec Robbins (creator of the satirical webcomic Mr. Boop), Mia Moore Marchant (AGAIN, AGAIN), Phil Braun, Trevor Drinkwater, Daniella Baker, Bambi Bell, Denali Winter, Ruin Carroll, and Arden Hughes round out the complete cast of established and emerging artists and actors. 

 

THE PEOPLE’S JOKER is in no way created by, endorsed by, or affiliated with DC Comics or any of its related companies.