This is a story about @VeraDrew22’s fight to #FreeThePeoplesJoker: Hours before the film envisioning the Joker as a transgender woman trying to break into comedy was set to premiere, Warner Bros. Discovery objected to it as copyright infringement. latimes.com/entertainment-…
“They would be able to keep me in litigation forever because they’re a billion-dollar media conglomerate and I’m a broke trans woman,” she said of the letter WBD sent just before the film held its first screening. latimes.com/entertainment-… 
So what is “The People’s Joker”? It’s been billed as “the world’s first impressionist superhero/queer art film” and was made with the help of hundreds of contributing artists all over the world during the pandemic. latimes.com/entertainment-…
It draws on Drew’s experiences growing up in the Midwest and navigating queer identity, using Batman, the Joker and Harley Quinn as mythic literary figures and upturning well-worn blockbuster superhero tropes along the way. latimes.com/entertainment-…
After much debate, the film held its world premiere with the caveat that it be withdrawn from remaining screenings. But Drew pulled her film from two festivals and six other planned engagements “to mitigate the potential blowback.” latimes.com/entertainment-…
Nearly two months later, Drew says the implied threat of legal action has halted her ability to play the film at other festivals and secure distribution, while a social media hashtag keeps her fight in the public eye: #FreeThePeoplesJoker. latimes.com/entertainment-…
It’s not only Warner Bros.-owned IP that gets subverted in “The People’s Joker”: Drew takes shots at #SNL boss Lorne Michaels, arguably the film’s biggest villain, who is voiced by current “SNL” cast member Sarah Sherman. latimes.com/entertainment-…
Tim Heidecker, a prominent parodist in his own right who appears in the film playing Daily Planet editor Perry White as a conservative pundit in the Alex Jones mold, suggests that Warner Bros. should acquire and release the film themselves. latimes.com/entertainment-…
“I made this movie to process my childhood as somebody for whom gender-affirming healthcare could have saved my life,” said Drew, who describes “The People’s Joker” as “the most expensive therapy that I’ve ever done.” latimes.com/entertainment-…
The recent installation of onetime Troma filmmaker James Gunn as co-chief executive of DC Studios has given Drew some hope that Warner Bros. might soften its stance on her movie. latimes.com/entertainment-…
“I am doing this because I love these characters, and I feel like this is a version of the story that hasn’t been told yet and is long overdue,” she said. “Mr. Gunn, please do anything within your power to help me tell that story.” latimes.com/entertainment-…
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