Todd Phillips' 'Joker' Praised By Prince William At BAFTAs

Todd Phillips’ “Joker” was one of the biggest movies of 2019. The movie earned a lot of money at the box office and also received a lot of praise from the audiences as well as the critics. But it seems like the movie has created a lot of impact on the minds of the British Royal Family, too.

According to People, the Duke of Cambridge had a conversation with “Joker” actor Joaquin Phoenix while attending the star-studded BAFTA ceremony and told him that he “loved” the movie and thought that the storyline of the movie was “brilliant.”

“Lovely to meet you (Phoenix). I absolutely loved ‘Joker’. It was brilliant,” William said.

The 37-year-old royal also joked on how he decided to not watch the movie before sleeping because many of his closed ones suggested him to be careful of the timing. The Duke of Cambridge also congratulated the “You Were Never Really Here” star for an “amazing” performance.

“I put it off and put it off before watching it, as people kept telling me ‘Be careful when you choose to watch it.’ I am glad that I did not watch it before bed, but huge congratulations on an amazing performance,” William said.

Prince William was accompanied by his wife and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. William is the President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Phoenix won the Best Actor award at the ceremony for his menacing portrayal of the clown prince of Gotham in the movie. It was Phoenix’s fourth major award of this season. He already won a Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Award and Screen Actos Guild award.

The “Village” star also praised the Duke for his brilliant speech at the ceremony. William criticized the lack of nominations for women and actors of color at the event that took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

“BAFTA takes this issue seriously, and following this year's nominations have launched a full review to ensure the opportunities are available to everyone,” William said in his speech.

The controversy erupted after the nominations for the 2020 ceremony were announced. Cynthia Erivo, who has been nominated for an Academy Award this year, was not included in the Best Actress category. Meanwhile, no female director found a spot in the group of directors nominated for Best Director.

In related news, “Joker” has been nominated for 11 Oscars this year. This is the first time in the history of Academy Awards that a comic-book movie is leading the pack of nominations. The film has been nominated in almost all the major categories, including Best Picture, a Best Director nod for Phillips and an Acting nod for Phoenix.

The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on Feb. 9 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.