UPDATE:

In a follow-up post, the tumblr user who shared their experience at the “Camp Mars” event is now backpedaling on their summary of what happened. While they don’t really claim that what they said was wrong, they do state that the tone of what Jared Leto shared with them was misconstrued. While he did, indeed, say what he said with regard to Warner Bros trying to control his off-set activities- namely prohibiting him from rock climbing- the poster says it was much more lighthearted. 

They reiterate that he’s definitely disappointed and frustrated with what went down with the theatrical cut of SUICIDE SQUAD, and that he’s playfully defiant against Warner Bros, but that he did not give the impression that he was trying to get himself fired.

What I find interesting about this clarification is that it doesn’t really walk back his supposed comments. It mainly just tries to soften the blow and lower the intensity of his emotions. To me, it reads more like a passionate fan being worried about “blowing up Leto’s spot,” and wanting to get back in his good graces. The stuff he shared in that intimate setting was meant to stay right there, and this person is probably getting tons of heat from fellow fans for breaking Leto’s trust.

Still, at the end of the day, Leto should probably play the game and keep his frustrations to himself. Very little good can come out of an actor saying how disappointed they are, how they haven’t bothered to see the movie, and how they think the studio gimped the film with an inappropriately softball PG-13 rating.

Just sayin’!

Yesterday, amidst all the chatter about Leto’s comments, I wrote a column asking the What If? of “WHAT HAPPENS IF JARED LETO GETS CANNED AS AS THE JOKER?” You can check that out and get in on the conversation, or you can continue here and read the…

ORIGINAL REPORT:

It sounds like Jared Leto doesn’t particularly care if WB/DC loses his phone number…

The actor, who has a reputation for being rather eccentric and for being a performer of great conviction, has been on a bit of a tear since SUICIDE SQUAD came out a week and a half ago. He’s made comments about how HE’D SHOT ENOUGH SCENES FOR AN ENTIRE JOKER MOVIE, which all got cut from the film. He’s expressed anger about SUICIDE SQUAD‘s PG-13 RATING BEING A BAD FIT FOR THE FILM’S SUBECT MATTER. And he’s said that he’s so disappointed about what he’s heard didn’t make the theatrical cut…that he hasn’t even bothered to go see the movie!

If you thought the actor was done talking about his experience working on the David Ayer DC blockbuster, you thought wrong.

A new report from Batman-News reveals that the actor had much more to say about what he thinks of SUICIDE SQUAD– namely how it handled his turn as The Joker. A Leto fan site recently sent someone to cover a “Camp Mars” event that Leto was hosting for his rock band, Thirty Seconds To Mars. The contributor to that site, while unable to produce any actual quotes, relayed to Batman-News the kinds of things Leto told the crowd about his Joker.

According to the fan report, Leto was very open and frank about his frustrations. Here’s how they summarized his thoughts:

“He was very honest about the film this weekend; his disappointment in what he’s learned of the theatrical cut (he’s still not seen the film); feeling sort of tricked into being a part of something that had been pitched to him very differently; thinking it would’ve been more artistic than what it became; feeling overwhelmed by the hate regarding the look and choices…”

The one bit of verifiable verbiage from Leto, which demonstrates what he thinks of his employment status with Warner Bros, is his response to whether or not he intends to keep rock climbing. This became pertinent because he mentioned that his WB contract prohibits him from doing that activity, which is something he loves to do.

In the clip below, when asked if he plans to keep rock climbing despite the stipulations of his WB contract, here’s what he said:

In case you can’t watch the 9 second clip, he says, “Yes. My answer is ‘F__k’em!’“

And yesterday morning, he even defiantly posted this picture on his Instagram, which shows him standing right on the edge of a cliff.

A mere week ago, days after SUICIDE SQUAD came out and was ravaged by critics and opened him up to all kinds of put-downs from fans who didn’t care for his Joker, he posted this picture- which shows the actor doing exactly what WB forbids him from doing: Rock climbing.

Lastly, on the LETO V WB: DAWN OF TERMINATION front, the actor also said that there was a rather lewd bit of business he filmed in gold underwear that was also cut from the movie. He was playfully asked about it by E! and he said, “They had to cut that scene out because it’s PG-13.” When asked if it was simply him in his underwear, and the actor replied, “Ahh there was a little more to it than that.”

The running theme here is that Leto brought all kinds of outrageous elements to his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime, and 99% of it was cut. Whether it was due to the PG-13 rating, or the change of heart at WB/DC that finds that studio wanting to make films that are easier to digest and more crowd-friendly, it seems like Leto’s ideas just weren’t fit for the kind of movie the studio needed SUICIDE SQUAD to be. 

Interesting that he feels like he was tricked, because the implication is that he wouldn’t have done the film at all if he’d known what was going to become of his performance. This also doesn’t sound like a guy who’s dying to keep working for WB, and you have to wonder- at this point- if we’ll ever see him don the makeup and grills again. My hunch is: Probably. But if he keeps running off at the mouth, who knows? 

SUICIDE SQUAD is in theaters everywhere.

SOURCE: Batman-News / Comic Book