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Either he's gone mental, in which case I hope he gets it together because he's a talented actor.
OR - and there's a supposed quote of his to back this up - it's all been one massive, waste-of-time practical joke, in which case no-one's laughing, no-one cares, and it was the worst career move since Halle Berry decided Die Another Day, Gothika and Catwoman were good follow-ups to her Oscar win.
>> Since 2009, Affleck has been directing a documentary about the musical career of his friend and brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix, who attempted to live a lifestyle of a rapper in one year.[23][24] <<
Oh, There's Joaquin Phoenix: First Trailer for I'm Still Here
17 hours ago | Reelzchannel.com | See recent ReelzChannel news »
Joaquin Phoenix's last movie was 2008's Two Lovers, after which he promptly announced his retirement from acting so he could concentrate on his rap career. Phoenix's brother-in-law Casey Affleck decided to shoot a documentary (or, perhaps a "mockumentary") about Phoenix's transition from actor to rapper called I'm Still Here, which no one is sure is real or a prank. Speculation that Phoenix was involved in an elaborate prank stemmed from his appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2009, with Phoenix's Two Lovers costar Gwyneth Paltrow admitting that she wasn't convinced that he was truly quitting his acting career for hip hop stardom. Still, no one seems to know for sure.
Just came across this trailer this morning and figure I'd check out SimplyScripts to see what people think about this.
Me, personally, I don't think it's real and don't think that Joaquin's going through a meltdown. But, at the same time, while it may not do a lot for Phoenix's or Affleck's careers and make people think twice about hiring them... I do think that it's a great artistic endeavor. Or, if anything, a great study in behavior.
God knows there's a lot of actors out there getting into music and, for the most part, not succeeding, or only moderately successful. Billy Bob Thornton, Keaunu Reeves, Russel Crowe, even Johnny Depp and Bruce Willis have bands, or have had bands. There's nothing really new in that aspect that Joaquin is doing
But I do like the fact that Affleck and Pheonix may just be trying to give us a glimpse of what it is like for Lindsey Lohan and Brittany Spears and what exactly they may be going through in their lives and with their addictions.
Hell, for all I know, Affleck and Phoenix may just be trying to send Lindsey and Brittany and other troubled people a message to hang in there, that it can happen to anybody and not to feel so alone.
Whatever the case is, whether it's true and Phoenix is actually going through this tumultuous time, or whether he's just Andy Kaufman-ing it up, I think there's still going to be a lesson to be learned from whatever this is.
True life self-destructive tendencies or elaborate hoax, either way I think it's a shame what's happened to the guy. He was a gifted actor, from his role as Diane Weists (sp) son in Parenthood to my personal favorite performance in Clay Pigeons, the guy was good.
Maybe this is his way of mocking celebrity, or maybe he truly has lost his marbles -- whichever it is, he's dug himself a hole he's going to have to work very hard to climb out of.
He got weired on Letterman... Sure it was coming before then and his actions were a tad suspect, but what made it known was his appearance on Letterman. Not surprisingly, Crispin Glover did a very similar stunt back in the day too. On Letterman no less. It didn't work for him and it isn't going to work for Joaquin Phoenix,
Yeah, I read about that on Roger Ebert's site. So, fine, it was a hoax. My question is, what was the point? What did he accomplish, other than making a fool of himself and damaging his own career?
Answer: not a thing.
mod note: moved to review board since the film has been released. - nixon
I don't know which is more pointless: Me commenting that their effort was pointless or their effort itself? Seriously.
I think a vigorous debate over... preferred brand of toilet paper would be more weighty than what these two seemingly intelligent men have dubiously "achieved".
It smacks of an illusionist's misdirection: Lookit THAT over THERE whilst I do THIS over HERE.
I wonder if one of them was at drug rehab or something. Okay. Done wondering.
Just like Borat it was probably imperative for this film to get an honest reaction from the people involved.
Unlike SBC who was fairly unknown at the time, Phoenix needed to go deep undercover. So I can see a reason for the hoax. I haven't seen this or even read any reviews for it but I'm sure it makes a social statement as well as being amusing - even if it's uncomfortably so.
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