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Late last week, Lainey ran an opinion piece in which she said that she thought that Joaquin Phoenix’s big meltdown last year was some kind of Sacha Baron-Cohen type experiment. The news recently came out that Casey Affleck is shopping around a documentary of Phoenix’s brief “retirement” from film and descent into an ill-advised rap career. That doesn’t prove that it was all a scam, just that Phoenix’s behavior is suspect in light of the film. Another large blog linked to Lainey’s story with the title “Joaquin admits it was all a hoax.” The thing is, that was just Lainey’s opinion and she was clear about that, and neither Joaquin nor his brother-in-law Casey (who is married to Joaquin’s sister, Summer) have admitted to anything. I like how Lainey explained her position on the matter and she has some very good points. However I think the verdict is still out on Phoenix’s intent and it’s unknown whether he was pulling some massive stunt, whether he really had some kind of breakdown he (seemingly) recovered from, or if the truth is somewhere in between.
According to people who have watched the film, it’s hard to tell if it was all a joke. There are some shocking moments that don’t look staged, but no one seems to know. As many of you have pointed out, Joaquin is an actor and he could have easily been pulling the mangy beard over our eyes for months. Warning on this story, there are some disturbing details that I’ll let you read for yourself if you’re interested. One I don’t mind repeating is the claim that there’s “more male frontal nudity than you’d find in some gay porn films“:
It’s far from the Joaquin Phoenix you’re used to seeing onscreen: snorting cocaine, ordering call girls, having oral sex with a publicist, treating his assistants abusively and rapping badly. And not, apparently, playing a role — or was he?
Even after seeing the documentary “I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix” in a private screening earlier this week, film buyers still aren’t sure of its genuineness. Was the “Walk the Line” and “Gladiator” star, who said more than a year ago that he was quitting acting to become a musician, playing a sophisticated prank, or did he really ditch his Oscar-nominated career to become a disheveled rapper?
Agents at William Morris Endeavor, the sellers of the Casey Affleck-directed film, have started showing the movie to potential distributors, and while some were apparently interested in bidding for “I’m Still Here’s” distribution rights, the shoppers left the screening perhaps even more mystified by Phoenix’s behavior than when they walked in.
Several buyers said the film overflowed with Hollywood debauchery, including more male frontal nudity than you’d find in some gay porn films and a stomach-turning sequence in which someone feuding with Phoenix defecates on the actor while he’s asleep.The documentary — or is it a mockumentary? — also includes Phoenix’s infamous appearance on “The Late Show With David Letterman,” in which the bearded and bloated actor barely spoke, leaving Letterman bewildered if not infuriated and people wondering about Phoenix’s mental health.
The buyers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Phoenix comes off unsympathetically and shows very little talent for music in the movie, directed by his brother-in-law (Affleck is married to Summer Phoenix). Sales agent WME declined to comment.
In some scenes in the film, the 35-year-old Phoenix is trying to get Sean “Diddy” Combs to produce Phoenix’s rap album, but the hip-hop impresario is not terribly interested. Another sequence shows Ben Stiller approaching Phoenix about starring in writer-director Noah Baumbach’s “Greenberg,” but Phoenix is barely interested.
Two buyers who saw the movie were unsure if Phoenix had turned out an elaborate piece of performance art, where the joke was really on the audience. While they were debating the film’s commercial prospects, the buyers did agree on one thing: They’d never seen anything like it.
[From The LA Times]
So if someone poops on Joaquin while he’s sleeping, why didn’t Casey stop them instead of filming it? It’s just all suspect, but I suppose I won’t know for sure until the film comes out – if even then. Will this be a straight-to-DVD or an NC 17 film in limited release? Are distributors going to demand major edits before it’s released? I’m curious, and I’ll definitely watch it. I may cover my eyes at parts, though.
Written by Celebitchy
Posted in Casey Affleck, Crazy, Joaquin Phoenix
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46 Responses to “Disturbing details about the upcoming Joaquin Phoenix documentary”
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Joaquin Phoenix is this eras Andy Kaufman.
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I hope this gets distributed because it sounds effing hilarious.
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I don’t know about this “documentary” but I always though that Joaquin Phoenix was mentally disturbed in some way, maybe it has something to do with his bizarre upbringing or the fact that he saw his older brother River die in such unfortunate death at such a young age. All this could have very well messed him up.
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Has to be all a hoax. Casey is his brother-in-law, he’s not going to film him legitimately self destructing and put it out there for the public to see.
I don’t really get the point, as Joaquin is/was a good actor with a good resume, why do all this nonsense?
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call me old fashioned but i don’t want to see anyone pooping on anyone else. i don’t want to see anyone pooping period.
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I used to be a huge fan of Joaquin, so much so that I knew all these useless factoids about his life and work that I won’t even try and remember now, but not too long into my obsessive he’s the best actor alive phaseI realised just how self absorbed he is, like truly epically into his own hype. I might be wrong but this seems to me like another attempt at self promotion so thus far I have been fairly unmoved by the whole thing but if the pooping stuff is true that is way low, even for some attention, for shame Leaf Phoenix..
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I think it’s an interesting hoax.
Do something you are OBVIOUSLY crap at and behave ridiculously, then watch all the industry sycophants tell you how awesome you are.
Might be hilarious.
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still saying it’s a hoax.
this is the type of movie that, if real, would come out much later in an actor’s career, to “explain” that actor’s “lost year”. here it is, almost exactly one year after he “retired”, and the film is done, edited, and ready for distribution? And the actor in question has miraculously recovered from whatever it was…just in time to put out the movie?
HOAX.
plus, the fact that it’s being called a “mockumentary” is pretty telling. and ditto on what lucy2 said. Affleck wouldn’t put out a documentation of a family member’s descent into mental illness, nor would he film his b-i-l being pooped on.
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I’ve written before that people should just take his antics with a grain of salt, as he’s inclined to this kind of egocentric randomness. What I would like to know, however, if that it’s supposed to be some elaborate hoax, what the hell is the point really? Is there some greater philosophical concept or commentary that we’re supposed to be getting? Or, is this some wacked ploy ‘cuz dude’s in need of attention? I like Joaquin, but come the fuck on.
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At the time, I wondered if it was his way of saying “All these years I was messed up because my brother died and I was trying to be him and live his life for him, I am done with that now, CRAZY HOMELESS BEARD GO.”
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You had me at ‘more male frontal nudity than you’d find in some gay porn films’ and then you lost me at ‘someone feuding with Phoenix defecates on the actor while he’s asleep.’
Sounds like this film runs the gamut of stunts showcasing an actor ‘acting’ and duping his audience.
I’ll definitely watch it.
I like Joaquin as an actor although I still think he isn’t all there mentally.
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At least it is different. I think people will be most offended that the joke was on them. People can’t stand the thought of not being in on the joke.
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Whether it is true or a hoax, it turns me off, he thinks everyone is beneath him to manipulate others. I used to like him and Casey Affleck, what a waste of talent.
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i used to be a big fan. watched all his movies, interviews… but now im so turned off by this douchey behavior that i dont think i could support anything he does again. i find theres something mean spirited and condescending about this whole documentary and i didnt think that was the kind of person he was.
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Hoax. Doesn’t mean he’s not mental.
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This “mockumentary” sounds pretty sad, actually. I thought it would be slightly humourous, especially seeing that Joaquin looks and acts like himself again. (He looked like a bum whilst filming this …) However, ordering call girls & doing hard drugs is not something to laugh about. That kind of behaviour is stupid and shows what kind of irresponsible people both Joaquin and Casey are. If this film is as described, count me out. I used to be a great fan of Joaquin but this is my limit. He’s definitely not doing his brother any justice by continuing this destructive lifestyle.
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for some strange reason this reminds me of the time garth brooks (retired country singer) decided to do a mocku-documentary of himself living as a pop singer named chris gaines, put out an album as chris gaines too. it didn’t do too well, people just thought it was bizarre.
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Casey Affleck is his best friend. I doubt he would have watched/encouraged Joaquin to downward spiral like that unless it was all performance “art”
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“Joaquin Phoenix is this eras Andy Kaufman.”
Yeah, and we all know how that turned out.
I was thinking “this era’s Mel Gibson.”
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ViktoryGin: My thoughts exactly.
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I can kind of see that he’s mocking the Hollywood lifestyle and the way people get out of control and all that. But he does seem … off too.
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I hope this guy is okay and it’s only hoax.
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Wow how into themselves can someone be that they think this shit (from the sounds of it) is something worth seeing.
I don’t get the statement he’s trying to make, but I do think he’s trying to make a statement as I don’t think his brother in law would film someone truly losing it.
As for someone shitting on him while asleep, if that’s not in there for shock value only I don’t know what is.
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Joaquin reeks of arrogance and snobbery. I really think he believes he’s better (or has better taste) than the rest of us. While it may be true that a lot of people are completely clueless half-wits, I don’t like this whole,
“I’m going to prove my capacity for genius by proving how gullible everyone else is with a fake piece of performance art, ::haughty laugh::haughty laugh::”
Dude, whatever. Go grab John Mayer and jack each other’s egos off somewhere else.
I miss River :/
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@ Feebee – After reading your comment, I bet his statement *IS* that the rest of us won’t get his statement. You know that gets the egotistical-type’s rocks off like nothing else.
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@ Steeze: My feelings exactly.
I have always been a big fan of his talent, but he has disappointed me with all his recent shenanigans. There IS something mean spirited and condescending surrounding this mockumentary. I have no interest whatsoever in seeing it, and I’ll think twice before seeing him in anything else in the future.
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me thinks Joaquin has bipolar… he got high, thought he was a rapper and pursued this career. Then finally flied down back to Earth.
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Whether it is a hoax or not, I am so gonna to see that film.
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Actually it sounds along the lines of the Jacka$$ films. Lord knows there was enough poop and pi$$ in those movies.
Not interested…
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@Kelly I think he’s playing us all for a fool the same way Andy did. People could never figure out whether what Andy was doing was real of fake as well. And as you mentioned, Andy Kaufman’s story did not end well.When Andy died people actually thought it was another one of his pranks. I hope Joaquin does not go down the same path.
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What is he trying to prove? It’s probably a hoax, but I don’t get his point.
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My friend got pooped on by her boyfriend cuz she lost a bet hahahaha… thankfully, I only heard about this and didn’t actually witness it…
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Were they both high on drugs when they came up with this hoax. Joaquin and Casey what a waste of talent, two narcissistic hollywood actors with too much money and time on their hands and this is the best they can come up with? snorting cocaine, hiring hookers, having oral sex and defecating on people. LOL. Maybe the whole point of this mockumentary is to prove that people will pay to see shit.
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Probably a hoax. I think Andy Kaufman was overrated, frankly – his humor (in my opinion) wasn’t genius, just him doing goofy stuff that HE thought was funny.
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I think most people will watch the film out of curiosity. There are parts that I am sure I won’t want to see, but wondering what in the world this is all about. What was the point of it all??
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Male frontal nudity, defecating on the star and abuse of lower level human beings….sounds hilarious to me.
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Sorry, Joaquin, you’re just not as interesting as you think you are…..
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He still doesn’t look ‘right’, even shaved and cleaned up. I’ll never see another movie of his, starting with this one. Too many other talented actors with heads on their shoulders for me to patronize.
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Not gonna watch it, don’t care. Especially if it was all a hoax.
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So this is another Jackass movie, right?
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Ehm, in association, nothing beats 30 seconds of footage from a mental institution. Because that’s reality. But that doesn’t belong to Hollywood, does it?
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I think he had a complete and total breakdown and that THIS is what he decided to do to try to convince people that he is no longer insane. To me, it smacks of insanity. That makes me sad. The description of the “mocumentary” makes me sick. This guy has a huge acting talent. It makes me wonder if Casey Affleck is unstable too.
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Geniuses work outside the box.
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Did anyone see the “Scrotty McBoogerballs” episode of South Park? (that is their title I am just quoting it) It’s about analyzing something someone says is “art”. It makes a fool out of “intellectuals”. I think this is the same thing as is the played out Sasha Baron Cohen themed “let’s make fun of people who are nice and we think are dumb” genre.
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Mental or not, Yawn.
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Cindy nailed it. “two narcissistic hollywood actors with too much money and time on their hands”
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