One of the most intriguing celebrity stories of the past year or so has been Joaquin Phoenix’s famous flameout from Hollywood and his attempt to kickstart a hip-hop career. Looking like a distant relative of Will Oldham, Phoenix mumbled his way through a Letterman appearance, gave some impromptu rap performances and otherwise became an enigma wrapped in a fortune cookie. All along the way, his best bud and brother-in-law Casey Affleck documented everything (mock?) that whether real or fake, still sounds fascinating.
The completed film, titled “I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix,” started screening last month for potential buyers and it sounded even more depraved and bizarre than we could have even imagined. With reports of Phoenix “snorting cocaine, ordering call girls, having oral sex with a publicist, treating his assistants abusively and rapping badly,” people who saw the film apparently walked away with no better idea of how real or fake the film actually is (or isn’t).
Well, we may get to see for ourselves as the LA Times reports that indie distributor Magnolia Pictures are in negotiations to acquire the film with a fall release in mind. Interesting, Magnolia also distributed “Two Lovers,” and pretty much were burned by Phoenix when he went off the rails during the press calendar for the film. Is this some kind of twisted revenge or happenstance opportunity? We wonder.
If the movie is a hoax, Affleck is certainly playing the role of dumbstruck director quite well. Speaking with AV Club about the film he reveals, “It was challenging. It was probably one of the better filmmaking experiences I’ve ever had. I learned an enormous amount. I sort of did the whole thing by myself because I started really small, and I thought, “Won’t this be an interesting experiment?” I don’t think anyone else has the opportunity to make this kind of a movie…..there was a lot of really, really dramatic, interesting stuff that happened in his life over the course of those two years, and he let me capture it. In that way, I feel like I just lucked out.”