We have to admit, we sort of forgot about this project and pretty much figured it would never see the light of day, but Deadline reports that Casey Affleck’s gestating mockumentary on Joaquin Phoenix is now being shown to buyers.
In case your memory needs refreshing, Joaquin Phoenix appeared to go off the deep end just prior to doing press rounds for what he called his “last movie,” “Two Lovers.” Phoenix grew a cult-leader style beard, wore dark sunglasses everywhere and said he was embarking on a hip-hop career and had Casey Affleck filming what was supposed to be his dramatic rise to the top. But after an Andy Kaufman-esque appearance on David Letterman (see below) and some dodgy club performances, speculation began that Phoenix was pulling a fast one on everybody, and that Affleck’s forthcoming film was not so much a documentary but a mockumentary.
Well, the film was finally screened last week for potential buyers who were sworn to secrecy about the film’s content. Not much can be kept secret these days, so we expect details to slowly leak out, but apparently the filmmakers want to keep what’s in store as fresh and surprising as possible.
We have to admit we are curious, but wonder if the gag of Phoenix bewildering people with his big beard and not-so-great rapping will grow tedious over the length of a full movie. Even the Letterman interview (which is edited) grows sort of tiring after a while. Guess we’ll have to wait and see if it’s the mockumentary as expected or something else completely (a documentary on Phoenix leaving acting for good — if he has — might actually be way more interesting). As for Phoenix, he’s now beardless and doing spots for PETA so we guess his rap crusade (or at the very least, his beard crusade) is over for now.
–Written by Kevin Jagernauth