Joaquin Phoenix channels Andy Kaufman?

[Darren Dirt]

the actor is leaving acting to perform Hip-Hop?

Letterman appearance on 11Feb2009 has *gotta* be a prank...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEx7DCj2Fjk

7 minutes of awkwardness, then around the 8 minute mark it is so clearly a "bit" they are doing together. Well done, boys. 

[Mr. Analog]

What the!

[Darren Dirt]

amazing, I sifted through this gallery of "Dave" moments (which includes the recent JP incident), and besides that first episode (with Bill Murray "threatening" Dave) I totally remember seeing, live, almost all of the rest (recurring bits notwithstanding, obv.)

I guess in the past decade or so I haven't missed much, since I rarely watched Dave and there's nothing in the gallery from that time period now he's a calm-tempered, non-risktaker, dammit I miss the "frat boy", and why can't he still do Stupid Pet Tricks ... or at least put on the velcro suit one more time? (maybe next time Sacha Baron Cohen is on?)

[Darren Dirt]

"Hoax", confirmed+confessed to Roger Ebert (cuz apparently he took it way too seriously)
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/09/im_still_not_all_here.html


But successful in everything it tried to be, apparently -- not just the viral marketing stuff, but the film contents themselves (i.e. a fascinating, though completely unlikeable, CHARACTER.)

We now have it on Casey Affleck's word that "I'm Still Here," the film about Joaquin Phoenix's apparent descent into self-destruction, was a hoax. We cannot doubt this. Well, perhaps we can; the possibility exists that Affleck caught so much @%&# after the release that he decided to back off from his devastating portrait of his brother-in-law. But let's agree it is a hoax.

Now the spinning begins. Who fell for it, and who didn't? And why does it matter? I think it matters because it helps establish what the film achieved and how it achieved it. As a documentary it is the sad record of a man lost in the wilderness of drugs, ego and narcissism. As a fake documentary -- a fiction film -- it is a rather awe-inspiring record of a piece of high risk performance art played out in public by Phoenix and Affleck over more than a year. It would be interesting to know which we are watching.

I fell for it. Sure, I expressed some doubts and reservations, but I reviewed it seriously, and even expressed my hope that Joaquin would pull himself together. I was not alone. I've read all 30 reviews linked by Metacritic.com, which surveys major critics and publications, and here are the totals I came up with:

Believed it was real (9): Ebert, Gliberman, Neumaier, Stevens, Doerksen, Rodriguez, Levy, Puig, Orange.

Not sure, open question or cagey (18): Persall, Phillips, Rothkopf, Longworth, Williams, Hartlaub, Turan, Baumgarten, Grady. O'Sullivan, Rea, Robinson, Salisbur, Goodykoontz, Travers.)

It's a fake (6): Young, Burr, Felperin, Dargis, Edelstein.

[Mr. Analog]

Y'know it's a sad state of affairs when mental illness is used as a form of media whoring.

Whatever happened that that thing... what's it called? Talent?

[Darren Dirt]

Joaquin the man/actor is indeed talented... As Johnny Cash (obviously) but imo he also managed to bring gravitas and a certain sincerity to his character in The Village. I personally haven't seen many other films with him.


But definitely some are saying the choice of theme of this ?? mockumentary ?? = in bad taste, considering his brother (and other young talents dying due to drugs and/or depression).


But judge for yourself, 22Sep2010 Casey Affleck interview with Ebert:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/09/casey_affleck_levels_about_im.html

and Joaquin's return visit to Letterman, also 22Sep2010: (cliffs: Letterman seems pissed)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEI4LUqhfn8


PS: the Letterman interview really does "explain" the motives... it wasn't just him and his brother-in-law "media whoring", in fact it was their attempt at drawing attention to how effin STUPID media/celebrity has gotten. One just needs to look at Jon and Kate plus 8 and other bull@%&#, how much magazine cover real estate is wasted on "famous for being famous" knuckle-draggers. I hope long-term this film gets people thinking about what it was REALLY about (instead of just dismissing it as "Borat, but less funny").

[Darren Dirt]

I hope long-term this film gets people thinking about what it was REALLY about (instead of just dismissing it as "Borat, but less funny").

Picasso said, "Art is the lie that tells the truth." (source)

[Mr. Analog]

I dunno man, you don't raise nuclear weapon awareness by dropping the bomb (well, I guess for a brief moment you do...)

Personally I think this was a PR stunt gone wrong and this is some kind of lame recovery. Mind you I steer clear of most of this crap so I really don't care what they do

[Darren Dirt]

I dunno man, you don't raise nuclear weapon awareness by dropping the bomb (well, I guess for a brief moment you do...)

Personally I think this was a PR stunt gone wrong and this is some kind of lame recovery. Mind you I steer clear of most of this crap so I really don't care what they do

hmmm...

Ebert: Knowing that Joaquin was performing suggests a deeper level of anger against the celebrity-publicity system than a simple psychological meltdown would have. This must be an actor urgently inspired to make a statement.

Affleck: I think its more a case of an enormous talent relishing the unique role and broadened parameters of the job.

/confused



One side benefit to this little event... when someone (like myself, up until last night) grows a super-scruffy "I don't give a damn" beard, and the young 'uns do not get the "you've got a Grizzly Adams thing going on there" reference, now you can just say "you've got a Joaquin Phoenix thing going on there" (previous to that it would be "George Clooney in Syriana" but too few people saw that movie).

[Mr. Analog]

I dunno man, you don't raise nuclear weapon awareness by dropping the bomb (well, I guess for a brief moment you do...)

Personally I think this was a PR stunt gone wrong and this is some kind of lame recovery. Mind you I steer clear of most of this crap so I really don't care what they do

hmmm...

Ebert: Knowing that Joaquin was performing suggests a deeper level of anger against the celebrity-publicity system than a simple psychological meltdown would have. This must be an actor urgently inspired to make a statement.

Affleck: I think its more a case of an enormous talent relishing the unique role and broadened parameters of the job.

/confused



One side benefit to this little event... when someone (like myself, up until last night) grows a super-scruffy "I don't give a damn" beard, and the young 'uns do not get the "you've got a Grizzly Adams thing going on there" reference, now you can just say "you've got a Joaquin Phoenix thing going on there" (previous to that it would be "George Clooney in Syriana" but too few people saw that movie).

LOL, fair enough...