Affleck Admission: Confused Joaquin Phoenix Was a ‘Performance’
- Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:18am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
- Print »
- Email »
Anyone who saw Joaquin Phoenix’s jaw-dropping appearance on David Letterman’s show in 2009 hoped for the best and expected the worst: hoped that Phoenix was acting at least a little, and expecting that the Oscar-nominated actor had simply lost his marbles.
And for over a year conspiracy theories have outnumbered answers about the appearance and the mental state of the actor.
Now there’s an answer.
(But first, in case you forgot)
It was all a hoax. Or more specifically, it was all a publicity stunt.
In an interview with the New York Times, Casey Affleck (brother of Ben) admitted that his new movie, “I’m Still Here,” which he directed and starring the maybe-he’s-crazy-maybe-he’s-not Phoenix, was a “mockumentary,” satire, hoax.
“It’s a terrific performance, it’s the performance of his career,” Affleck said of Phoenix. He also added that he never meant for it to be a hoax (”The idea of a quote, hoax, unquote, never entered my mind.”), but never explained how he expected an actor living in character for over a year-and-a-half would not be considered such a thing.
The movie follows Phoenix from childhood (using fake home movies, save for one) to adulthood, where he gives up acting for a rap career and develops a drug addiction (among other things).
Phoenix has been silent about his Letterman appearance and his fake life. And Affleck clarified that Letterman was never in on the charade. More answers could be available next week, when Phoenix is slated to be on the show again on Wednesday. Will he be in “character” then?
“No, no, no,” Affleck said emphatically.
Comments (29)
Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In
Popular Stories
MSNBC Host Snaps in Heated Segment: ‘What in the World Is Riskier Than Being a Poor Person in America?’ 680 Comments
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 639 Comments
‘Jumah at the DNC’ Speaker: ‘Muslims Visited America Prior to Columbus’ & ‘It Was a Muslim’ Who Guided Him to the ‘New World’ 523 Comments
Obama: RNC Like Watching ‘Black-and-White TV’ Because Romney ‘Did Not Offer a Single New Idea’ 360 Comments
Have You Seen the Giant ‘Sand Obama’ Sculpture in Charlotte? 312 Comments
Faith
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 147 Comments- Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More
- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 187 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 146 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 300 Comments
Scathing New Ad Capitalizes on Rep. Ryan‘s ’Fading Obama Posters’ Remark 124 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 147 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
PA-Patriot
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 7:03pmZZZZZZZZZZZZ…….ZZZZZZZZZZZZ…….ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Wake me when something worth while happens. These stories are a waste of bandwidth.
Report Post »jcatlanta
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 1:26pmIs this fiction imitating life or life imitating fiction? Who cares!
Report Post »stephenb.net
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 3:54pmIt‘s who gives a rats ass imitating I don’t give a damn. To think that this putz its so full of himself that he chose to act like an idiot to stir up controversy and hype about him is really like watching some pitiful loon pour acid on her own face just to get the attention. Sad.
Report Post »Randyrocker
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 1:03pmMaybe this is where Craig Ferguson gets his ‘awkward pause’ routine; from this particular show.
Report Post »Lonescrapper
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 11:32amOnly it‘s not as funny because it’s too much like real life for an actor.
Report Post »BehindBlueEyes
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 11:18amThis guy is spaced out on drugs. Anyone wearing sunglasses in a studio is hiding something.
Report Post »sweetlaraine
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 10:42amWho cares……Only Dangling bags cares !
Report Post »calbino
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 9:04amIs this a spoof?
Report Post »printdesignchicago.com
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:53amyawwwwn…. typical. oh, and glenn? don‘t we have BETTER things to discuss here than actors ’faking it’?
Report Post »Joseph
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:52amGet a haircut and get a real job!
Report Post »moriarty70
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 10:05amHold on there. Consider for a second how much time an actor puts in on set on a typical day, usually around 10 hours at least. Now add on all the extra time they spend off set going over the work and figuring out how to play something, how to present something, all the thoughts that are never expressed but make up the human being. Now lets look at all the running around they do during promotion periods, east coast that morning, west coast that night, Europe the next day, Japan the next…
Maybe he should get a real job, punch in/punch out leave the job behind at the end of the day and sleep in the same bed every night.
The only reason I was willing to consider for a second that this whole thing was real was due to how long he’s been in the industry and what happened to his brother.
Report Post »Marylou7
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:34amThe Hollywood elite weirdos at it again. They should all stay in hiding and keep their mouths shut. Real life is something they just don’t crasp.
Report Post »Mike in WV
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:28amI thought this site was supposed to be a return to real journalism. This is National Enquirer material.
Report Post »scootydoo
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 9:24amVery true. The only reason I looked at the story was because I thought it was Benny Affleck and I think he is a tool and I was going to blast him. OH WELL, can‘t blast Benny so I might as well say something about I’MADEMADOUCHE. Your boyfriend posted on media matters that the tests came back and you are going to have Chris Matthews baby. Congrats.
Report Post »Sheepdog911
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:26amPhoenix never had any marbles to lose in the first place. Like most of Hollywood, he’s nothing more than a famous fool.
Report Post »GlennBeckIsADemagogue
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:24amI thought it was Glenn Beck in disguise, at first. But then I realized, it can’t be. He’s not crying or frothing at the mouth. I wonder how Glenn would have responded to the unabomber question.
Report Post »TheBeezKnow
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:24amWhen is California going to slide off?
Report Post »ppeltonen
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:22amWho cares.
Report Post »GlennBeckIsADemagogue
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:22amI thought it was Glenn Beck in disguise at first, but then I realized, no it can’t be. He isn‘t crying and he isn’t frothing at the mouth.
Report Post »JJMinor
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 11:11amYou try to hard. The frothing at the mouth part was overkill.
Report Post »BeckFan1941
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 3:47pmYou are so jealous of Beck. So sad. We will pray for you. Angry is not the way to live your life.
Report Post »Ming The Merciless
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 6:38pm@ GlennBeckIsADemagogue: Todd Schnitt from WFLA – is that you being all jealous of Glenn’s success?
Report Post »GlennBeckIsADemagogue
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:21amI thought it was Glenn Beck in disguise
Sheepdog911
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:27amDemagogue – please change you name to IMAMORON.
Report Post »anthony0713
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:43amHey, it’s that leftist guy again! You really don’t have a lot going on in your life do you? You seem to be the first to comment on every article I’ve read this morning… That couldn’t be a coincidence could it? Are you that blogger that sits around in his mom’s basement that Glenn is always talking about on his show?
Report Post »tobywil2
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:58amPersonal attack on Mr. Beck’s appearance and half-truths taken out of context will have little effect on the popularity of a man who has over three million viewers daily. Your purpose seems to be to destroy his popularity. To accomplish your purpose you will have to expose MR. Beck’s show content as false and his premises flawed. Your cheap shots only enrage his fans and destroy your own credibility.
http://commonsense21c.com/
Report Post »Max
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 9:07amI wish all of Hollyweird would just get into Sean Penn’s leaky boat and sail off to all the socialist countries they hold so dear.
Report Post »richard the lion-hearted
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 10:41amThere ya go thinking again ‘GlennBeckIsADemagogue’ and causing such uproarous laughter with my morning coffee. Thanks buddy keep up the blind ‘foot-in-mouth’ rantings, takes the edge off the seriousness.
Report Post »phoenixbetrayal
Posted on September 17, 2010 at 12:05pmwait..glenn beck doesn’t have a beard. and joaquin phoenix looks nothing like the stay puffed marshmallow man.
Report Post »