14 DAY TRIAL // In January last year, Joaquin Phoenix confirmed ongoing rumors that he was, indeed, contemplating the idea of starting over as a rapper under P. Diddy’s guidance and thus putting his acting career on hold indefinitely. It was all just a hoax, it would seem, as he and director Casey Affleck spent the following year shooting for a mockumentary called “I’m Still Here,” E! Online says.
After Phoenix announced he would no longer make movies but music instead (a decision reportedly inspired by the success he had with “Walk the Line,” where he sung all of Johnny Cash’s songs featured in the film), he and Affleck started hitting the clubs, where one would perform, while the other would record on tape the entire thing. This is how rumors that this was a hoax began, since what the two were doing looked very much like what Sacha Baron Cohen had also done with his Borat and Bruno alter-egos.
Judging by the poster, this is exactly what happened. “I’m Still Here” may not be billed as a mockumentary, but as a documentary detailing the lost year when the actor tried to cut it as rapper, but this is what it is. Fans who find all this very intriguing and would pay money to see what Joaquin was up for an entire year while the media rambled about his exploits should know they don’t even have that much longer to wait: according to the first teaser poster, the film arrives in theaters in September this year. This also means more details are bound to emerge in the next couple of months.
“Right when we think we’ve quit the Joaquin Phoenix crazy train cold turkey, another shot of the actor’s beard, hair and sunglasses pop up and we’re back to square one. But this time it’s official. The studio behind I’m Still Here, the Casey Affleck-directed ‘documentary’ of Phoenix’s transition from actor to hip-hop joke star has released the film’s poster. Does this mean a billboard and bus bench ad onslaught is inevitable?” E! writes.
Right now, the only hope the film has at making a good buck at the box office is a successful promo campaign. Director Casey Affleck is targeted in two different lawsuits claiming harassment and assault, which will undoubtedly cast the film in a corner of shadow. Then, there’s also the question of what “I’m Still Here” is all about: in May, distributors were shown a screening of it and many were reportedly so grossed out that they refused to sit through it, let alone pick it up for release, as we also informed you at the time.
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