14 DAY TRIAL // When actor Joaquin Phoenix announced, a while back, that he would be retiring from acting to pursue a music career, many thought that this would be something similar to what Aussie and “Gladiator” co-star Russell Crowe also did, and that he would sing but continue to place the most emphasis on acting. As it turns out, this is not the case with Joaquin, who is now reportedly preparing to start his career as a rapper nonetheless.
Buzz in the industry has it that Joaquin will turn semi-gangsta under the guidance of Diddy/Sean Combs, who has been mentoring him and, it is believed, is also producing whatever tracks Joaquin has already laid down. An album is said to be coming our way any day now, since allegedly the now-ex-actor has been hard at work in the recording studio.
Moreover, Joaquin’s foray in the rap genre will also be documented on film, which means that, even if he does fail in this particular endeavor, he would still be getting plenty of time on the silver screen. The Hollywood Insider reports that Casey Affleck, brother of much more mediated Ben Affleck, has been contacted and agreed to follow Joaquin and Diddy wherever they may go, accompanied by a camera crew.
Shooting for the documentary is said to start as early as this weekend, when Joaquin will reportedly perform at some yet unnamed club in Las Vegas. Should that be the case, several sources point out, then it could be that the “Walk the Line” thespian fears a poor reception, since he (or his management team, or Diddy) failed to make the performance publicly known.
The idea to turn to signing and abandon acting came to Phoenix following the impressive reviews he got for his take on Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line.” All the tracks included on the award-winning film were performed by Joaquin and co-star Reese Witherspoon, respectively, with many saying that he, for one, did a job almost as fine as Cash himself. Nevertheless, fans can’t stop wondering, from Johnny Cash to rap there’s a huge step. Whether Joaquin actually took it, or plans to do so, remains to be seen, so stay tuned here.