Producer breaks silence on Joaquin Phoenix’s decision to quit Todd Haynes gay drama five days before filming begins
With just days left before the start of production, Joaquin Phoenix abruptly departed Todd Haynes’ upcoming queer romance film, which has thrown the project into a state of total disarray.
The Academy Award-winning actor has yet to clarify his reasons for upping sticks and leaving when cameras were so close to rolling, but speculation that the film’s graphic content dissuaded him doesn’t seem to hold much water when he was the originator of the story.
Phoenix took the idea to Haynes and the two of them worked on it together, with the filmmaker even revealing his leading man was pushing to take things in a more explicit direction. And yet, without a star in the lead, the short and long-term prognosis for the untitled feature isn’t looking good.
Once the news broke, Killer Films producer Christine Vachon shared a statement on social media in which she confirmed that “a version of this did happen” and that “it has been a nightmare.” She then sought to clarify that Phoenix was the driving force behind the movie, which made his departure hard to stomach.
“And PLEASE, if you are tempted to finger wag or admonish us that “that’s what you get for casting a straight actor – DON’T,” she wrote. “This was HIS project that he brought to US – and Killer’s record on working with LGBTQ actors/crew/directors speaks for itself. (And for those of you who HAVE – know that you are making a terrible situation even worse.”
While there was at least some optimism the film could be salvaged at short notice should Haynes find a replacement for Phoenix at the last second, that doesn’t appear to be the case. According to Deadline, the project is “completely dead”, leaving the rest of the cast and crew looking for their next job.
Vachon has been a regular collaborator of Haynes since his directorial debut Poison in 1991, working with the filmmaker on another five productions, including Velvet Goldmine, I’m Not There, and Carol. It’s a hammer blow for both of them for Phoenix to decide that he didn’t want to headline the movie after all, especially when it was the actor who served as its initial creative driving force.
Phoenix and his team have yet to make any comments, but with his next film—Todd Phillips’ hotly anticipated sequel Joker: Folie à Deux—premiering at the Venice Film Festival in a matter of weeks, he’s expected to be in attendance and will no doubt be posed questions on the situation.
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