Joaquin Phoenix refuses to comment on failed Todd Haynes movie
At the Venice Film Festival on September 4th, Joaquin Phoenix refused to divulge in any detail why he recently abruptly quit a Todd Haynes movie days before it was set to start filming.
The untitled flick was set to be a queer romance film, but five days before shooting was scheduled to kick off in four days in Mexico, it was revealed that Phoenix had decided against going ahead with the project. By this stage, the ensemble cast and crew were ready to participate in the movie after the sets were constructed in Guadalajara.
While information about the movie remains limited, Haynes previously described the film in a conversation as a “love story between two men set in the ’30s that has explicit sexual content.”
The director told Variety how Phoenix was the instigator behind the movie, noting, “Joaquin was pushing it further into more dangerous territory, sexually.”
He also said: “The whole experience was prompted by Joaquin. It was prompted by his daring, his desire to push through barriers and to really get into the uncomfortable places about this relationship. And yet it felt like a very organic process.”
Therefore, considering Phoenix was the creative force behind the movie, his decision to jump ship at the last minute has led to much intrigue and speculation about his sudden change of heart.
Rather than recasting another actor in the lead role, the project has been cancelled, which has likely cost the production company millions of dollars that it can’t recoup.
After news broke of Phoenix’s departure, 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.”
“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.”
Now, for the first time, Phoenix has acknowledged leaving the movie but refused to be drawn into the specifics of the situation or clarify his reasoning.
Ahead of the premiere of Joker: Folie à Deux at Venice Film Festival, Phoenix told Screen International at a press conference: “If I do, I’ll just be sharing my opinion from my perspective, and the other creatives aren’t here to say their piece, and it just doesn’t feel like that would be right. I am not sure how that would be helpful. I don’t think I will.”
With Phoenix remaining tight-lipped, his decision is still a mystery, and the question is likely to follow him as he continues promoting Joker: Folie à Deux ahead of the movie’s release on October 4th.
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