Joaquin Phoenix has been getting photographed every few months in LA this year. He’s not working, but he seems to be keeping busy, taking martial arts classes and picking up cigarettes and energy drinks. Whenever I see pap photos of him, he seems to be doing well enough. But he hasn’t worked in more than a year. His last film was Woody Allen’s Irrational Man, which filmed in the summer of 2014. While Joaquin has flirted with signing on to some big projects – like Doctor Strange, which Marvel really wanted – nothing has really happened. And now Star Magazine says that Joaquin’s finances are in shambles and he needs to stop being so picky and/or shady.
Joaquin Phoenix is in talks to play Jesus in a new movie, but he needs divine intervention to turn around his finances!
“Joaquin needs to make $5 million a year to support his lifestyle, and so far this year he’s made zero,” an insider says, explaining that his attitude has so far cost him Jared Leto’s role in Suicide Squad, Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman and even the lead in the Doctor Strange flick out this November.
“Getting him to sign on the dotted line is a nightmare,” says an industry insider. “He’ll drag out the salary negotiations for months, which holds up production and costs the studios more money in the end.”
Not he’s hoping to get back in the black by playing the son of God in a Mary Magdalene flick costarring Rooney Mara.
“Joaquin is confident he’ll get the part, but it’s not a done deal,” tattles the friend. “If he starts insisting on things like a feng-shui’d trailer and an on-call vegan chef plus an insane $15 million paycheck, he’s going to lose this role too. And that could mean he’ll be completely out of money by the end of the year.”
[From Star Magazine, print edition]
I never really think of Joaquin as a demanding diva or a money-strapped spendthrift. Is he temperamental? Sure. Does he believe his indie street cred would be damaged by taking roles in comic book movies? Probably. But is he the guy who blows through $5 million a year? Eh. Is he the guy who spends months arguing for bigger and bigger paychecks? Eh. My guess is that Joaquin argues for more money on films he really doesn’t want to do. Also: while the Doctor Strange thing has been verified, I didn’t know Joaquin was up for the Joker and Lex Luthor. Did he really say no to all three parts? Yikes. He would have been a much better and creepier Joker than Jared Leto.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
What type of lifestyle is Joaquin leading that he needs $5 million a year to support it? He certainly is not spending money on clothes, jewelry or personal grooming.
And that car has seen better days
Maybe his mom has him supporting a whole grip of freeloaders at their Florida compound like she had River doing when he was alive.
^^^This!
Personal Grooming,What do you mean? He spent $500 on that haircut and $1000 on that outfit.Did you see his shoes?
LMAO
I don’t know that he is a diva, but with that whole “documentary” he did, I can believe he may not be the most stable, easy person to work with.
The only things I have seen suggest he is well liked on set. He is ‘Method Man’ but he seems to be very professional and more fun than might be expected. I think he only becomes a pain when dealing with the other parts of the job and then he seems to be frustrating rather than nasty; I certainly haven’t seen the sort of comments that are aimed at Tom Hardy.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he was demanding a lot of money to make people go away. That was why Steve McQueen did it and he also demanded that lots of pairs of jeans be supplied, people assumed that he was really mean, but he gave the jeans to the boys home where he grew up.
I loved him up until he did that ridiculous homeless art/attention needing stunt.
Shia LeBeouf is Joaquin Phoenix 2.0
I studiously avoid movies with both, so I encourage JP to continue his break.
I have a soft spot for Joaquin namely because I was in love with his brother River for years. Joaquin used to be Leaf, and he was a part of a big hippie family, who lived in cults and on farms and were street musicians and missionaries in places like Belize. But something happened along the way, fame maybe, and the Phoenix family became Los Angeles stereotypes. I kind of buy what is written in this article. He looks terrible, like he isn’t taking care of himself. He is a talented guy, but he is also nuts, and wouldn’t doubt that executives in the movie business only put up with so much of his crap. He doesn’t make blockbusters, which is fine, but in Hollywood it is all about the Benjamins.
Glad someone else said this first. Because this is IMO Joaquin’s biggest draw, we were in love with his brother.
Though honestly Heath Ledger reminded me more of River than Joaquin does.
That’s an interesting perspective that I have to disagree with. Of course we all know that Joaquin is River’s brother, but I’ve always seen them as two completely separate entities professionally. I really like Joaquin, and its never been because of River. And River will always and forever be my #1 celebrity crush.
I also do not believe that Joaquin is in any sort of financial dire straits.
Moi, fair enough. They are very different and Joaquin certainly has his own accomplishments and fans, bit I personally have followed hus career more than I would have if it weren’t for nostalgic affection for his brother.
One of the best actors in Hollywood. People screaming about Leo deserving an Oscar because he is Leo, Joaquin has actually been the one that has deserved one for a longtime now but is constantly ignored. He should have won it for the Master.
He really is fantastically compelling in every single role. One of my favorites, despite the documentary shenanigans.
Casey Affleck hasn’t been great to the Phoenix family.
I thought he deserved one for Walk the Line.
All the Phoenix kids speak so reverently of their mother. It makes me uncomfortable. They seem enmeshed in an unhealthy way. And she has expressed some far out ideas. After they left the cult, she was still talking about LSD as a gift from God – when her kids were still little. She’s now married to a much younger man and there’s something… off about what she expresses publicly about their shared beliefs.
I bring this up only because the kids all seem fairly miserable, Joaquin in particular. He is wicked talented, but still seems psychologically under his mom’s thumb. He’s mentioned how he treats anxiety by chain-smoking. And man, his NPR interview with the fabulous Terry Gross was so childish and disrespectful. Like he’s trying to be all indy counter-cultural by acting the contrarian to everything. It makes me sad.
I’ve never forgotten the sound of his voice on River’s 911 tapes. I wish I never heard them. Both deserved the dignity of privacy in an awful moment. He was so young to witness that terrible trauma. I hope Joaquin finds peace.
I’ve always felt that he was a very sad and lonely person……..always.
Some chick who hooked up with him during Ladder 49 said that he was still hung over by the news of his brother’s death and never got over it. So he was a huge drunk and etc. 🙁 Makes me sad for Joaquin, I’m a huge fan of him as an actor/animal activist and hope that he’s fine.
Yeah I don’t believe this, it’s not like he hasn’t worked for years. And I agree he would have made such a better joker than Leto – the movie isn’t even out yet and I’m already over him.
Not really buying this. While I could see him not being financially responsible, 5 million a year could come from other sources besides direct payment from performing. I bet he considers comic book movies beneath his talents, and he’d be right. But oh the money!
It seems to me this “insider” is leaking (i.e. leveraging ) to pressure Joaquin in signing the Magdeline movie.
This.
Probably true. And although I love Joaquin and miss him on my screen…do we really need another brunette white actor with blue eyes playing Jesus?!
Is he still dating the barely legal DJ? That was more embarrassing than potential financial problems (which, by the way, i don’t believe he has).
Nope, he must’ve realized that and dumped her almost 2 years ago. His current GF is nearly 30 yo. Huge progress 😉
nearly 30. wow! for a woman in los angeles, that’s like nearly 50. who is she? i’ve seen him rumoured with a few women, but nothing looked legit.
Her name is Fiona and she’s a French director/photographer. She’s friends with Antony Langdon’s wife (also a Frenchie) and that’s probably how she met Joaquin. They’ve been dating on and off for the past 1,5 years.
If this is true, can someone please tell me how to do it? I don’t want to work and I want to spend $5 million a year.
I don’t believe this story at all. The guy is not known to rent out yachts or million dollar summer homes. Hell look at his car. I don’t believe Star, they need more people.
I remember seeing his face in Gladiator and thinking he was the most beautiful man alive
You said it. I think the reason why he said no to joker, Lex and strange was because he does not want to do super hero movies. He’s not about that. But that does suck that he was offered three roles all of which were based on comics. Who’s this guy’s agent? Clearly that’s not what he wants to do! Him playing jesus would be cool to see. But honestly asking for 15 mil isn’t really that far fetched.
More info from the ex: Joaquin LOVES nose candy and pot! He used be the connect when Joaquin was doing that silly doc with Casey Affleck. Michael Stipe loves pot too.
I just moved from Manhattan back to Austin, and it was known in NYC that Joaquin loves the ladies. The word used to describe him was manwhore I believe. I thought that was so funny. Who cares. I don’t agree with nose candy, but do people really still feel that smoking weed is some sort of a scandal?
No scandal, but maybe it helps explain how he spends his money?
If he spends millions on weed ,he needs to contact my cousin,Daryl.He will hook him up at a fraction of that price.
@GingerNYC
Pot really isn’t that expensive. Unless he was buying it for friends and being EXTREMELY generous, I can’t see a famous actor like Joaquin going bankrupt because of it.
Nope the pot is no scandal, but the money he spent on it was crazy.
A lot of people like pot. It is common and now legal on most of the West Coast. Pot isn’t a scandal for gods sake. Also, have you ever bought pot, it really isn’t that expensive lol.
Uh yeah, I get it for chronic pain and it aint cheap for the good stuff
Money issues due to buying pot? No. Having a cocaine addiction and the effects of that, yes possibly. If he does have a problem with it. And there is no proof of that. All heresay, just like what was said about him to me in NYC.
Hey, there’s some really good weed in NYC and not all of it comes cheap! Not that I have any personal experience with that or anything 😉
There’s good weed everywhere. I’m not even a pot smoker. But only due to not being a functional one. Its just not a big deal to me. I have friends that do smoke, so I do have knowledge on how much it costs. Buying weed, whether the best kind or not the best, would never cause a millionaire to go bankrupt. Let’s be real here. I would have to see that actually happen to believe it.
Oh I know and the delivery services with the Disney characters on the bottles were my favorite.
Star is not known for it’s reliability.
If Star isn’t believable I don’t know what is!
I have to disagree that he would’ve made a good Joker or Lex Luthor. Of course the Lex he would’ve done would’ve been better than the actor they got.
As for the financial issues, I can believe it.
I think he’s a hippie how looks like a hobo and dresses in slouchy shirts but I also think that he’s an eccentric and Hollywood eccentricities cost a lot and he has a bunch of sisters and her mom to look after. I don’t think he burns $5million a year but a doubt he commands salaries for more than $3million for studio movies and he doesn’t work in a lot of those, he mainly goes for indies that doesn’t pay much even thought the prestige and awards attention. So of course I doubt this report, also the source is not reliable at all
He’s so damned talented. Get your shit together son!
I think something happened in that family. The cult they were in, weren’t there rumors of pedophilia? I think that – the whole way he was raised – combined with watching his brother die has deeply affected him
So talented and hot, no matter how crazy or down and out looking. I’d hit it.