You knew it was coming. Well, I knew it was coming. As soon as I saw that some poor studio was actually going to take the time, money and effort to promote Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck’s idiotic “performance art” documentary I’m Still Here, I knew that we would be seeing trailers and clips and a real push to get people to see this turd. At the end of Casey and Joaquin’s long journey, I’ve come to conclusion that Joaquin was absolutely faking the whole thing. And that makes me think he’s an a–hole. See if you can get through this trailer without having your eyes roll out of their sockets:
New Agey speech/voice-over about how we are all unique droplets of water? Check. Mangy, tick-infested beard? Check. Brutal life-altering realizations in the back of a limo? Check. The necessary scary music, emphasizing how “alone” one celebrity is when he’s having his photo taken? Check. Pregnant-man gut? Check. Vague night-vision homo-eroticism? Check. Soul-crushing narcissism? Check. Ugh. This is how one of the best young actors in Hollywood pisses away his talent and the goodwill of many, many people.
Poster courtesy of Daemon’s Movies.
Grim.
Seriously?
For some reason, the pic of him standing next to Goopy is hilarious. She probably saw this as her good deed for the day, standing next to the guy who looks like a homeless person. “Look everyone, I’m not afraid of fleas.”
I still have hopes that once this mockumentary (?) is over and done with, he will return to making movies.
This looks horrific.
….But I’ll see it. I might be alone in this but Joaquin looks really damn sexy with that beard.
He was so not talented or cool enough to be able to pull this off. Andy Kaufman or Jim Carrey or Zach Galifianakis could’ve done this and everyone probably would’ve been like “oh, haha, nice one”. But he does this and looks like a huge egotistic asshole. Nice one, Joaquin.
I was one of those who thought it was a joke/hoax from the get-go.
and I think that Phoenix and Affleck thought they’d be able to fool MOST people, when in fact MOST people saw right through their charade.
I’ll watch it when it comes on cable, for the car-crash factor, but I will NOT pay to see this.
Pretentious fucks.
Yeah, this always stank of a hoax. I mean, I give the guy credit for looking that disgusting and acting like a freak for an entire year to make it happen, but uh, what’s the point? I mean, is this supposed to be funny? Tragic? Epic? Life-altering? I dunno, just seems like a huge waste of time and talent. I don’t care much for Casey Affleck, but I always loved Joaquin and yeah, just a waste.
@Wench – I’m so with you. I love Joaquin so much. mmmmm. I’ll see it!!
And, I’d hit it, fo shizzle!!
It looks like his performance in Two Lovers… with a beard. The shenanigans of Casey Affleck during this misadventure sound like the real story here though. A couple guys and too much time, money and drugs. Off the rails and to no obviously worthwhile artistic destination. A wasted year!
This looks like a mess but I will still see it when it comes out on DVD of course.
“This is how one of the best young actors in Hollywood pisses away his talent and the goodwill of many, many people.”
Very nicely put Kaiser.
I totally agree. He is an excellent actor (To Die For/Walk the Line/Gladiator). But this is a bloody sham, and is sad and pathetic that he would be anything but grateful for A) his talents and B) the help he has gotten from everyone along the way. Personally I think losing the oscar sent him over the edge for a bit, and he then felt sorry for himself that no one came running, and then he had to show us by forcing it in our faces. But that’s just me.
I am insulted.
no one is getting it. He simply wanted to self destruct. That was the whole idea. He had everything and he wanted to see what it was like to give it all up.
All the fame, possessions, money, love and work. That is the only way he could find some sort of truth and real meaning. I’m jealous, we all hang on to our so called life out of fear and he was able to say what the f.
About 40 seconds in – is he pregnant?!
Georgeyfan: “He simply wanted to self destruct.” …and have the cameras around to film it?
Yeah, I applaud Joaquin for being A Mountain Water Drop and for deciding to escape the ocean. But by making a movie about it, he hasn’t actually given it all up, has he? He’s possibly more notorious now because of his behaviour in this documentary than ever!
And honestly, if this is a hoax, then it’s just not funny enough.
“no one is getting it. He simply wanted to self destruct. That was the whole idea. He had everything and he wanted to see what it was like to give it all up.”
yeah, except that the original idea for this “documentary” was that he was giving up ACTING (not his fame, possessions or money) to embark on a rap career…when people didn’t buy that (obvious) ploy, that’s when it became about having a “lost” year, to find “truth and meaning”.
believe me, we all “get it”. “IT” being a poor attempt at Kaufmanesque performance art that nobody fell for.
EDIT: “But by making a movie about it, he hasn’t actually given it all up, has he?”
good point, Lenore.
I’m not sure if I’ll see it, and I took his whole “journey” as a long piece of performance art from the beginning as well–but I don’t hate that he did it. It seemed like an experiment to me, and I see it as just another role, albeit one he wrote himself and that many people may not like, respect, or enjoy. I’ll definitely see him in any work he does in the future, and I don’t think this detracted from his talent at all. As a former fan, I’m not insulted, and I’m still a fan, although maybe not of this particular piece of his body of work. It’s interesting and I’m sure there’s a statement in there somewhere. Having the guts to make so many people disgusted with him is a pretty ballsy move, and I think it’s one that a true artist is not afraid to make. I admire him for that much, at least. I’ll reserve judgement on the actual film until I’ve seen it (if I do…).
@ georgeyfan – “WE all” do not hang onto our lives out of fear- some might, but to generalize like that is ridiculous. if thats your deal, own it. dont make it a problem of the masses with only Joaquin being brave enough to do something about it. the clip is insulting enough without you adding to it.
I can only feel sorry for Gwineth in that picture. She is like: “Oh God people i’m so sorry. Please forgive me for this dude next to me. He is high. It’s not my fault. They made me to stand here”.
Gwennie has the most hilarious look on her face in the pic. Like, “I will try to look nice as I stand next to this a-hole.” She knows it.
What a bunch of pretentious BS.
MAJOR lame
wtf…is this like ‘8 mile’ for wanabee artsy dweebs?!
boo. 🙁
Great tribute to his brother, his peers and the profession he earns his living in.
Oh, but sounds like Casey had fun, according to the lawsuits.
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However, whenever I am having an over-the-top bad day, I play his David Letterman interview which was hysfuckingterical. Letterman was classic.
I knew deep down that Joaquin had to be playing a dirty joke on us all. It just seems a bit extreme even for him.