Casey Affleck is finally confirming your suspicions.
Joaquin Phoenix was just putting on an act for I’M STILL HERE. Affleck told the NY Times, “It’s a terrific performance, it’s the performance of his career.” He also added that Phoenix put his life on the line to immerse himself in a bit of “gonzo filmmaking” modeled after the reality-bending journalism of Hunter S. Thompson.
Last week the critics got their hands on the film and didn’t necessarily shower it with the greatest of reviews. Our frequent critic, Chris Bumbray gave the film a decent enough review (7/10). Then there were others like Roger Ebert, who weren’t as kind. He said that the film was, “a sad and painful documentary that serves little useful purpose other than to pound another nail into the coffin.” He may not have said such a thing if he knew that the documentary was in fact all a hoax.
“The reviews were so angry,” said Affleck. None of them knew what was real about the film. The opening shots of the film weren’t even a reality. Some actors were shot in Hawaii, then it was run back and forth over a videocassette recording of “Paris, Texas” to degrade the images.
Remember the odd interview Phoenix did last year on Letterman? Affleck claims that Letterman was never in on the joke. The director wanted, “audiences to experience the film’s narrative, about the disintegration of celebrity, without the clutter of preconceived notions.”
But a “hoax” was never planned, “I never intended to trick anybody. The idea of a quote, hoax, unquote, never entered my mind.”