Controversial Joaquin Phoenix Doco Gets Picked Up
July 14th, 2010
Remember when Joaquin Phoenix grew a beard, shunned the limelight and declared he was quitting acting to become a rapper? Casey Affleck sure hopes you do: the acting and budding director is set to release a documentary about Phoenix – featuring plenty of sex, drugs and full-frontal nudity – in September.
Affleck, who is married to Joaquin’s sister Summer Phoenix, made his directing debut with the documentary “I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix“, which chronicles the time in 2008 when his brother-in-law was an “artist at a crossroads”.
Today, Magnolia Pictures bought the rights to the finished product.
After a private viewing of the documentary two months ago, a Los Angeles Times reporter said the film “[included] more male frontal nudity than you’d find in some gay porn films.”
The reviewer also said, “[He was] snorting cocaine, ordering call girls, having oral sex with a publicist, treating his assistants abusively and rapping badly.”
The movie is set for release September 10.
Eamonn Bowles, the president of Magnolia Pictures, said, “I came out feeling this was a pretty amazing piece of work, jaw dropping but dimensional. It is going to get a lot of attention.”