American actor Joaquin Phoenix abruptly left the film he was working on with director Todd Haynes just 5 days before the start of filming.
According to a report by the specialized media Variety, the Oscar winner for “Joker” announced, through his team, that he was withdrawing from the gay romance-themed film that would be shot in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Regarding the reasons why the artist made this decision, sources close to the production mentioned to Variety that Phoenix would have been “cowardly” by the “intensity” of the film.
Joaquin Phoenix drops out of NC-17 gay romance film w/ Danny Ramirez just 5 days before filming after reportedly getting “cold feet.”
Directed by Todd Haynes (Carol, May December), it’s reported the film could lose seven figures as Phoenix can’t be recast. pic.twitter.com/4MvDZtdGKO
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 9, 2024
What happened to Joaquin Phoenix?
Prior to Joaquin’s departure, it had been revealed that the actor himself had brought the project to Haynes, responsible for great films such as “May December”, “Dark Waters” as well as the gay-themed film “Carol”.
After this first approach, the actor and director, as well as the screenwriter Jon Raymond, developed the story of the film, which does not have an official title yet, which would have as its central point the “love story between two men set in the 30s that has explicit sexual content.”
Given this, the theory that Phoenix left the project out of “fear” has lost validity among the actor’s fans and the general public. In fact, thanks to what Haynes mentioned in September of last year to Variety, it was revealed that the actor was “committed” to taking the story “even further, into more dangerous territory, on the sexual level.”
Phoenix’s departure, according to Variety, has created a number of consequences for the production. Firstly, and because the project was sold with the actor in the lead role to international distributors, the entire film could be in jeopardy because the actor cannot be recast.
Likewise, the technical team is on “pause” and without work, which could cause losses of more than $1 million dollars.
So far, and following the revelation of Phoenix’s departure, the actor, director or an official source from the production has spoken out on the matter.
Actress Rooney Mara’s current husband is expected to make a public appearance at the premiere of her latest film, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which will premiere at the upcoming Venice Film Festival, which will be held from August 28 this year.
The actor will then begin a promotional tour for his film, which could provide some kind of clarification regarding his departure from the project.
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