Joaquin on Letterman
This is already the twelfth time you’ve seen this clip today, but here it is again:
(Note: This was the video of Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman. It is no longer there, because CBS does not cotton to people watching free advertising for their programs. And also, they are in charge of the Internet.)
Here’s one of 25 Random Things about Me that you might not know (and probably never would have if it weren’t for Joaquin Phoenix because chances are slim I’ll ever get around to writing that freaking list): I am a master of knowing the difference between realness and fakeness. For instance, I called bullshit on Donnie Davies the minute I saw it. That’s right, I’m smart. And also: this is totally fake. I was with Joaquin for the first half of this experiment. I thought, “it’s not necessarily that implausible that someone would quit acting, grow a crazy beard, and become a rapper.” But now, we can say with certainty that this is a hoax movie-in-progress, a la Borat, and Letterman is in on it. Trust me. This is bad improv.
For comparison, take a look at this clip from a few years ago:
People do not go from Tom Hanks to Gary Busey just because they’ve grown a beard. People who are so messed up on drugs that they can’t even get through an interview on Letterman do not go on Letterman, unless they are Gary Busey, who is an exception to every rule. Plus, Letterman would never allow this much dead space on his program if the celebrity was really making him uncomfortable. And he wouldn’t be this antagonistic with a major celebrity guest who clearly needed help. For all these reasons, I declare: BULLSHIT!
That doesn’t make it any less interesting, mind you. But when the movie or reality show comes out in a year and you’re all like, “wait, Joaquin Phoenix isn’t crazy now? My mind is blown!” I will be back here on my blog giving myself high fives for winning a contest in which there are no other competitors.
Also: this is the end of meta.
*cough*
Crispin Glover.
*cough*
Explain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALapHYNSmoA
There’s a decent article over at Chud about the whole Joaquin saga.
http://chud.com/articles/articles/18139/1/DEVIN-GOES-INSIDE-THE-JOAQUIN-PHOENIX-SHOW/Page1.html
That is not an explanation. That is a link to a video.
I think the explanation is that Crispin Glover pulled the same stunt on Letterman a couple decades ago — bizarre appearance widely suspected to be an act that Dave was in on. (Not to mention Andy Kaufmann on Carson before that.)
However, Crispin Glover has proven to be batshit-insane pretty consistently since then, which brings into question whether it was a hoax at all. In Phoenix’s case, he’s had Casey Affleck and a camera crew following for months making some mysterious “mockumentary,” so I think this falls safely in the ‘hoax’ category.
Yeah, I think there’s a pretty big chasm between Crispin Glover: professional weirdo (and total unknown at the time of the Letterman appearance) and Joaquin Phoenix: great actor. I don’t think Letterman would treat an A-list actor like Joaquin the same way he would treat a novelty act like Kaufman or Glover. If, for nothing else, his desire as an intelligent person to get to the bottom of what’s really going on. With Crispin Glover, I’m sure he said, “okay, this is shtick” … but I can’t imagine he wouldn’t say to Joaquin Phoenix, “what’s going on with you? It’s kind of worrisome.”
But, all that being said, I just have a gut instinct that this is all for a point that will be revealed in the eventual movie or reality show. I don’t even want to say it’s a hoax, because a hoax involves tricking people into believing in something that is not real. Like, I wouldn’t call Borat a hoax. This is all totally real, it’s just being done in the name of entertainment. My guess is that he’s making a movie that’s going to be a big fuck-you to our tabloid-culture. And I say: good on you, Joaquin. This is better than any movie you’ve done since Parenthood.