So I went and saw I'm Still Here.
Joaquin Phoenix, if it's a pure hoax, has to be the early favorite for Best Actor.
That being said, having seen it I don't think the truth value of this thing is truly put to rest. If you were the PR person for Joaquin putting it out there that the whole thing was a hoax and even spreading early seeds of doubt might have been a very shrewd way to provide a safety valve in the even that he gets his act together in the future and wants to work again. In the internet "everything-is-fake" era it's possible in my mind there is actually something of a double fake-out occurring here: that in some sense he had some level of a breakdown and they put it out there that he's perpetrating a hoax to cover that fact up.
Time will tell. Even if he's simply the greatest method actor of his generation (which after this would be essentially indisputable) I have difficulty believing that he will be unable to just completely shake the experience away. Method actors historically have hangover effects from their previous projects in their personal lives because of the intensity of the process. Joaquin will probably be no different.
Joaquin Phoenix, if it's a pure hoax, has to be the early favorite for Best Actor.
That being said, having seen it I don't think the truth value of this thing is truly put to rest. If you were the PR person for Joaquin putting it out there that the whole thing was a hoax and even spreading early seeds of doubt might have been a very shrewd way to provide a safety valve in the even that he gets his act together in the future and wants to work again. In the internet "everything-is-fake" era it's possible in my mind there is actually something of a double fake-out occurring here: that in some sense he had some level of a breakdown and they put it out there that he's perpetrating a hoax to cover that fact up.
Time will tell. Even if he's simply the greatest method actor of his generation (which after this would be essentially indisputable) I have difficulty believing that he will be unable to just completely shake the experience away. Method actors historically have hangover effects from their previous projects in their personal lives because of the intensity of the process. Joaquin will probably be no different.