ALBAWABA - Joaquin Phoenix won't address his most recent problem until he has notified the relevant parties.
The Oscar winner finally spoke out on Wednesday about the controversy surrounding her recent departure from a homosexual drama film days before production was to begin, which made headlines last month. Todd Haynes directed the project.
"It just doesn't feel right," he remarked at the Venice International Film Festival in Italy, adding that he would only be offering his perspective and that the other creatives weren't there to provide their thoughts. In my opinion, that wouldn't be that useful. Therefore, I am highly unlikely to do so.
Director Todd Phillips and co-star Lady Gaga joined Phoenix at the press conference for "Joker: Folie à Deux" when he revealed some fascinating insights about his training for the Joker in the upcoming sequel.
Fans of the untitled Haynes film, which follows a Native American and a corrupt police officer as they escape 1930s Los Angeles for Mexico, are understandably puzzled by Phoenix's abrupt exit from the picture.
Production workers had already arrived in Guadalajara, and they cast Danny Ramirez, who starred in "Top Gun: Maverick" in 2022, as Phoenix's romantic interest. However, the project has stalled indefinitely, with no apparent plans to replace Phoenix.
A Haynes official informed Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday that the filmmaker "will not be able to comment" about Phoenix's comments in Italy. In August, however, producer Christine Vachon responded bluntly to his sudden departure.
According to Vachon, whose firm has produced all of Haynes' feature pictures, the director "was HIS project that he brought to the US" before deciding against producing Phoenix. This made Vachon seem especially irritated with Haynes. According to a source close to the production, Phoenix had "cold feet" during filming.
In an interview last year, the actor confessed that he was "terrified" of playing the part of Commodus in the 2000 film "Gladiator."
"I'd obviously been acting since I was a kid," Phoenix said on CinemaBlend's "ReelBlend" podcast back then. I'd never been in a big show before. And when I got to the 'Gladiator' set, I felt very sick. I was trembling.
Phoenix received an Oscar nomination for that performance, but his first Oscar wouldn't come until 2020, when he starred in "Joker," the prequel to "Folie à Deux."
