Joaquin a 'Crazy Person With a Beard': Director

Actor-turned-rapper says he has made his last film

(NEWSER) - Actor Joaquin Phoenix insists he really has quit Hollywood for hip-hop, AP reports. He’s made his last movie and is busy recording rap tracks in his home studio, said the star. Rumors that the career change was actually an elaborate practical joke swirled after video emerged of Phoenix rapping almost inaudibly and falling off a stage in a Vegas club. More»

(NEWSER) - Joaquin Phoenix really is a struggling rap artist, a rep tells MTV. “The transition from one career to another is never seamless,” the actor’s publicist says. “He intends on exploring his musical interests despite speculative, negative, or positive reactions.” The statement is in direct contrast to rumors that Phoenix and brother-in-law Casey Affleck are staging the meltdown as an elaborate media hoax. More»

Phoenix' rap career might just be a show

(NEWSER) - Joaquin Phoenix's transformation from Oscar-nominated actor to bumbling rapper may be a prank meant to satirize media coverage of pompous actors, Entertainment Weekly reports. “He said, ‘It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey [Affleck] is going to film it,’” a source close to the actor said. More»

Letterman sure to have a heyday when Joaquin returns

(NEWSER) - Hollywood is not happy with Casey Affleck . He and Joaquin Phoenix “will have a lot of explaining to do in the coming days,” writes Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times . Affleck finally admitted his Phoenix “documentary” was actually a hoax (not that he himself would use that word, of course), but no one in Tinseltown is laughing. Adding insult to injury, Affleck “failed in the most obvious way,” Goldstein writes: “Very few people have bothered to see the film.” More»

Actor confesses career change in impromptu interview

(NEWSER) - Is Joaquin Phoenix bowing out of show biz? "I want to take this opportunity (to) just talk a little bit about the fact that this will be my last performance as an actor. I'm not doing films anymore," the two-time Oscar nominee told Extra unexpectedly at Monday night's Paul Newman benefit. More»