Phoenix 'Breakdown' More Like a Put-On

(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»

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»

Another stunt?

(NEWSER) - Security guards hauled off neo-rapper Joaquin Phoenix early this morning after he leaped from the stage during a Miami Beach concert to confront a heckler, reports AP. The increasingly bizarre actor appeared in a disheveled suit to mutter mostly unintelligible lyrics after appearing four hours late to the concert. Suddenly he zinged an obscene insult at the heckler and leaped on him. Fans are still puzzling whether Phoenix's continuing wacky behavior is part of an elaborate hoax or a sign of drug or mental problems. 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»

Gray echoes comments from last month

(NEWSER) - If Joaquin Phoenix’s transition to rapping is a hoax “then it’s the most elaborate thing that I have ever seen,” Two Lovers director James Gray tells the Times of London, citing the actor’s in-home recording studio and constant claims of being “tired” on-set as proof. But either way, Gray isn’t happy about Joaquin’s halfhearted marketing for Lovers, calling him “a crazy person with a beard making a fool of himself.” More»