Jump to content

I'm Still Here (2010 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Bobzchemist (talk | contribs) at 02:14, 21 September 2010 (Reverted edit by 125.255.64.18 identified as vandalism using |STiki). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

I'm Still Here
Directed byCasey Affleck
Written byCasey Affleck
Joaquin Phoenix
Produced byCasey Affleck
Joaquin Phoenix
Amanda White
StarringJoaquin Phoenix
CinematographyCasey Affleck
Magdalena Gorka
Edited byCasey Affleck
Dody Dorn
Production
company
They Are Going to Kill Us Productions
Distributed byMagnolia Pictures
Release dates
  • September 6, 2010 (2010-09-06) (Venice Film Festival)
  • September 10, 2010 (2010-09-10) (United States)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Box office$96,658

I'm Still Here is a 2010 mockumentary[1] film directed by Casey Affleck, and written by Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix. The film purports to follow the life of Phoenix, from the announcement of his retirement from acting, through his transition into a career as a hip hop artist.[2] Filming officially began on January 16, 2009 at a Las Vegas nightclub.[3] Throughout the filming period, Phoenix remained in character for public appearances, giving many the impression that he was genuinely pursuing a new career.

The film premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival on September 6, 2010.[4] It had a limited release in the United States on September 10, 2010 before being expanded to a wide release a week later on September 17.[5] Although widely suspected to be a "mockumentary", the fact that the events of the film had been deliberately staged was not disclosed until after the film had been released.[1]

Development

After announcing his retirement from acting in order to focus on his music career in late 2008,[6][7][8] Phoenix's friend and brother-in-law Casey Affleck began filming the documentary that followed Phoenix as he moved to a career making hip-hop music while managed by rap icon Sean "Diddy" Combs.[9] Shortly after making his rap debut in mid-January 2009,[10] Phoenix made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman to promote his film Two Lovers. During the show, Phoenix seemed incoherent and was largely unresponsive towards David Letterman's questions about the film and his acting career. When the audience laughed at his hip-hop aspirations, he complained to Letterman that he was being serious.[11][12] Many rumors circulated that everything was an elaborate hoax, to which Phoenix stated "This is not a joke. Might I be ridiculous? Might my career in music be laughable? Yeah, that's possible, but that's certainly not my intention."[13] One of Letterman's writers, Bill Scheft, would later say that Letterman was in on the joke during the interview.[14] Audience members who attended the taping of the interview claimed they saw Phoenix out-of-character during breaks and waved to the audience after taping.[citation needed]

In May 2010, the film was shown to potential buyers. The Los Angeles Times reported that the film featured "more male frontal nudity than you’d find in some gay porn films and a stomach-turning sequence in which someone feuding with Phoenix defecates on the actor while he’s asleep". Also, the film is said to depict Phoenix "snorting cocaine, ordering call girls, having oral sex with a publicist, treating his assistants abusively and rapping badly." Reportedly film buyers, after seeing it, were still uncertain whether it was a serious documentary or a mockumentary.[15]

Tie to rock band Spacehog

In the film, Spacehog guitarist Antony Langdon, who was one of Phoenix's assistants as well as a musical partner,[16] had a falling-out with the actor during the documentary's filming and is shown defecating on the troubled actor in retaliation for an earlier argument. In an earlier part of the film, there is a similarly shocking scene involving Langdon getting out of the shower. Langdon's time in Spacehog is not mentioned in the film, but a clip of the band performing on television is shown. Singer and bassist Royston Langdon is also credited for one of the film's songs. [17][18]

Reception

Upon its release I'm Still Here had a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[19] Critics were divided on whether to interpret the film as documentary or performance art.[20][21][22] Roger Ebert wrote the following:

A mind is a terrible thing to waste. The tragedy of Joaquin Phoenix's self-destruction has been made into "I'm Still Here," a sad and painful documentary that serves little useful purpose other than to pound another nail into the coffin. Here is a gifted actor who apparently by his own decision has brought desolation upon his head. He was serious when he said he would never act again. He was serious when he announced a career as a hip hop artist. He wasn't goofing when he was on the Letterman show. He was flying into pieces.

[...]

All of this is true. At least we must assume it is. If this film turns out to still be part of an elaborate hoax, I'm going to be seriously pissed. Actually, there are subtle signs it might be.

Ultimately, according to Affleck, the "documentary" wasn't real. Many had already speculated the entire stunt was a hoax.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b "Affleck Says Phoenix Doucmentary Wasn't Real", New York Times, Sept. 17, 2010
  2. ^ "I'm Still Here". Magnolia Pictures. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  3. ^ Kit, Borys (January 16, 2009). "Casey Affleck helming Joaquin Phoenix doc". The Hollywood Reporter. e5 Global Media. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  4. ^ "La Biennale di Venezia - I'm Still Here". Venice Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 27, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Fleming, Mike (July 14, 2010). "Magnolia Will Platform Joaquin Phoenix Mockumentary By Casey Affleck Sept. 10". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  6. ^ "The Associated Press: Joaquin Phoenix confirms he's done with movies". Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  7. ^ "Joaquin Phoenix Calls It a Career? - E! Online". Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  8. ^ Warner Bros. Online (2010-09-02). "Joaquin Phoenix: Leaving the Silver Screen? | Extra". Extratv.warnerbros.com. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  9. ^ Casey Affleck (2010-09-02). "Casey Affleck Joaquins the Line With Phoenix Doc". E! Online. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  10. ^ Kreps, Daniel (2010-09-02). "Joaquin Phoenix's Next Big Role: Rapper (Co-Signed by Diddy?)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  11. ^ Thomson, Katherine. (2009-2-11), Joaquin Phoenix's Bizarre Letterman Appearance: (VIDEO), The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2009-2-11.
  12. ^ Ryan, Maureen. (2009-2-11), Weird star alert: Joaquin Phoenix mystifies David Letterman, Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-2-12.
  13. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  14. ^ Powers, Lindsay (2010-09-17). "Letterman knew Joaquin Phoenix was faking: writer". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
  15. ^ John Horn (2010-09-02). "Joaquin Phoenix documentary: Even buyers aren't sure if it's a prank : Los Angeless Times: 24 Frames". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  16. ^ Joaquin Phoenix Quits Acting to Pursue Music
  17. ^ "Joaquin Phoenix movie turns Spacehog guitarist into exhibitionist". ShortFormBlog.
  18. ^ "Is That the Guitarist From Spacehog Pooping on Joaquin Phoenix?". New York Magazine.
  19. ^ "I'm Still Here Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  20. ^ Robinson, Tasha. "I'm Still Here | Film | Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  21. ^ Turan, Kenneth (2010-09-10). "Joaquin Phoenix, 'Still Here' (But Not All There?)". NPR. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  22. ^ Campbell, Christopher (2010-09-08). "Review: I'm Still Here - The Moviefone Blog". Cinematical.com. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  23. ^ "Director Casey Affleck Confirms Joaquin Phoenix 'Documentary' Isn't Real" from Yahoo! News
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=I%27m_Still_Here_(2010_film)&oldid=386029744"