Going Britney, or Tom, or Something…
There comes a time in a celebrity's life when something strange happens. I'm not sure what the term is, but it just happened to Joaquin Phoenix. The star recently retired from acting to pursue a rap career. This video of Joaquin Phoenix’s appearance on the David Letterman Show Wednesday has made the rounds across the Interwebs, but you may have not seen his rap stylings below:
Tweet
Comments [42]
That was about the most
That was about the most painful tv interview I've ever seen. For anyone laughing who hasn't seen it, please watch it. There's nothing funny about it.
Lezbeth, you are very generous to Letterman. I guess he was as compassionate as he has the capacity to be. They should have cut the interview at the commercial. Joaquin was obviously distressed (he even articulated that) about being the butt of the joke with the audience laughing at him and Letterman egging them on. I hope he gets the help he needs especially in light of his family history.
I'm not saying you are
I'm not saying you are judging him Long. And I am not putting down actors or the people within hollywood. I am seeing his and other artists like him in this romance of wanting their art... and pushing their art and state of being.
It is a trainwreck...and we need to stop and look at the wheels and track in which this train is on. He and other artists like him walk away for a reason.
Consumed?
Why does this business consume and spit out artists like nothing?
Long, I'm not in the business. But I feel art and understand other artists. I do listen.
I don't listen to much of the crap shows that are all about the fame ...hollywood inside. I did when I was young and I stopped. It's soooo consuming. And it makes artists a product instead of a living breathing being.
If the artists become a product, their artwork is meaningless, it also becomes just a product.
I don't have to be in the business to understand and see that.
My heart goes out to Joaquin...and I hope he is able to let it go and release it in new art - and maybe make a difference in this world.
There would be not business
There would be not business without the 'art, which is why it's such an unholy alliance. When art and commerce collide look out!
That sounded much more
That sounded much more callous than was meant. I care about JP, the person, but I don't care if he grows a beard and wants to sing rap.
"Fight Prime Time. Read a Book"
Rover, I would love nothing
Rover,
I would love nothing more than to understand what you are talking about. I've tried, I really have.......but, I just don't get it.
Just let me say this okay? And, I am saying this with the understanding that my "inside" perspective is very different than yours, and this is not meant to be degrading or devaluing of your perspective.
Having been a part of the "Hollywood community" since I was a child, it is "home" to me. Whether it was watching my Father direct when I was a young, or playing on the back-lots during summertime.... my closeness to the "Hollywood community", has given me a completely different perspective on the "art", than the one you seem to find vociferously in need of protection.
Much to the dismay of many, the "Hollywood machine" is about business, and very few projects are fully driven by "art". It is indeed unfortunate that "art" has lost it's way as "entertainment" has become so profit driven....but that has happened as studios have become run by corporations and stockholders vs. those who are creatively driven.
The word "artist", in this industry, has become synonymous with individuals who find their way through their chosen craft, with unreasonable expectations..... and, unfortunately the need to summon attention through bizarre, and emotionally unstable behavior.
I've had friends who've committed suicide, been heavily involved in drugs and alcohol, going from relationship to relationship looking for love and comfort, etc..... all in the hopes of finding the love that "their art" could not provide..... I am saying this to you only as an example of the extreme emotions, and lack of stability, that so many bring to the craft of acting. By no means am I saying that all actors or actresses, fit this description....but, many do.
I can't help but feel sick in the pit of my stomach for this man, Joaquin ....... He's entering an arena not unlike the place his talented, yet emotionally tormented brother, spent a good portion of his young life. This, I know to be a fact. I worked with River.
Rover, I am not an actress. At this point in my life, my creativity and talent lives behind the camera. I've watched the train wrecks from a place of sanity....My contemporaries and I, watch in horror as so many, incredibly talented actors and actresses, self-destruct before our very eyes. Behavior like this is not "art" Rover, it's a momentary and sometimes desperate grasp for attention and the acknowledgment that they are "okay".....but, unfortunately so many times......they are not.
I am not judging him Rover. Whether this is a game he's playing, or his reality......I am simply looking at him from eyes that have seen this before.... it actually breaks my heart.
That generalization is what I
That generalization is what I am reading to his method. The industry and fame are not people, but components of the whole sha-neil.
He quit acting for a reason. He is an artist first and foremost and has decided to use the wheels of the industry and fame in order to put up a mirror, because he wants to change it from being this shallow entity that it grew into.
Why are you in "the biz"?
What has made you stayed in "the biz"?
What drives you in "the biz"?
Is it fame? Is it fortune? Is it the luxury?
Or is it because you have this undying love of acting and picking apart life to recreate it in a new light...and this unexplainable love affair with the process of creating?
Would you act for free if a role of a lifetime asked you to...and quit the paying job in order to do it?
Do you hate seeing your fellow co-workers get chewed up and spit out in the consuming of their being?
I've listen to Joaquin and others like him. Calling it cracking. But I see...
It's having it up to here *raises hand up to the throat* and doing what all artist do...
evoke contemplation for change.
you'n'me both sister + all
you'n'me both sister + all the people near'n'dear to my heart + all great artists, everywhere. even in hollywood.
Ya know what? My gut tells me
Ya know what? My gut tells me this is all a hoax. And we (including me) are all playing into it by getting into an argument about JP. Let's not fight just because of one Hollywood actor.
Still searching for the right brainy quote.
What do YOU mean, "With all
What do YOU mean, "With all expression comes a degree of exploitation?" What???? Minnie is baffled by this statement.
Still searching for the right brainy quote.
I would say it's Max's beard
I would say it's Max's beard on steroids, but that would be redundant, right?
Won't you be my neighbor? @theKELword
Um...I wasn't making it
Um...I wasn't making it personal. You stated that my '3 points mean nothing' to you, and the thrust of those three points was an expression of compassion, hence my comment.
"And I’m sorry the concept of
"And I’m sorry the concept of compassion means ‘nothing’ to you."
Excuse me. Excuse me...... WTF are you talking about? Please don't make this personal.......
This is fucking crazy, if you work in television and/or film production, side by side with actors and actresses 16 hours a day....as I do, you should understand exactly what I am talking about.
Our experiences are obviously diametrically opposed to each other.
Robyn- "I wouldn’t be
Robyn-
"I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out that this was all a big hoax and that ‘documentary’ is more Borat than Michael Moore." I've read that this is the case and if so, I think it's brilliant.
Here's an article about it: http://www.accesshollywood.com/is-joaquin-phoenixs-rap-career-a-prank_ar...
Guess what? I'm in the same
Guess what? I'm in the same industry...as are most of my friends.
And I'm sorry the concept of compassion means 'nothing' to you.
What are you so angry
What are you so angry about......
Mystic, your 3 points mean nothing to me. This is an industry that I am intensely involved in, I know exactly what I'm talking about Mystic. You certainly don't have to accept, or understand, my educated opinions, and obviously.... you don't.
I think it's real - mental
I think it's real - mental illness, drug habit and just not giving a dam about promoting a film ... (he's not the first actor on Letterman who is reluctant to promote the movie they're in or don't appear to know much about their own film).
Many Hollywood trainwrecks have had their downfall documented on camera by 'friends', 'family' and reality TV, so I don't know if we should read too much into that or just assume it's an act.
I agree about the usually
I agree about the usually knife-like Letterman (just ask John McCain) handling Joaquin so deftly. Didn't know he had it in him....
First of all, I don't see
First of all, I don't see either Casey or Joaquin as riding their older brothers' coattails--the simple fact of their birth order, not their relative talent, consigned them initially to their brothers' shadows.
Secondly, since when is it a sin or hypocrisy to despise aspects of a system within which one works? Many teachers loathe aspects of the educations system, politicians, the political system, lawyers, the legal system, and on and on. Perhaps he does not value the 'perks' and privileges and multi-million dollar paychecks. Perhaps it is the 'art' that he does it for, but the 'art' is too often lost or watered down.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, why is it pathetic to have guilt about achieving such a high level of success, whether it be financial or otherwise? It seems like a very human reaction that should elicit a very humane response, not derision. The old adage of walking a mile in someone else's shoes seems to apply here.
I really like Joaquin
I really like Joaquin Phoenix. Hope he is ok.
Smile...life is good!!!
LMAO...Max's beard.
LMAO...Max's beard. hahahahahahaha!!
Smile...life is good!!!
Rover, "The industry and fame
Rover,
"The industry and fame is shallow."........ That is a sweeping generalization, and I find it incredibly insulting to those of us who work in "the industry".
Thanks Erin...my close calls
Thanks Erin...my close calls with the edges of sanity make that state of mind all too familiar.
lezbeth, your compassion is
lezbeth, your compassion is stunning.
Rover, may I ask just what
Rover, may I ask just what "system" it is that he hates. If you are talking about the "Hollywood machine", that "system" has made him a multi-millionaire, and afforded him every possible privilege that the average person would be sickened by. On his projects he commands every perk possible, and he has achieved tremendous recognition from his peers.... So, if it's the Hollywood "system" that you are talking about..... he is a major player in the "system" he "hates".
That hypocrisy is generally a pathetic attempt to quell the guilt that so many actors feel when their "success" comes quick, and is tempered by a their lack of self worth.
One might think that he still may have issues dealing with the death of his older brother, River. Prior to Rivers passing, Joaquin's value as an actor was negligible. Too much, too soon, too easily? Could be.
I've heard that Casey Afflect is directing a feature film, documentary style, about Joaquin Phoenix. Casey is a good friend of Joaquins, and is documenting his "musical career".
So, I might suggest that the public is being manipulated by Joaquin, and his own personal...... "Hollywood machine".
*Interesting........two brother's, riding the coat tails of their brother's success.*
Interpret it however you want
Interpret it however you want Rover.
After having just seen the video I'm frankly baffled as to what he's doing and don't really care. He's obviously got some issues. Hope it all works out for him.
"Fight Prime Time. Read a Book"
Publicity stunt or an
Publicity stunt or an artistic expression?
Exploitive? Please
Exploitive? Please define.
Artists express using everything in there power to express. With all expression comes a degree of exploittation.
I'm not catholic. I found that movie to be riveting. But I also enjoy the omega code and The Left Behind series. But his movies are full of passion.
People know that already
People know that already Rover. Wouldn't it be rather presumptuous of him to assume he needs to do a publicity stunt to make that point?
"Fight Prime Time. Read a Book"
I think there is a method and
I think there is a method and a message. He is one of the actors that hates the system. He wants people to wake up. The industry and fame is shallow.
I'm thinking this is more
I'm thinking this is more like 'going Andy Kaufman.'
Methinks there is method is his madness...
If he was in my house, and
If he was in my house, and did that with his gum......... I'd kick his nasty little ass.
Hummmm......was he rapping to "Little Drummer Boy" ??
Or have cameras follow you
Or have cameras follow you around and make a documentary about yourself. Some of those celebrities are so goofy.
"Fight Prime Time. Read a Book"
Yeah, but you didn't go on
Yeah, but you didn't go on Letterman with your mid-life crisis.
Still searching for the right brainy quote.
I thought I recognized the
I thought I recognized the beard. Max or Joaquin, who's the trendsetter?
Wow, I'm so sad. It's one of
Wow, I'm so sad. It's one of those things where I think we're watching a train wreck (not the same kind as Erin wrote about). He's in serious trouble--whether it's drugs, booze, mental illness or all three. I sincerely hope he gets help.
That said, I thought David Letterman did a great job of playing with him (maybe snap him out of it with a little humor) and not slamming him down which could have happened. Letterman must have been given a heads up by the producers that this interview was going to be a mess.
Ya know, maybe he's having a
Ya know, maybe he's having a mid-life crisis. I had one and decided I was a lesbian. Maybe he decided he's a rapper.
Wow, he's fallen and he can't
Wow, he's fallen and he can't get up!
Is that Max's beard?
Won't you be my neighbor? @theKELword
If it's fake he needs to ask
If it's fake he needs to ask for a refund....
I was hoping Letterman would
I was hoping Letterman would tug on his beard to see if it was fake.
Still searching for the right brainy quote.
That sounds awfully
That sounds awfully narcissistic. This is when I usually decide never again to support a celebrity. I'll wait to see what his true motives are.
I haven't supported Mel Gibson since his expoitative "Passion of the Christ."
"Fight Prime Time. Read a Book"
He has a cameraman following
He has a cameraman following him around everywhere and has stated that they're making a documentary about his career change. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out that this was all a big hoax and that 'documentary' is more Borat than Michael Moore.
Yep that's definitely an
Yep that's definitely an unusual career change but hey, "Live and Let Live" I always say. Haven't seen the video yet, but in the picture he looks like one of the Blues Brothers.
Oh well, good luck to him.
Not a rap fan myself unless it's Eminem so I wouldn't listen to it anyway.
"Fight Prime Time. Read a Book"