CaseyAffleck Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Cinematical Seven: Famous Hollywood Hoaxes
Filed under: RumorMonger », Fandom », Cinematical Seven »
If you are the type of person who believes what you are told, then the release of James Gray's Two Lovers is probably your last chance to see Joaquin Phoenix 'the actor' before he takes the hip-hop world by storm -- but that's only if you believe what you've been told. For every person who is convinced that Mr. Phoenix has gone around the bend (and you can't blame them with footage like this floating around), you will find another person who thinks that the whole thing is a big hoax...and it wouldn't be the first time we've been taken for a ride by a celebrity. But until Casey Affleck releases that 'documentary' of his, we won't know for sure, and I decided it might be worthwhile to look at other Tinseltown hoaxes to remind us that you can't always believe what you read -- especially in Hollywood.
1. Stanley Kubrick Fakes the Moon Landing
It's been a popular conspiracy theory that the director provided most of the footage for the Apollo 11 and 12 Moon landings; and as the story goes, Kubrick was right in the middle of post-production on 2001: A Space Odyssey, when he was approached by NASA to create footage of a moon landing since his was so realistic. Over the years, most of these theories have been debunked, but defenders of the 'Kubrick connection' love to remind us that Kubrick later used lenses for Barry Lyndon that were developed by NASA -- which they say is the proof of payment for faking the lunar adventure.
After the jump: the birth of 'Bigfoot' and hoaxes that ended with hard time...
Simon Baker vs. Casey Affleck in 'The Killer Inside Me'
Filed under: Casting », Deals »
Hold up. No one told me about the adaptation of Jim Thompson's classic The Killer Inside Me. A true '50s noir, Thompson's book is a bite-your-nails tale about a Texas sheriff's deputy who is also the town murderer. He's calm and cool on the outside and a brutal killer on the inside. And yes, it's also a song by MC 900 FT Jesus.I'm down with that, since the younger and less chinny Affleck proved his chops in Gone Baby Gone and The Assassination of Jesse Ford by the Coward Robert Ford, although IMDb pro also lists him as the director of "Untitled Joaquin Phoenix Documentary," so we've got him to thank for that sh*tshow. Bill Pullman and awesomely creepy Elias Koteas (Crash) also star.
On the other hand, the rest of the cast is a uneven, and this particular adaptation has quite the long back story. Kate Hudson plays Lou's good-girl girlfriend Amy Stanton, while Jessica Alba is Joyce Lakeland, a prostitute who digs Lou's ugly side. And then there's Simon Baker, star of TV's "The Mentalist" and films like Sex and Death 101 and The Devil Wears Prada, Something New, Land of the Dead, and The Ring Two, as the small-town lawyer out to get Lou.
Watch This: Joaquin Phoenix is a Complete Mess
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Trailers and Clips »
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So what's up with Joaquin Phoenix? It started when he announced that he was quitting acting to pursue a music career, then got stranger when said music career became a rap album. After we began to prepare ourselves for the new hip-hopped Phoenix, along came word that he and Casey Affleck would be shooting an "art project" (aka documentary) about Phoenix's journey from acting to music ... and then a little while after that we got word that the whole thing could, in fact, be one big joke, a la some Borat-style shenanigans.
However, while out doing press for his new film Two Lovers, I've heard from several different journalists that Affleck has joined Phoenix at each stop -- going so far as to interview each person who interviews Phoenix, claiming it's for an "art project" and it's not a joke. Finally we get Phoenix's appearance on the David Letterman Show, where the dude is a complete mess. Not only does he wear dark sunglasses and chew gum, but it's pretty obvious he couldn't give two sh*ts about being there as he barely answers Letterman's questions and doesn't even know which clip they brought. Letterman, mind you, is either pissed or going along with the act, and Phoenix just sits there looking like the Unibomber's twin brother. Yeah, you're getting some great publicity out of this guy.
So what do you think is going on here? Is Phoenix just playing some big practical joke? Does he want people to hate him (though I kinda think he's a riot)? Does he want to ruin his career on purpose just to see how long it will take to build back up? Is that the "art project"? Thoughts?
UPDATED to add full interview
[Thanks Dennis P. for passing this along]
Have We Been Punk'd by Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck?
Filed under: Documentary », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy »
I'm all for people looking to expand their creative horizons, but I know -- like most of you -- that when news first hit that Joaquin Phoenix was retiring from acting to focus on a hip-hop career, my first reaction was: Are you kidding me? Well, it looks like there's a very good possibility that's exactly what the celebrated actor is trying to do. Over at EW, a source is reporting that Casey Affleck and Phoenix are the orchestrators of a massive hoax. According to EW, Phoenix told the unnamed source, "It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it."EW wasn't the first to cry 'bull' at Phoenix's antics; Defamer had gotten in early on the act, and when video footage surfaced of Phoenix falling off stage and slurring his way through a rap tune in Vegas, it convinced a lot of people that his new "career change" was nothing but a big joke or gimmick ... or next year's most talked-about secret Sundance film. To be fair, it's not like this was the first time Phoenix had behaved a little strangely, so once The Hollywood Reporter announced that Affleck would be making a documentary chronicling his brother in law's music career, it gave the news a bit more weight. Meanwhile, reps for both Phoenix and Sean 'Diddy' Combs (who was apparently going to produce Phoenix's album) have declined to comment on EW's story.
Affleck Making Joaquin Phoenix Rapper Documentary?
Filed under: Documentary », Music & Musicals », Deals »
I think most of us were a little shocked when Joaquin Phoenix made the announcement that he was going to quit acting and focus on his music career -- and luckily for us, now we're going to get to follow the long strange journey of Phoenix's crack at the Billboard 100. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Casey Affleck will be directing a documentary about the former actor's stab at a music career. Affleck is married to Joaquin's sister Summer, so it makes sense that if Phoenix was going to agree to a documentary, it would be with someone close to him behind the camera.Now here's the really weird part: when I heard Phoenix was going to move into the music business, I just assumed that it would be in some kind of rock or country style (I mean, the guy did play Johnny Cash). But, it turns out I couldn't have been more wrong, because according to THR, Phoenix is trying to be a rapper -- and yes, you just read that: Phoenix will be making an album with Sean 'Diddy' Combs (maybe he's bartering acting tips for producing services) and will be making his first public appearance at a Las Vegas club this weekend, which will be the kick-off for Affleck's shoot.
So while there is a big part of me that wants to see Phoenix succeed in his new career, I can't help but wonder if this will be The Return of Bruno all over again, but with a hip-hop beat. I guess if nothing else we are going to get one heck of an interesting documentary out of the deal.
Do you think Phoenix has what it takes to become a successful hip-hop artist? Or, is this a sign that the notoriously eccentric actor has good and truly gone around the bend. Sound off below....
The Clock is Ticking for David Fincher's 'Ness'
Filed under: Drama », Thrillers », Deals », Paramount », RumorMonger »
You know, sometimes I just don't understand Hollywood. You have to wonder who's making the decisions at Paramount these days, because David Fincher's Eliot Ness flick has all the makings of a profitable little film for the studio, but the project has been wasting away at Paramount since 2006. So despite having an all-star cast, including Matt Damon as Eliot Ness, Casey Affleck and Rachel McAdams, the production just can't seem to get off the ground. Unfortunately, the bad news just keeps on coming, and Entertainment Weekly reports that time is running out for the film. News of the flick first hit back in 2006, when it was reported that Fincher was working on an adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis' graphic novel, Torso. Bendis' novel centered on, "a series of brutal murders that took place in the Cleveland area between 1935 and 1938, and were investigated by Ness, who was by then the Public Safety Director of Cleveland." There is still no confirmation on whether Fincher will be using Bendis' novel, but EW reports that Paramount has "...recently received a finalized script from Ehren Kruger (The Ring) and would make a decision before the rights ran out." (By the way, the rights run out on December 15th.)
Jessica Alba Finally Gets to Play a Hooker
Filed under: Drama », Thrillers », Casting »
You know, I'm not trying to be crude, but if your average small town prostitute looked anything like Jessica Alba, the world's oldest profession could probably give the modeling industry a run for its money. Variety reports that Alba has signed to play a small town hooker in Michael Winterbottom's noir thriller, The Killer Inside Me. Killer is based on the novel by Jim Thompson, and Robert Weinbach and John Curran (The Painted Veil) have already written the adaptation. Back in 1976, Stacy Keach had starred in a feature film version of the novel about "a West Texas sheriff and his downward spiral from a boring small-town cop into a ruthless, sociopathic murderer." This time Casey Affleck will pick up where Keach left off as the sheriff, and Alba will play the role of a small town hooker. Now to be fair, I'm trying really hard not to think back to all those interviews where Alba turned her nose up at roles that traded on her sexuality; you know, like playing hookers....or strippers.
Killer is just the latest in Alba's crusade to finally be taken seriously as an actress, and frankly, she could use the help. Between her last summer flop, The Love Guru, and lackluster reviews for her work in Awake and The Eye, it's not like great parts are being offered left and right. Hopefully Killer will change all that, because if the career trajectory of your average starlet has taught us anything, it's that playing a hooker is usually one of the first steps on the road to being an actor with a capital 'A'. Well, that and looking unattractive, but I guess that's what her upcoming role in An Invisible Sign of My Own is for.
Ridley Scott to Direct Casey Affleck in 'The Kind One'
Filed under: Casting », Noir », Scripts »
Having pioneered tech-noir with Blade Runner, Ridley Scott is trying his hand at classical noir with The Kind One. Variety reports that Scott will direct and produce an adaptation of the Tom Epperson book, with Epperson himself writing the screenplay. The novel is about an amnesiac in 1930s Los Angeles who is informed that before he lost his memory, he was a ruthless gangster named "Two-Gun Danny," and that he works for a fearsome gangland boss. Epperson is a screenwriter by trade, best known for co-writing The Gift with Billy Bob Thornton; The Kind One is his first novel.The other person to sign on to the project is Casey Affleck, who is clearly enjoying his new lease on life following The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Gone Baby Gone. He's really the perfect noir hero, scrappy, jaded and intelligent; we saw some of that on display in his brother's film, where he practically disappeared into the tough working-class Boston milieu. He and Scott should be able to hit this one out of the park, if the source material is any good. As always, I'd love to hear from commenters who are familiar with the book.
Casey Affleck is 'The Kind One'
Filed under: Drama », Casting »
It's still hard for me to imagine Casey Affleck as a rising movie star. This isn't to say that I don't think he has talent, but seeing him these days makes me giggle a little bit, because I think back to his days as a tracer hater and his time on 200 Cigarettes, the indie comedy/drama Desert Blue, and of course all that sage advice in American Pie. The man has come a long way, and after finally seeing The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Gone Baby Gone up on the big screen, Variety reports that he's getting into the mob.Affleck is going to head the noir period piece The Kind One, which Tom Epperson will adapt from his recently published novel. Set in Los Angeles in the 1930s, the film focuses on "an amnesiac (Affleck) who finds himself working for a mobster -- a sadistic killer given the nickname 'the Kind One' -- and falling in love with the thug's girlfriend." There's smarts for you. Or, a big set of brass...well, you get the idea. Once the strike wraps up, which will hopefully be soon, Epperson will turn his work into a script. The writer is a childhood friend of Billy Bob Thornton's, and the two collaborated on Sam Raimi's The Gift back in 2000, so I'm hoping for good things. At the moment, this is all we have. While the star and writer are in place, there's no word on who will direct this puppy.
Cinematical Picks: The Golden Globe Winners -- Best Supporting Actor
Filed under: Drama », Thrillers », Awards », Paramount Vantage »
Best Supporting ActorNominees:
Casey Affleck -- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem -- No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Charlie Wilson's War
John Travolta -- Hairspray
Tom Wilkinson -- Michael Clayton
Predicted Winner: Javier Bardem
Once in awhile there comes to cinema a character, and a performance that goes with it, that goes on to haunt us for years. Such a timeless villain is played in No Country for Old Men by Javier Bardem. It's the actor's third Golden Globe nomination and will be his first win. How do I know? Here at Cinematical headquarters we were going to toss a coin to find out if Bardem would get the statue. But then we realized that this award isn't about chance (plus we were afraid of getting an air blast to the skull if it came up that he'd lose). Bardem will win because he deserves the award, because his is the most well-developed and most memorable performance of the bunch.
Now it's your turn to vote ...
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