The problem with such an elaborate stunt as I’m Still Here is that you run the risk of people just not really paying much that attention to The Big Reveal. If Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck’s ultimate message was some kind of commentary on how we devour celebrity meltdowns … well, the danger is that it gets lost in the shuffle of actual celebrity meltdowns.
Such appears to be the case with at least one of Joaquin Phoenix’s rumored roles. He was reportedly up for the role of Clyde Tolson, the close confidant and possible lover of J. Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood’s biopic, Hoover.
But Reuters asked Eastwood about Phoenix’s casting, and Eastwood’s response was pretty damn funny: “”No. I don’t know where that came from . . .didn’t he become a rapper?”
In other words, Eastwood ain’t got time to keep up with your shenanigans, Phoenix! He’s 80 years old, he has movies to make, and you can just get off his lawn.