Many have been wondering if ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ bombing, at the same time that his Todd Haynes fiasco occurred, meant that Joaquin Phoenix might get blackballed in the industry. I doubt it, but one thing’s for certain, Phoenix’s stock has definitely, and drastically, dropped these last few months.
So, what about the Haynes project? Phoenix exited the film as shooting was five days away from beginning, potentially getting cold feet over the explicit gay sex scenes he had to perform on screen with co-star Danny Ramirez. Last we heard, it was “dead, but Ramirez now has hopeful news.
Ramirez just spoke to Variety and told them, “The most recent update is ‘hopefully” the [film is happening],” which is a stark contrast to producer Christine Vachon claiming, a few months back, that the film was shelved — many trade sources had confirmed her statement.
“It’s definitely a very complicated situation,” Ramirez says. “The audition process was extensive, and so what I walked away with that was just the artistic validation of throwing down opposite of [Phoenix] in this chemistry read… There was a moment that I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve arrived as a performer.'”
Was that moment the opening scene? Which, according to reports, had Phoenix performing a rimjob scene on Ramirez? Seriously, it never made much sense to waste all of the producer’s money away and completely shelve the film, especially since there must be a marquee actor out there dying to work with Haynes on this one.
We all figured that, given Phoenix’s $25M paycheck on ‘Joker: Folie a Deux,’ he would gladly pay up all the costs that resulted in his exit, said to be anywhere between $7-$8M. Puck’s Matt Belloni recently reported that, behind the scenes, Phoenix “still hasn’t paid up and settled the matter with producers.”
This is clearly not the end of this story. Producers have engaged a litigator to enforce their rights against the actor. A lawsuit might very well be incoming, unless Phoenix decides to cough up the dough that they believe they’re owed. If this doesn’t go to court, and producers get back their money, then they could invest in it again, with a brand-new actor.