Todd Haynes/Joaquin Phoenix's '30s Gay Romance Opened With Sexually Explicit Rimjob Scene

The more I hear about what was included in the script for Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Haynes’ explicit gay romance, the more I start to somewhat understand why Phoenix got feet.

The story, which had Phoenix playing an L.A. detective who falls hard for a Mexican (Danny Ramirez), included blowjobs, anal sex and graphic nudity. Just as production was beginning, Phoenix, who helped write the screenplay, said sayonara and booked a plane back to California.

IndieWire’s Screen Talk podcast is reporting (3-minute mark) that the film was supposed to open with an explicit rimjob scene. No wonder Haynes and company couldn’t find an actor to replace Phoenix.

Last year, Haynes mentioned that, while brainstorming the project, Phoenix kept pushing him and going “no, let’s go further with the sex.” Haynes confirmed that the scenes written out were so explicit that only an NC-17 rating would be able to accommodate them.

Then again, it’s not like Phoenix hasn’t pulled this stunt before. He tried to last-minute back out of “Joker,” “C’mon C’mon”, and “Napoleon.” But in these cases, Phoenix ended up settling down and going back to the productions.

THR is reporting that Haynes had been contemplating casting Pedro Pascal in Phoenix’s role, but the actor’s schedule was too jam packed to make it work out.

Haynes’ producers are “considering hitting Phoenix with a lawsuit to cover lost costs.” The fee being demanded will likely be a 7-figure sum, but the actor was paid $25 million for the Joker sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux”, and would likely not lose sleep if he were to meet the producers’ demands.