Joaquin Phoenix’s Career Move is a ‘Put-On,’ Says EW

Joaquin Phoenix's stunt to move from acting to rapping is a hoax, according to Entertainment Weekly:

"'It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it,'" says one source who recently worked with Phoenix.

Ever since I wrote about Phoenix's performance at Lavo at Palazzo, people keep asking me if it was a hoax. When he rapped in Vegas, I talked to Phoenix, his documentarian Casey Affleck and their film producer about the rumor it was a hoax, and they all said it was for real.

But then, part of a hoax is lying to cover up the hoax.

If it is a hoax, then one of the first questions Affleck asked me while he was interviewing me for the "documentary" makes sense. He asked what I was doing there at Lavo and inquired about the newsworthiness of the event. So if the EW story is correct, perhaps then Phoenix wants to at least partly prove that the press will follow around an A-list celebrity doing a bunch of crazy stuff in Vegas. A theme or subtheme then might be a press-bashing angle.

Captain Obvious observation of the day: If he bashes the press and resumes a film career, the press will eviscerate him and possibly Affleck.

Perez Hilton said today, if this is Phoenix's "art project," it's lame. Whether Phoenix is for real or not, the proof will be in the pudding: If Affleck turns out to be a good documentarian, and the film is good, then the film will be good, and everyone will say it was a great move. If he turns out sucky, the film will suck, and the derision of Phoenix will continue. Success or failure really all rides on Affleck, not Phoenix.

If you want to read my original column covering Phoenix's rap debut in Vegas, it's here.