Joaquin Phoenix broke his silence on his abrupt exit from a gay romance film that included explicit scenes.

While on the road promoting his upcoming film Joker: Folie à Deux, set to premiere on October 4, 2024, the actor was asked about his last-minute withdrawal from the drama project directed by Todd Haynes.

According to Deadline, Phoenix had reportedly stormed off the set of the movie leaving the film in limbo for two weeks prior to its cancellation. Producers, having to deal with the financial ramifications of Joaquin’s departure, tried to put the movie back together unsuccessfully.

“Production is dead, and not paused, as there are no plans to recast the role played by The Joker Oscar winner. Crew members on the Guadalajara, Mexico set are due money,” Deadline wrote.

Joaquin Phoenix addressed his last-minute exit from Todd Haynes’ explicit gay romance movie during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival

Image credits: Samir Hussein/ Getty

“It would just be sharing my opinion and the other creatives aren’t here to share their piece,” said Phoenix in a press conference at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.  

“It doesn’t feel like that would be right. I don’t think that would be helpful so I just don’t think I will. Thank you.”

IndieWire, who first reported on the issue on August 9, 2024, stated that the actor had gotten “cold feet” due to the explicit nature of the film’s NC-17 sex scenes, which were expected to push the boundaries of said rating.

Image credits: DC Films

Variety would later report that the losses experienced by the film’s production exceeded seven figures, as crew members had already built sets in Mexico and were awaiting payment. Stakeholders were also expected to receive compensation, further exacerbating the film’s financial strain.

Haynes revealed that both the film’s plot and the nature of its intimate content were all Joaquin Phoenix’s idea, saying that the actor constantly encouraged him to “go further”

Image credits: https://www.warnerbros.com/

Phoenix and his co-star Danny Ramirez, of Top Gun: Maverick fame, were supposed to play two men, one of Native American origin and the other a corrupt police officer, who become lovers in the 1930s, and escape from Los Angeles to Mexico for unknown reasons.

According to Haynes, the film was designed to “challenge” viewers with its “explicit sexual content.”

Regarding the controversy, the director revealed that the film was Phoenix’s idea to begin with. 

“The whole experience was prompted by Joaquin,” he stated, while also debunking the rumors that the nature of the intimate scenes was the reason for the actor’s departure.

“[He] was pushing me further and going ‘no, let’s go further,’” Haynes told IndieWire.

Image credits: Dream Works

The director, who is openly gay, gained notoriety for his directorial debut in 1991 with Poison, a science fiction drama and horror film that delved into the complexities of queer perspectives and challenges during the “AIDS era,” a period from 1981 to early 1990 during which the United States experienced an epidemic of the disease.

Phoenix’s unnamed film would’ve marked a return to Haynes’ roots after the success of his latest film May December, released for streaming on Netflix on December 1, 2023. The flick received four Golden Globe Nominations.

“His body, his choice,” wrote one fan, as others congratulated Phoenix for the controversial move to leave the film’s production

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