Joaquin Phoenix’s abrupt departure from a gay romance film has reportedly sparked “huge outrage” in Hollywood and could lead to legal action.
The Joker star was set to lead the untitled detective love story – that he had taken to director Todd Haynes in the first place – but five days before production was scheduled to begin, he made the last-minute decision to drop out of the film after getting “cold feet”, a source told Variety.
Entire sets had been built in Guadalajara, Mexico, where shooting had been due to take place. Phoenix abandoned the project in early July just days before the scheduled shoot, leaving cast and crew in the lurch.
Now, reports are emerging that legal action could ensue, after the decision sparked backlash from industry veterans.
“There’s been a huge amount of outrage,” one studio executive told The Hollywood Reporter. The publication cited sources suggesting the decision could lead to legal action.
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Produced by Killer Films and backed by sales agent MK2 Film, Phoenix’s movie had already been sold to international distributors. Variety further reports that the actor’s role cannot be recast, leaving the crew out of work and investors unpaid, and meaning that losses could surpass seven figures.
I don’t think it’ll easily fit into a conventional narrative. As you can see from other replies I’ve made here, he has done this before and, while it could previously have been chalked up to a power move for greater control, this is his project. It seems far more likely that this is pre-filming nerves combined with his not getting into the right head-space for the character. I imagine his team might talk him round as this would be a reputational disaster but we’ll see.