Best Actor Watch: Will the Industry Punish Joaquin Phoenix for Walking Out on a Film?

I do not agree with Matt Neglia here, who writes:

Granted, the Oscars are a popularity contest and everyone knows it. But the actors have one job: to nominate the best. That’s it. That’s the job. Does it work that way? No. It’s driven by publicists, money, and buzz. Reading this tweet made me feel a little sick, not because of Matt Neglia or anything but because of the Eye of Sauron that is always upon us, watching everything we do, silently judging, whispering behind people’s backs, forcing apologies. The Court of Public Opinion has never been more powerful.

But if awards voters punish Joaquin Phoenix for this, if his follow-up to Joker is as great as the original, then that makes them complete and total frauds. Whatever his reasons for leaving the project, they have nothing to do with whether or not he gave a great performance in a completely different film.

From Fiction Horizon:

As far as the project is concerned, not much is known, really. We know that it was Haynes’ next project after the Oscar-nominated psychological thriller drama May December and that Phoenix was a driving force behind the project. It was likely to be an NC-17 piece, as the gay detective drama was supposed to be very explicit, as Haynes explained, and it seems that Phoenix himself was the driving force behind this, as well as one of the writers:

“The next film is a feature that’s an original script that I developed with Joaquin Phoenix based on some thoughts and ideas he brought to me. We basically wrote with him as a story writer. Me and Jon Raymond and Joaquin share the story credit. And we hope to be shooting it beginning early next year. It’s a gay love story set in 1930s LA. Joaquin was pushing me further and going ‘no, let’s go further.’ This will be an NC-17 film.”

Source: IndieWire

But, in July, just five days before shooting was about to start in Mexico, where the cast and crew were already gathered, news came from the USA that Phoenix was dropping out of the project. The media have not been able to get an official statement from Phoenix or Killer Films, who is behind the film, but this outcome is definitely a surprise, as Haynes said that Phoenix was the one who gave a lot of himself into the movie.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens in Hollywood all the time. Projects are abruptly halted for various reasons. There could be an accusation of bad behavior on a set. The money could dry up. Someone at the top might get nervous. Is it a bummer that so many people were counting on it to get paid? Of course. I don’t know the reason why he dropped out but to suggest this should impact his nomination in Joker: Folie à Deux takes things too far.