Joaquin Phoenix Refused To Say Why He Quit Gay Romance Movie

so what I don't understand right is how are you the one who apparently pushed for more intense or risky gay scenes whatever and yet when it came time to do it you quit the production just 5 days before they started filming oh my goodness can you imagine working on set and being like hey guess what the main guy ain't coming yeah I don't know if we I don't know if y'all getting paid like I don't know if this thing is even happening uh like really taking food off of working people's tables and and wasting everyone's time and money that's why sometimes I'm very weary of some straight people coming in and playing gay characters right uh specifically closed-minded uh unaware straight people because to me Wen is acting he's behaving like someone who's never actually truly befriended a gay man before for real to me he's behaving like someone who's never taken gay men seriously as actual human beings because like what did you think you were going to be doing on set to reenact the scenes or to enact to act out the scenes that you pushed for like just holding hands with these actors like what did you think was going to happen to me it's just so wild for waen to quit the production right 5 days before filming was scheduled to start and then when you're asked about it at this press conference or whatever at the film festival the answer seems very foolish to me so I don't [Music] know for those who are unaware of the situation at large uh weeks ago variety said this waen Phoenix has dropped out of Todd hayne's Untitled gay romance film just 5 days before filming was set to begin in Mexico right I mean y'all in a different country y'all done built sets and everything and he said guess why I'm not coming I'm not coming in I'm not coming into the office today orever y'all uh I don't know if y'all can take down the sets for cheap but uh I won't be there I just can't imagine being like a PA right like or a cameraman or something and you're counting on this check like you scheduled out all the tens of hours that you're about to be on set today you counting on this coin to come in so as soon as you get off you can go buy something to eat and the M actor has said they ain't showing up that like wow and then all the contracts that you just signed I can only imagine right so Phoenix had developed this Phoenix had developed the screenplay for the detective love story with haes and John Raymond a source close to the production tells variety the actor got cold feet and I'm like if it's even a possibility that you get cold feet like this I already talked about straight actors playing gay roles and all that stuff and I'm just like I at the very least can you not be homophobic at the very least can you have actually tried to get to know other gay human beings before you try to jump in these gay roles because a it seems like some people try to do some things for the spectical of it for the clout of it for the Oscar of it all and then when it actually comes down to portraying gay men as people and doing the things that they do girl like this is what you wanted you developed the screenplay you have developed the screenplay you know when it comes down to that all of a sudden people getting cold feet that's crazy to me that's crazy to me when for when when gay actors especially in the past if they ever especially focusing in the past like if they ever wanted to be on screen they would have to pretend to be straight and they did that and they did that how many of people didn't come out probably right doing that pretending to be straight but this man who developed the screen play was over here pushing for the scenes to be a little more graphic right this straight man all of a sudden can't do it so I be laughing I be I be cackling when I like I said I watch a whole whole entire Industries uh stifle gay talent and don't want to put him up don't want to put him on screen so much to the point where especially in the past uh actors had to singers whoever had to pretend to be straight pretend to be straight and they did it and this G and this straight man is like ew I'm gonna get cooties that's why I'm like just leave our roll alone just leave it alone it's fine they said that whole entire set had been built uh before Phoenix made the last last minute decision to exit the film representatives for hannes and Fenix did not immediately respond to variety's requests for comment hinged on Phoenix's casting the movie uh had already sold to International Distributors ahead of production oh my God you already you already sold to Distributors when this guy quit sources tell variety the project is in Peril I mean that is under statement of the Year indicating that Phoenix's role cannot be recast the crew is now out of work and stakeholders in the film still need to be paid losses could exceed seven figures and to me I'm just like isn't doesn't that mean that this man can be sued like would y'all be surprised if a company somebody who lost coin uh comes out here and tries to Sue this man because he don't want to do no gay kiss he don't want to eat a little he don't want to he don't want to eat a little cake on screen you know what I mean okay okay so in 2023 Haynes teased the project in an interview with variety as a love story between two men set in the 30s that has explicit sexual content the film was said to be rated nc17 and feature a relationship that will challenge audiences speculation among the crew is that Phoenix's exit had to do with the graphic nature of the film's sex scenes but that theory is confusing to some sources who reiterate that it was Phoenix who brought the project and its nc7 concept to Haynes in the first place hannes told uh Variety in September 2023 that the film started with fragments of ideas from Phoenix which the director formulated into an actual narrative before bringing Raymond on board basically it was just this wonderful organic way to create the script hey said and H was pushing it further into more dangerous territory sexually so he was the one pushing for it and like I said this is just in my head what I think might have happened he pushing for it he probably SE I think a lot of straight people do not see gay people as people I I'm so sorry they see them as like little deviants running around here who do things they don't I don't trust a lot of them to portray queer people as human beings with full full entire multi-dimensional human beings with ranges of emotions I just do not I do not expect a lot of straight people to do that right so in my head what I think has what had happened was she's like girl Oscars clout coin I could play some game man um rev up the sexuality rev it up Rev it up and he thought it was a good idea he thought it was a good idea he saw the award season in his head up until he got on set and he was like wait I actually have to do this I actually have to do this e I'm going to get the cooties and so he backed off so much so to the it freaked him out so bad that he's I mean ruining people's jobs and careers careers and stuff risking being sued risking being sued over all of this right and so to to watch them flail like straight men flail and freak out during these kinds of things when like queer men queer people have had to like be a whole entire completely different person a different version of themselves just to survive the industry right just to survive straight people and then to watch the straight man flail around like this over idea over an idea that he initiated is hilarious to me just stay away from Gay Roll if you going act like this if you're gonna act like you you know what I mean I already like I I already have some kind of critique when it comes to straight actors and gay roles that's not to say I don't watch and enjoy them because of course Jacob Anderson you know Interview with the Vampire like not to say I don't watch and enjoy them but I'm just saying there is a specific brand of straight person that looks that looks at gay people as caricatures and not actual people and when especially when it gets to like conversations around their sexuality it's always this era of like spectacle around it and and you know in a in a way that like already sex is a spectacle thing especially if it's on screen but it's just a cheapened the way that they a lot of straight people view gay people gay sex any any of that and so I think all of that comes into play have come into play with how waim viewed it in the viewed the entire Topic in the first place um but of course that's an Avenue maybe to the awards people going oh my goodness you playing this role and it was so provocative and challenging audiences until you get on set and actually have to do it and you know it's just it looks so pathetic and corny it really does especially with all these people losing the losing food off day table the crew that's crazy I think one of the Distributors I think said um it has been a nightmare this was his project that he brought to us now switching to indiewire where uh we see that he responded to a journalist Ben Dalton in the conference room the press conference room at the Venice Film Festival um so screen International journalist Ben Dalton posed the question on everyone's Minds to Haim Phoenix basically girl why did you drop out are you serious um asked if he could explain his decision to exit the project he was also developing with Hayes Phoenix said if I do like if I do explain I'll just be sharing my opinion from my perspective and the other creatives aren't here to say their peace and it just doesn't feel like that would be right I'm not sure how that would be helpful I don't think I will and that was such a funny way to respond to the question because it's like um first of all the question that the journalist asked you was specifically asking your perspective and your opinion because they're like why did you why did you drop out of the movie like they were asking your perspective they didn't the question wasn't about the other creators in the room we can already tell how the other creatives uh who aren't here to say their peace as you said would feel about this because they want to get paid like what do you mean they want the project to be created at the very least what do you mean so my theory is that he dropped out for the reasons that they're saying that he dropped out I mean and and that he got uncomfortable with C with the scenes that he was pushing for and he knows how that how crazy that's that would look to say and how ridiculous the headlines would be after if he said that and so he just like I'm not not going to say anything it would not be helpful and you I mean that's the one thing you are right about that it definitely would not be helpful because we would be grilling grilling you in the same way that we doing now so I can understand him being quiet about like oh well hey I just didn't want to kiss no guys I can understand him wanted to be quiet about that because it's incredibly like the whole thing is incredibly stupid it's incredibly stupid but yeah that's it thank you all so much for watching make sure you check out my patreon at patreon.com Avatar Adrian there you get exclusive content videos that I do not post publicly on YouTube they're just for the patrons so go ahead sign up for that love y'all so much and I'll check y'all later peace make sure that you're going to www.zara.com when you join the wait list there on the site you will be the first to be notified when I drop my sequel also you'll immediately get chapter one of my upcoming sequel of the upcoming book uh sent to your email as a PDF so check that out also this is a different excerpt uh from my upcoming book so you definitely want to pause to read if you're trying to get your life uh keep in mind that this upcoming book this sequel is following up the first book that is already released called zoria Wrath of the god king um I released it a couple years ago a few 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