Joaquin Phoenix is receiving backlash after his sudden exit from director Todd Haynes‘ gay romance film given that he backed out of the movie five days before shooting was to begin in July, and now Hollywood producers are fuming at the actor’s abrupt change of heart.
“At issue here is that Joaquin was indeed a producer himself on the project,” a source exclusively tells In Touch of the untitled film project, which will reportedly not move forward without the Oscar winner, 49.
The film was said to be a period piece set in the 1930s that would likely receive an NC-17-rating. “Joaquin was pushing me further and going, ‘No, let’s go further.’ This will be an NC-17 film,” the director told IndieWire last year at Cannes.
The Joker star was the one who brought the project to Todd, 63, in the first place and was pushing for it to be “sexually explicit.” However, a source close to the production told Variety last month that the actor got “cold feet” when it came to going all the way with the gay romance.
According to In Touch‘s insider, Joaquin “brought it to Haynes, only to decide at the last possible minute that he didn’t want to do it.” This decision has left multiple people seeking payment for their hard work, since sets had already been reportedly built in Mexico, where the project was to film.
“The word is that Joaquin is legally protected from being sued by other members of the low-budget production, but key people in Hollywood are urging him to make a financial settlement with the crew members that were hired for the film,” the source explains.
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That “hasn’t happened yet,” the insider adds, “but it’s expected to be cleared up in the next week or so” given that Joaquin is back in the news promoting his new film Joker: Folie à Deux, which had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on Wednesday, September 4.
Making matters worse, Joaquin declined to speak about his decision to drop out of the gay romance when asked about it in the Venice Film Festival press conference room.
Instead, he told reporters, “I’ll just be sharing my opinion from my perspective, and the other creatives aren’t here to say their piece, and it just doesn’t feel like that would be right. I am not sure how that would be helpful. I don’t think I will [explain the decision].”
Because Joaquin has “angered the producing community so much with this exit,” the In Touch source says, “people are saying he’s effectively out of the Oscar race, which really hinges on peer and community support over other factors like critical acclaim and box office.”
Adds the insider, “Bottom line: insiders who know Joaquin fully anticipate he will somehow fix his reputation, but he hasn’t decisively done so yet.”
Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on October 4. Joaquin reprises his role as the Joker with Lady Gaga as his love interest, Harley Quinn.
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