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Last year, actor Joaquin Phoenix claimed he would retire from acting. Now he says he’s an aspiring rapper, but is it all a hoax? Not according to Phoenix’s rep.

“The transition from one career to another is never seamless. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Joaquin came from a musical family, in addition to winning a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Johnny Cash,” the actors rep Susan Patricola wrote in an email to MTV News. “He intends on exploring his musical interests despite speculative, negative or positive reactions.”

But according to a source, the “Walk The Line” actor’s rap career is nothing but a hoax, “He said, ‘It’s a put-on. I’m going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it,’” said the source to Entertainment Weekly.

It has been reported that Casey Affleck is making a documentary of the actor’s transition to a career in music. Affleck was spotted at Phoenix’s debut performance on January 16 in Las Vegas.

Casey Affleck is directing a documentary feature that will follow friend and fellow actor Joaquin Phoenix as he pursues a career in music.

Phoenix, who played country singer Johnny Cash in the 2005 biopic “Walk the Line,” announced last year he was retiring from the acting business to become a rapper.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, his first album will be produced by Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Phoenix also held his first public performance Friday at a Las Vegas club, where he performed three songs in front of an attentive crowd as Affleck captured the action for the documentary.

The two men are more than collaborators and friends — they are also brothers-in-law. Affleck is married to Phoenix’s actress sister, Summer.

Affleck, who directed a series of shorts for Sundance Channel in the late 1990s, recently starred in such films as “Gone Baby Gone” and “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

Ryan Gosling and Ellen Page have both been honoured at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Gosling was given the Independent Award Tribute for “significant and unique contribution to independent film.” While his role in “Lars and the Real Girl” makes the award timely, his performances in indie flicks like “Half Nelson” and “The Slaughter Rule” collectively earned him the award.

Meanwhile, Page was one of five actors who received the Virtuosos Award. The award is a new addition to the festival because there were so many “young actors who have distinguished themselves through performances in film this past year,” states the Festival’s official web site.

Page shares the award with Casey Affleck, James McAvoy, Marion Cotillard and Amy Ryan, which was handed out last night.

It’s official: Ellen Page and her pregnant alter-ego “Juno” are Oscar worthy.

The film received nods in several category where it will be the only comedy competing against some huge, heavy-hitter dramas. 20-year-old Page is up against the likes of Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) and Laura Linney (The Savages) for Best Actress.

“Juno” is nominated for Best Picture against the critical favourites “Atonement,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood.”

Screenwriter Diablo Cody and Canadian director Jason Reitman also scored a nomination for “Juno.”

Sarah Polley will also be representing Canada at the awards. She was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for her film, “Away From Her.”

With so many fantastic performances, it will be especially hard to guess the winners this year. The Best Actor category is an exciting list: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) and Tommy Lee Jones (In The Valley of Elah).

Other notable nominations are 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) and Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James?).

James McAvoy and Keira Knightley were noticably snubbed for their lead performances in “Atonement.”

Here is a complete list of the nominations:

BEST PICTURE
“Atonement”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”
Laura Linney, “The Savages”
Ellen Page, “Juno”

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”
Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”
Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”
Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”
Hal Holbrook, “Into The Wild”
Tommy Lee Jones, “No Country For Old Men”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Jason Reitman, “Juno”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, “Juno”
Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Brad Bird, Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird, “Ratatouille”
Tamara Jenkins, “The Savages”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”
Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Sarah Polley, “Away From Her”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Beaufort” (Israel)
“The Counterfeiters” (Austria)
“Katyn” (Poland)
“Mongol” (Kazakhstan)
“12″ (Russia)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Persepolis”
“Ratatouille”
“Surf’s Up”

BEST ART DIRECTION
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Golden Compass”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” Roger Deakins
“Atonement,” Seamus Mcgarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Janusz Kaminski
“No Country For Old Men,” Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood,” Robert Elswit

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Across the Universe,” Albert Wolsky
“Atonement,” Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie En Rose,” Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street,” Colleen Atwood

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“No End in Sight”
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience”
“Sicko”
“Taxi to the Dark Side”
“War/Dance”

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“Freeheld”
“La Corona” (”The Crown”)
“Salim Baba”
“Sari’s Mother”

BEST FILM EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum,” Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild,” Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men,” Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood,” Dylan Tichenor

BEST MAKEUP
“La Vie en Rose”
“Norbit”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“Atonement”, Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner”, Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton”, James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille”, Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma”, Marco Beltrami

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“I Met the Walrus”
“Madame Tutli-Putli”
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)”
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)”
“Peter & the Wolf”

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“At Night”
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)”
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)”
“Tanghi Argentini”
“The Tonto Woman”

BEST SOUND EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country For Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“There Will Be Blood”
“Transformers”

BEST SOUND MIXING
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country For Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“3:10 to Yuma”
“Transformers”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Golden Compass”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Transformers”