andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

There are only a few words to describe Joaquin Phoenix’s appearance on David Letterman two nights ago. Bizarre, awkward, uncomfortable and hilarious (thanks to Letterman) are a few and, well, that’s about it.

But there is something about his behaviour that doesn’t quite convince me (and many others) that his transition from an actor to a would-be singer is something serious.

Ever since Phoenix announced he was retiring from acting back in October 2008 in order to focus on a music career—I didn’t buy it. When news broke that friend and brother-in-law Casey Affleck would “document” (or mocument) his career to making hip-hop music—I had to hold back laughter. READ MORE »

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.”

Joaquin Phoenix, star of this year’s Oscar frontrunner Walk The Line, narrowly escaped injury in a serious car accident on Thursday.

Phoenix was driving his car on a winding canyon road in Los Angeles when his brakes stopped working, reported a police spokeswoman. The car overturned and collided with another vehicle.

However, the actor was able to walk away from the accident relatively unscathed, said his publicist, Susan Patricola.

“His brakes went out, and the car flipped over,” she stated Thursday. “But he’s doing fine. He may be very sore in the morning, but right now he is doing okay.”

Patricola added that Phoenix was wearing a seatbelt and a passerby helped him out of the car following the collision.

The driver of the other car, with whom Phoenix exchanged insurance information on the scene, was also unhurt.

Patricola ensured that Phoenix will be able to make his scheduled appearance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. He is up for Best Actor at the annual awards ceremony for his portrayal of singer Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk The Line. Phoenix has already picked up a Golden Globe for the role earlier this month and is a heavy favourite to win again at the upcoming Academy Awards in March. Oscar nominees are to be announced this Tuesday.

Joaquin Phoenix may be done shooting for Walk The Line, but he?s still got some Johnny Cash left in him. The actor, who earned an Oscar nod for his portrayal of music legend Cash in the movie, paid a visit to Folsom State Prison on Tuesday. Cash performed in the prison yard 37 years ago on Jan. 13 for inmates, and the live recording from the show is still a best-seller.

Phoenix returned to the prison for a tour while inmates were treated to a screening of the film. Later, Phoenix performed several acoustic songs (including Cash?s ?Folsom Prison Blues?) at the prison?s Greystone Chapel with musician Shooter Jennings, who played his father, Waylon Jennings, in Walk The Line.

Cash is considered a good role model for inmates by Prison Fellowship, the group that organized the event. Fellowship spokesman Joe Avila said Cash’s “whole life was a message of redemption.”

“The movie is about how he screwed it up really bad, and he turned to Jesus Christ to help him change.?