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Join Telegram Channel“It's a nightmare,” commented his producer, Christine Vachon, while recalling that it was he who had come to look for the director of Carol…
“It is a love story between two men in the 1930s, with explicit sexual content, with the ambition of challenging you in the sexual relationship between these two men.. It's a love story with a strong sexual component. And what's remarkable is that it all started with Joaquin who had ideas, questions and images. He came to me and said: 'Does this mean anything to you?' and I replied: 'Yes, it's really very interesting.' And we were on the phone talking about it and it became a script.
He [Joaquin Phoenix] had fragments of ideas and then I started to organize them into a narrative framework. Then I called on my brilliant friend John Raymond, who I had collaborated with on Mildred Pierce. It was a wonderful and natural way to create the storyline. And Joaquin pushed him even further into dangerous areas, sexually speaking.”
In September 2023, while he was in the middle of promoting May December, Todd Haynes detailed in these words the subject of his next achievementemphasizing the involvement of one of its two main actors, Joaquin Phoenix. Since then, the director of Carol and ofI'm not there cast Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick, Captain America: Brave New World) for the role of his partner, he gathered a substantial budget and assembled a team to be able to start filming this August 2024 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Until the star of Joker ended up abandoning the project, just five days before filming was due to begin.
Variety published an article detailing that Joaquin Phoenix had “caught scared”just before actually embarking on this gay romance (in the original version, the article talks about “cold feet”). Because of the subject matter? Perhaps he was afraid of criticism regarding this casting choice, given that he is himself heterosexual?
Producer Christine Vachon, who supports Todd Haynes through her company Killer Films, shared a message explaining how important this decision was “a nightmare” for the whole team, as the project was already well advanced. The film's budget was approved, its sets were built, part of its technical team already assembled in Mexico…
“Yes, a version of this has happened. And it's a nightmare,” she wrote on X before deleting her message a few hours later. About this choice of an actor who does not have the same sexuality as his character, she adds: “If you are tempted to criticize this, to throw at us: 'This is what you get when you cast a straight guy in a gay role'DON'T DO IT. It was HIS project, he brought it to US. And Killer's history with LGBTQ actors/directors/crew speaks for itself. (And to anyone who has already spoken up without knowing: you are making this terrible situation even worse.)”
Can the film be revived by choosing another actor? By leaving it at the last minute, Joaquin Phoenix risks killing it in the bud. The Hollywood Reporter also relays a “7-figure budget” and a team “totally devastated” by this sudden decision.
Joaquin Phoenix to Have Explicit Gay Romance for Todd Haynes