To anybody who saw Tropic Thunder and wondered if Robert Downey Jr.'s super-involved actor character was far-fetched, I can convey that indeed there are film stars who take their roles that seriously.

So when the great Joaquin Phoenix announced his retirement from acting last year to concentrate on music, it did send a bit of a shockwave through the entertainment world. I remember thinking at the time that having garnered high praise and adulation for his work, perhaps he didn't want to fall into the same viscious, downward-spiralling cycle as some of his contemporaries, most notably those that tragically ended the careers of Heath Ledger and Joaquin's own brother. Both Heath and River succumbed to drug-related overdoses.

But this latest news http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/01/joaquin-phoenix.html makes me think the Joaq Man is high on something. A rapper? I could have understood a foray into Country & Western after his spotless portrayal of Johnny Cash in Walk The Line, but this Phoenizzle? wtph? Maybe the big giveaway is bro-in-law Casey Affleck with a video camera. Perhaps this is Joaquin's next cinematic project, done all rough and documentary stylee, and he's really going deep into the soul of an actor-turned rapper, and the destructive path it leads him to. I only hope that's the case, because the man really would be headin' for Oscar bling this time...

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