Honesty is so refreshing

I am blogging about this because a) I am seeing this movie, b) Joaquin Phoenix is so very interesting c) it's just hilarious. This is not a gossip blog, but something about this item (courtesy of Page Six) struck me as truly refreshing in this jaded world.

"JOAQUIN Phoenix, notoriously cranky in interviews, set a new standard for surliness with Time Out New York's Laura Leu the other day. When Leu asked...how he prepared for his role as a drug-addled nightclub manager in "We Own the Night," Phoenix responded, "I never prepare. I think that's completely overrated. It's a very simple job. All you have to do is . . . stand in the right spot and say the line. So I don't really believe in preparation." When Leu pressed, "But you prepared for 'Ladder 49' by training with a fire academy," testy Phoenix replied, "I just said that because I thought it would sound good to the press. I don't know why it seems to be of note that actors do any kind of preparation. It's just what you're supposed to do in your [bleep]ing job. Do you think that because you did some research you deserve some special credit?"

Then he hung up on her.

God, he's a mess...love it. He's right and he didn't hurt anyone (well, he was rude), or I'd be busting on him. It's called talent. Don't we all cringe when actors have to do the promo circuit and are all about their "craft" and how fantastic they are? Hollywood's a self-congratulatory place and it can't be helped. Obviously, he had to learn to sing and play the guitar for his brilliant turn in "Walk the Line". Effectively, he's saying "Look - this is what they pay me a great deal of money to do and I do it, you idiots." So, he's a little cranky and I don't blame him. Press junkets will do that to a person. I hope his publicist doesn't have to issue some sort of spin. This keeps things interesting for the reporters.

Others will say he's strange and a bad interview. Maybe. I think he's still tortured by the death of his brother right in front of him.

He is quite an original, an undersung one at that. Who can forget "I am vexed. I am mightily vexed."? Classic and flawless.