Casey Affleck Finally Confirms That Joaquin Phoenix Documentary Is Fake

We wondered if it might be a hoax, but since I'm Still Here was repeatedly billed as a documentary chronicling Joaquin Phoenix's pursuit of a rap career, we weren't sure what to make of it.

Director Casey Affleck has finally admitted that the whole thing was one big fake, and that Phoenix was acting the entire time. “It’s a terrific performance, it’s the performance of his career,” Mr. Affleck told the NY Times. “The reviews were so angry. I never intended to trick anybody. The idea of a quote, hoax, unquote, never entered my mind."

“There were multiple takes, these are performances,” Affleck continued, referring specifically to scenes that portrayed drug use and Phoenix involving himself with prostitutes. Affleck said he also had to convince Phoenix’s agent at WME Entertainment that he wanted Phoenix to act the part in public, but surprisingly he went along with it. "You would think he would have me killed immediately,” he joked.