In what may turn out to be one of the most memorable publicity stunts of the 21st century, film superstar and Johnny Cash stand-in Joaquin Phoenix offered a backwards, double-fisted goodbye to cinema at the AFI Fest on Saturday. The Walk the Line actor says he's jumping head-first into music and not looking back.
"I think it's just moving on. It's rediscovering something else," Phoenix told the Associated Press before a premiere of what is professed to be his last film, Two Lovers. "It's like greener pastures, you know what I mean?"
Sure dude, Listening Post knows what you mean. But we'll also put down hard money that you won't be able to walk that line. You'll be back in film before too long. History says so.
How do we know this? Well, we don't, but the list of movie stars that have made the jump to music is littered with casualties. From Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Willis and Russell Crowe to Jared Leto, Scarlett Johannson and Rick Springfield (and beyond), it's a list that we just don't have the time to collate. Because it's just too freakin' long.
That said, such a career switch is not impossible, just difficult. Several individuals have been able to successfully navigate the two worlds, but most of them started out as musicians. Elvis Presley comes immediately to mind; film schools have screened Jailhouse Rock on the regular. Tom Waits is another excellent example of an artist who can brilliantly walk that tightrope. And there are others, but there are a paltry few who have started as actors and become successful musicians. Which is another way of saying that Phoenix is up against some pretty stiff competition, and history.
Which is why Listening Post is putting its money where it's mouthpiece is. We're not rich men, Phoenix, but we are willing to bet some hard-earned American dollars that your next film drops sometime before the end of next decade. We would say this decade, but careers move slow, and we're just not that rich.
Photo: AP/Matt Sayles
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