Last night Joaquin Phoenix was face-to-face with David Letterman again after not appearing on the show since this happened last year. He was clean-shaven and apologizing (sort of) for the last time he was a Late Show guest. They both claimed Letterman himself was not in on the hoax, and the actor told the host, "You've interviewed many, many people and I assumed that you would know the difference between a character and a real person, so—but I apologize. I hope I didn't offend you in any way." more ›

Seems like just yesterday we were wondering if Joaquin Phoenix had totally gone off the deep end, or if he was just getting really deep in to character for whatever he was filming with Casey Affleck. Either way, time went by and the world forgot about his antics... until now. The actor's face started popping up again recently in the style of Shepard Fairey, a street art name now synonymous with marketing and promotion. And indeed, there is something to promote—it appears Phoenix intends to rise again with the release of his latest film, I'm Still Here. It was filmed by Affleck in a documentary-style, but something tells us we're all being Blair Witched. more ›

The debate about Joaquin Phoenix's strange behavior as of late continues. Refusing to believe it's a hoax, despite a camera crew following him around for a documentary, the LA Times is going down the mentally ill route. So far the most talked about display of his new bearded, mumbling persona has been from his appearance on Letterman (which just re-aired last night). The psychiatrist the paper talked to said "much of Phoenix's behavior on Letterman hinted at mental illness, such as wearing sunglasses, which may suggest paranoia. 'There is something wrong. And it's beyond drug abuse.' The public should refrain from mocking Phoenix." So basically he's like 0% crazy, 80% beard and 20% sunglasses. MTV News asked Phoenix's publicist about the Doc's diagnosis, which she labeled: "wildly inappropriate." more ›

There are plenty of theories about why Joaquin Phoenix was so out of it on Letterman Wednesday night, but the most plausible is that he was just acting. Sure, he may be drugged up, too, but then wouldn't his pal Casey Affleck put down the camera and send the guy to rehab? Affleck has been following Phoenix around filming a documentary (mockumentary?) about him, and the Daily News reports that following his Letterman appearance Phoenix and his crew went to a screening of his movie Two Lovers (where at the very least Gwyneth Paltrow would have attempted to save him with GOOP-isms). more ›

Actor and possible future rap superstar Joaquin Phoenix took a seat across from David Letterman last night (to "promote" Two Lovers), finally pushing Farrah Fawcett out of the top slot for all time most incoherent interview subject (Farrah video!). Incase you missed it, here's the five minutes of teeth pulling: more ›

Prestige filmmakers take note: If you want the Times critics to really love you, what you need to do is put the fear in them. At least it worked for Tim Burton; his adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd gave reviewer A.O. Scott nightmares. And for that, Scott deems the film “close to a masterpiece, a work of extreme – I am tempted to say evil – genius.” (Current Rotten Tomato rating: 88% fresh.) One big question was whether the non-singing actors cast in the film would be able to pull it off; according to Burton the film is almost 90 sung. Well, it worked for Scott:

Johnny Depp’s voice is harsh and thin, but amazingly forceful. He brings the unpolished urgency of rock ’n’ roll to an idiom accustomed to more refinement., and in doing so awakens the violence of Mr. Sondheim’s lyrics and melodies.

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EVENT: Join Chief Jim Riches, 9/11 families, rescue and recovery workers in an effort to Tell Rudy Giuliani to "Stop Politicizing 9/11". Rudy will be at a fundraiser at the Waldorf later today, and will be greeted by those who believe he's no hero. Why? They say: "He failed the FDNY & uniformed & civilian victims. He gave us incompetent commissioners ( FD,PD, OEM). No integrated command. He abandoned us on 9/11. He gave the FDNY defective radios. He lied about the toxic air -- 70% of responders and many civilians are sick." More info here. more ›

DISCUSSION: Tonight Dirty Dancing author Eleanor Bergstein will discuss the similarities between Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and her own masterpiece, which starred Patrick Swayze. Shakespearian scholars will be in attendence to agree or, most likely, refute the argument. This discussion may have been a bit more relevant in, say, 1987 - when the film came out. more ›

SHOPPING: Get ready to do some defensive shopping at the Barneys mega warehouse sale. It only comes twice a year, and this one runs til September 4th. So psych yourself up for some shoppin' before all the good stuff is gone. more ›

As Jon Stewart takes to the stage this Sunday at 8 pm to host the 78th Annual Academy Awards, the movie-lovin' Gothamist will be watching with eager anticipation from our couch. The spectacle, the glamour, the bad musical numbers and cheesy memorial montages -- we love it all. In fact, Gothamist (ie. Jen Chung and movie correspondent Karen Wilson) will be live blogging the ceremony but in the meantime, here's a few predictions for the winners: more ›

- Nicolette Sheridan does not look over-Botoxed with fish lips! more ›

The holidays are upon us. Tomorrow sees the release of two of the more eagerly awaited films of the season, and we haven't even hit Thanksgiving yet! We've been hearing fantastic things about the Johnny Cash biopic ; Phoenix sings all the songs himself. We're not really sure whether that's a plus or not, though, no matter how well he sings. more ›

Gothamist on the West Side development. And there's an underrated movie from 2000 called The Yards, starring Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix, about the abandoned railyards in Queens. more ›

Claire Cavanah, Toys in Babeland more ›

Singer-songwriter-actress June Carter Cash died last night. Though she was well known for being a part of the "Carter Sisters" country singing group, June Carter Cash is best known for her relationship, both professional and personal, with husband Johnny Cash. She wrote "Ring of Fire" about falling in love with him, and later wrote about Johnny Cash,"Those black eyes that shone like agates. I only glanced into them because I believed that I would be drawn into his soul and I would never have been able to walk away." more ›