Joaquin Phoenix the Rapper?

Two-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix’s career shift from actor to rapper has been getting a lot of attention, especially after his cringe-worthy appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman (video here) and Ben Stiller’s impersonation of him at the Oscars (video here).  The Letterman fiasco was on par with Norm MacDonald’s train wreck of an appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brian.

It began with a horrible performance at a Las Vegas nightclub called LAVO that ended with him falling off the stage (video here).  Either Joaquin Phoenix has really gone crazy or this is all an elaborate hoax. 

Phoenix is very firm in stating that his venture into hip-hop is not a hoax but there are still some skeptics.  I think he knows exactly what he is doing, and it definitely is working.  He is more talked about than ever.  His latest film, Two Lovers, will probably be more popular because he has said it was his last.

Casey Affleck, Phoenix’s brother in law, is making a documentary about Phoenix’s transition from acting to hip-hop.  According to a source close to Phoenix who spoke with Entertainment Weekly, "He said, 'It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it.'" Another inside source told Fox News "He is selling it all as a documentary not about his musical career but the whole issue of public persona. It’s all a big joke and he’s not pursuing rapping seriously no matter what he says."

There is no way to know for sure if Joaquin is faking or not until after Casey Affleck’s documentary comes out, so we’ll all just have to wait and hope that he is.

For a great interview with Joaquin Phoenix, click here.

The Oscars

The Academy Awards were last night and host Hugh Jackman did a surprisingly good job. His opening performance was great. He was funny without being insulting and entertaining without being obnoxious. He might have sang one too many songs (like the musical tribute), but for the most part he did a great job. The show was much better this year than it has been in a while.

Slumdog Millionaire won a grand total of eight Oscars, including best picture. Slumdog Millionaire and Milk were my favorite movies this year and I was very happy at the amount of recognition they both received.


There was an emotional moment when Heath Ledger won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Dark Knight. His mother, father, and sister accepted the Oscar on his behalf.

One of my favorite moments of the night was Kate Winslet's acceptance speech. She was so excited and sincere that you couldn't help but just love her. I also loved Sean Penn's acceptance speech, where he called the academy "commie homo loving sons of guns." Another good moment was Ben Stiller's impression of Joaquin Phoenix which was both accurate and hilarious.

My picks for best dressed would have to include Penelope Cruz, Marisa Tomei, and Kate Winslet. But as great as they all looked, I thought that Amy Adams was a clear winner for best dressed. She looked great in that red dress, and it was such a bold choice with the color and the jewelry, but it definitely paid off. Some of the worst dressed were Marion Cotillard and Jessica Biel . I know a lot of people are naming Mickey Rourke as one of the worst dressed of the night, but I thought he looked great.

For a complete list of the winners from last night, go to http://oscar.com/oscarnight/winners/.