I'm Still Here exposed as a Mockumentary

Frauds and fakes are usually not rewarded when they try to pass themselves off as journalists or documentarians. However, the documentary tradition does have a soft spot for spoofs, often referred to as mockumentaries. This is Spinal Tap is a classic and others include Best in Show and Borat. One of the all-time great hoaxes was Orsen Wells' radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds...a Halloween joke that caused panic and mass hysteria which led to congressional hearings.
When Joaquin Pheonix appeared on The Late Show in 2009 confused fans and viewers wondered if he had lost touch with reality. As it turns out, he was simply acting in character as the subject of the mocumentary film, I'm Still Here. According to the New York Times, the director of I'm Still Here called Phoenix' performance the best of his career.

“It’s a terrific performance, it’s the performance of his career,” Mr. Affleck said. He was speaking of Mr. Phoenix’s two-year portrayal of himself — on screen and off — as a bearded, drug-addled aspiring rap star, who, as Mr. Affleck tells it, put his professional life on the line to star in a bit of “gonzo filmmaking” modeled on the reality-bending journalism of Hunter S. Thompson.

 Time will tell if this really is the "performance of his career." But his appearance on Late Night for next Wednesday (the 22nd) may be telling and it could be interesting hearing his explanation of things.

Review of I'm Still Here.