Casey Affleck Says I'm Still Here is Fake

File this under “Things Everyone Sort of Already Knew”: In a recent interview with the New York Times, director Casey Affleck admitted that his movie I’m Still Here is not real.

The movie, which chronicles Joaquin Phoenix’s decision to quit acting and pursue a career in hip-hop, is a piece of “gonzo filmmaking,” according to Affleck.

In the interview, he reveals that Phoenix’s infamous appearance on The Late Show with Letterman in 2009 was also performance art, although Letterman was not in on the act. Phoenix is set to reappear on the show Sept. 22, presumably not in character this time around.

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