Yahoo News Joaquin Phoenix pushed Todd Haynes to 'go further' with their gay period romance so it's now NC-17
Joaquin Phoenix does not half-ass his work. He's using his whole ass, which may be even more apt considering the project he's working on with beloved queer auteur Todd Haynes.
At Cannes, Haynes was discussing his next film, "a gay love story set in 1930s L.A.," that he developed with the Oscar-winning actor.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Phillip Faraone/FilmMagic Joaquin Phoenix; Todd Haynes
"The next film is a feature that's an original script that I developed with Joaquin Phoenix based on some thoughts and ideas he brought to me," Haynes told IndieWire. "We basically wrote with him as a story writer. Me and Jon Raymond and Joaquin share the story credit. And we hope to be shooting it beginning early next year."
Haynes didn't offer much more in the way of detail, but he did mention that Phoenix was really cracking the whip on the authenticity of the film.
"Joaquin was pushing me further and going 'no, let's go further,'" he said. "This will be an NC-17 film."
Haynes is no stranger to pushing the gay envelope with queer classics like 1991's Poison and 1998's Velvet Goldmine, as well as the exquisite Far From Heaven starring frequent collaborator Julianne Moore, and the gorgeous Carol featuring another impeccable Cate Blanchett performance.
Carol premiered at Cannes in 2015, where it was greeted with a 10-minute standing ovation and costar Rooney Mara won Best Actress, tying with Emmanuelle Bercot for My King.
And speaking of Julianne Moore, as we always should be, Moore is starring in Haynes' current Cannes offering, May December, as a former teacher involved in a scandalous romance — think Mary Kay Letourneau. Natalie Portman stars as the actress portraying her in an independent film who visits Moore to research the role.
May December has been getting rave reviews since premiering May 20 at the festival, and was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or.
Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.
Related content:
