This is the second in a series of reports from the SXSW Film/Interactive Festival, which is still taking place in Austin, TX. Scene-Stealers hosted the Bacon-Flavored Interactive Afterparty, the Harpoon Happy Hour, and the free SenoReality screening, all of which were held at the coolest bar in town, Red 7. While we were down there, Dustin (our executive producer) and I attended several screenings and did lots of cool interviews with the directors and stars as we could. Enjoy!

Saturday, March 14

Dustin went down the convention center to check out some cool film/interactive panels. He saw Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, and Rashida Jones on the “I Love You, Man” panel. The movie premiered at the festival the night before, but we’d already seen it, so we skipped that. (Our full video review is up here.)

I went to the airport to pick up our new heroes, the winners of the 2008 Pitch Award for Best Avant-Garde/Experimental Band, Kansas City’s own Bacon Shoe. To see a video of their journey (which began very, very early that morning), click here. First, my second Mexican restaurant in two days. Delicious. If you’re eating anything else besides Mexican/Tex-Mex or BBQ in Austin, you are a very silly person.

We realized we needed different speakers (sorry, Chris!) and some mics and cords, so it was back to the rental store. After some careful reassurance that we’d bring all this stuff back before the music portion of the festival started (and some careful avoiding of any questions about what we were actually using this for), we got the goods and headed out. Bacon Shoe went to the parking lot of the Hampton Inn with the power inverter and remote PA in the back of the rented SUV and did a soundcheck to make sure everything was working OK. I dropped myself off at the convention center. Since the car wasn’t insured for any driver but me, I have to admit was a bit  nervous, especially since what the band is doing is illegal and usually gets busted by cops.

We were only at the Jeffrey Tambor Acting Workshop for about 30 minutes before it was time for Bacon Shoe’s first “street attack” of the day. It was strategically placed right outside of the Austin Convention Center. As convention-goers were leaving the building to head up to 6th St. for all the parties, Bacon Shoe illegally parked the SUV in front of the Hilton Hotel, pulled up the hatchback to reveal two PA speakers, and launched into a song. For just over a minute. (start at 5:19!) Just as a crowd was starting to gather, a policeman from a nearby tent swooped in and the fun was over. It may have been short, but it was obvious the band was going to make an impression.

We followed them down 6th St. for another “street attack” that lasted a good 4 songs or so and attracted a much bigger crowd. Toine also got his junk grabbed by a homeless fan who apparently dug more than his lyrics. (See the video below–not safe for work!)

Then the band was off into the night to do some more guerrilla street performances to promote tomorrow’s benefit show. Dustin and I headed to the Alamo Drafthouse Lamar 1 to interview the director and stars of “Best Worst Movie.”

Next SXSW 2009 entry>>

Tags: 2009, bacon party, bacon shoe, dirty hilarious, funny, insane, rap, street performance, SXSW, SXSW 2009

 What’s the point?

I called it without ever having seen any video of him rapping, but it’s pretty clear that Joaquin Phoenix’s self-imposed retirement from acting to pursue a career as a rapper is a hoax. As soon as the news broke that his brother-in-law Casey Affleck would be directing a documentary about his decision, it was pretty obvious that some “Borat”-style shenanigans were going on. Ironically, to prove my point in my original blog, I posted a video from “Late Night with David Letterman” of Andy Kaufman’s similar wrestling hoax (in which he conspired with real-life wrestler Jerry Lawler).

Well, 20-some-odd years later, here’s Phoenix, ostensibly promoting his newest (and supposedly last) film “Two Lovers” on Letterman last night:

It’s pretty obvious Dave knows something is up. This kind of stunt is nothing new. What’s weird is that Phoenix doesn’t have anything remotely funny to say about it. What’s the point of his satire? It doesn’t necessarily count as satire without one. Here’s his Vegas rap performances:

…falling off the stage…

…and rapping poorly.

Tags: Andy Kaufman, casey Affleck, continues, david letterman, hoax, interview, Joaquin Phoenix, late show, Letterman, mockumentary, on, Phoenix, rap

2/12 UPDATE post with more video here– Phoenix on Letterman, rap performance

OK, I don’t know if the little amount of text I’m actually going to write for this blog justifies its own entry, but this is just too bizarre.

You read the headline correctly. Casey Affleck is directing a documentary that follows Joaquin Phoenix’s self-imposed retirement from acting to pursue a career as a rapper. Today in Las Vegas, Phoenix is making his debut performance as a rap singer. Affleck’s cameras sart rolling today. Sean “Diddy” Combs will reportedly produce the documentary.

What I can’t tell is if this is a joke or not. It could be the most elaborate put-on in the short history of the mockumentary genre. If Phoenix played a rapper like Sacha Baron Cohen plays Borat, everybody would recognize him and know it’s a joke. But if the actor plays himself pretending to want to be a rapper, everyone is forced to believe it and the illusion can then be successfully mined for laughs. It could be an Andy Kaufman-style hoax; one that Phoenix has been working on since he announced his retirement back in October.

Even in this video where he announces his retirement, it kinda looks like Affleck and Phoenix are acting for the camera. The interviewer doesn’t even believe him. Could be a set-up for the movie!

Andy Kaufman’s wrestling antics were all pre-planned hoaxes. See him on “Letterman” above.

It has to be a hoax for the sake of a funny movie, because otherwise why would Affleck think that this is anything worth filming? If it is for real, and it’s a disaster (and Affleck is counting on this for his movie), then he’s going to mine Phoenix’s misery, and that wouldn’t be cool for two friends. (Casey is married to Joaquin’s sister Summer Phoenix.)

Then, there is the other possibility: Joaquin Phoenix, the man who earned an Oscar nomination playing Johnny Cash (and singing his songs in the movie), is a bad-ass, talented rap artist. It’s just that nobody knows it yet. Wow. Really?

UPDATE: Here is video of Phoenix’s performance in Vegas, which seems to confirm my suspicions. You heard it here. I called it first! Not sure what they were thinking; it’s too hard to get away with hoaxes like this if you’re also using your celebrity. That’s why Sacha Baron Cohen is in disguise. Kaufman did it, I suppose, but his stuff was slightly more in character for what people expected of him than Phoenix rapping. Also, media was not nearly as advanced and immediate in the 80s.

Tags: album, career, casey Affleck, chronicling, direct, documentary, hoax, Joaquin Phoenix, mockumentary, music, rap, rapper, release, singer, to