Todd Haynes to make ‘sexually explicit’ movie with Joaquin Phoenix: ‘A love story between two men’
"Joaquin was pushing it further into more dangerous territory, sexually"
Todd Haynes has teased his next project: a “love story between two men” starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Haynes opened up about the project while speaking to Hollywood industry bible Variety at this weekend’s Deauville American Film Festival.
In the interview, Haynes shared that he plans to shoot the entirety of the movie – the idea for which originated with Phoenix – in Mexico. He added that Phoenix’s co-star is yet to be cast.
“Joaquin was pushing it further into more dangerous territory, sexually” – Todd Haynes
Haynes told the outlet: “It’s a love story between two men set in the 30s that has explicit sexual content that or at least it challenges you with the sexual relationship between these two men.
“One is a Native American character, and one is a corrupt cop in LA. It’s set in the 30s. They have to flee L.A. ultimately and go to Mexico. But it’s a love story and with a strong sexual component. And what was so remarkable is that it all started with Joaquin having some ideas and some thoughts and just questions and images. And he came to me and said: ‘Does this connect to you at all?’ And I was like: ‘Yeah, this is really interesting.’ And so, we would just be on the phone talking and it developed into a script.”
The 62-year-old – whose upcoming film May December stars Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman – added that Phoenix “had fragments of ideas and then I started to formulate them into an actual narrative. And then I brought my wonderful, brilliant friend John Raymond, with whom I collaborated with on Mildred Pierce into the process.
“Basically, it was just this wonderful, organic way to create the script. And Joaquin was pushing it further into more dangerous territory, sexually.”
Haynes, who is gay, has previously tackled queer subject matter in hit films like the Cate Blanchett-starring Carol, and the Jonathan Rhys Meyers-starring Velvet Goldmine.
Joaquin Phoenix won the 2020 Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Joker. He will star alongside Lady Gaga in the follow-up, Joker: Folie à Deux, due in 2024.