Joaquin Phoenix on ‘Late Show with David Letterman’

Let’s just say there is a lot of buzz. The world is all a-twitter today over the disoriented demeanor of Walk the Line star Joaquin Phoenix on last night’s Late Show with David Letterman, but I would like to point out a Rolling Stone post from January 20 which details how Joaquin Phoenix’s fall from a Las Vegas stage was being filmed for a “hilarious documentary” about his transition from movie star to rap artist:

We’re assuming that this has to be a big joke. Actor Casey Affleck, who is directing the doc, is also the onetime movie star’s brother-in-law.

Here’s a little YouTube video of that incident at LAVO:

On the bright side, unlike Spinal Tap, Joaquin Phoenix was at least able to find the stage before falling from it — and he was spellbinding in his first hip-hop performance since retiring from the movies at age 34:

Think that’s a joke? For comparison purposes, let’s recall Farrah Fawcett‘s befuddled appearance on David Letterman’s show on June 13, 1997:

Yo. Lookin’ good. Yeah, yo.

Finally, let’s keep Joaquin Phoenix’s beard in mind while checking out Crispin Glover‘s hair and shoes during his legendary appearance on Late Night with David Letterman way back in July 1987:

Now that was the golden age of train wreck Letterman appearances.