Joaquin Phoenix has filmed a few “gross” scenes in his life. More than a few, probably, but the one that comes to mind is the Joker scene where Arthur Fleck commits bloody murder and then dances down steps to the tune of Gary Glitter’s “Rock & Roll Part 2.” There will be a Joker sequel, obviously, but it’s worth reflecting upon a quieter Joaquin film, 2013’s Her, directed by Spike Jonze. As it turns out — as revealed by Scarlett Johansson on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast — Joaquin actually had a hard time filming part of the movie.
Due to laughter? It sure sounds like it. Via Indiewire, Scarlett (who actually never appeared onscreen, due to her portraying a Siri-like entity that lived in the phone of Joaquin’s character) and Joaquin attempted to record their “sex” scene together. And while Joaquin’s character manages to enjoy himself and “finish,” the actor “needed a break.” Here’s how that went down:
“We tried to get through one take, and he was, like, losing it,” Johansson said. “He left the studio. He needed a break.”
Johansson added, “You don’t want to hear your voice ever. You definitely don’t want to hear what you sound like having an orgasm. You definitely don’t want to hear what you sound like having a fake orgasm — ew. It’s so gross. It was so bizarre.”
It’s difficult to say whether Joaquin was grossed out/consumed by laughter by the entire scene or whether that’s how Scarlett felt, and he was simply laughing. Regardless, it appears to be quite a chore to feign lovemaking with a disembodied AI consciousness, and his character hadn’t even yet learned that she’d been falling in love with about 400 other dudes, too. It’s a quietly wild movie and worth catching up on if you didn’t see it before now.
(Via Indiewire)