it's not life that matters but the journey...

Wow. Well...I must say it does seem reminiscent of Tony Clifton.

It's really hard to say with actors, having been among them for so long.

I knew one who was quite good, and then he quit acting, and whenever anyone even so much as raised an eyebrow, he'd launch into this speech about was it really that unusual, and how come nobody ever thinks that once you've been bit by the bug, you can never quit, etc., etc. He was really defensive about it. So, maybe Joaquin is quitting.

Then again, taken at face value, with respect to his complete lack of making an effort to promote his movie, he could be acting as a conscientious objector, either to this particular movie, or to filmmaking/Hollywood in general. And as a quirky person and as an actor, who has to compete in today's world of Dr. Horrible and other quirky indie successes, maybe he's trying to object in as weird and artsy way as possible, hence the act. Or maybe he got screwed on the movie deal, and he just doesn't want the producers to make any money off of him. Like, he did his job by acting in the movie, fulfilled his contract, but that's as far as he's going to go. Even though he might have been required as part of his contract to go on talk shows, he's not required to participate in a meaningful way. It's a brilliant way to object, I think, but if that's what he's doing, he's missing the mark by not telling anybody what he's objecting to and why.

The third possibility is the whole Tony Clifton thing. This is just some elaborate in-joke that none of us, and certainly not the staff of Letterman, are in on. And maybe it has something to do with Casey Affleck filming him all the time. Maybe Joaquin will reveal it later, and maybe he won't. I don't think Andy Kaufman ever publicly admitted that he was Tony Clifton. But, all of it being some weird joke is completely plausible, given the general insanity of actors, and the extra-crazy typically found in gifted actors (Tom Cruise, anyone?).

So I guess what I'm saying is, time will tell. Or maybe it won't. ;-)