First Trailer for the Joaquin Phoenix Documentary I’M STILL HERE

Following the news that the Joaquin Phoenix documentary I’m Still Here will premiere at the Venice Film Festival in early September, Magnolia Pictures has released the debut trailer.  Brother-in-law Casey Affleck is the man behind the camera for the doc, which tracks Phoenix’s cinematic retirement, and subsequent ventures into a career as a hip hop musician.  Check out the teaser after the jump.

I think the smart money still bets on “This is all a ruse.”  The clip maintains its ground though, as the parties involved continue to play everything with a straight face… I think.  Is the hyperbolic voiceover a serendipitous inspirational speech caught on camera, or a parody of such semi-scripted reality?  The Diddy hug feels like a wink at the camera to me, but maybe I’m projecting my inability to take Mr. Combs seriously.

The cool part, though, is that everything I’ve seen/read so far indicates that I’m Still Here will be fascinating on some level when it hits theaters on September 10th.

Here’s the official synopsis:

The directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Casey Affleck, I’M STILL HERE is a striking portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of internationally acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, I’M STILL HERE follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, and always riveting, the film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.

Click over to Yahoo! for HD.