Los Angeles: Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix is taking it up another notch after Ari Aster's Beau Is Afraid, teaming up with Todd Haynes for an NC-17-rated gay romance film. Haynes spoke about the film at the Cannes Film Festival following the Saturday premiere of his romantic drama May December, starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. In the interview, Haynes teased an upcoming project he co-developed with Phoenix.
"The next film is a feature that's an original script that I developed with Joaquin Phoenix based on some thoughts and ideas he brought to me," Haynes said. "We basically wrote with him as a story writer. Me and Jon Raymond and Joaquin share the story credit. And we hope to be shooting it beginning early next year. It's a gay love story set in 1930s L.A." Haynes added, "Joaquin was pushing me further and going, 'No, let's go further.' This will be an NC-17 film."
