A couple of years ago right before his whole fake mental breakdown/hip hop experiment thing, Joaquin Phoenix starred in perhaps the best film of his career, a little romance called Two Lovers. James Gray directed, and Phoenix thanked him for the gig by proceeding to blow up all the promotion for the film by acting like a bearded moron. I personally was pissed about it because I wanted that excellent movie to get the props it deserved, and Phoenix's antics were a big reason why nobody even saw it. But the whole thing was a scam, and Gray was in on it the whole time so everything's good between the two. So much so that the two will be working together again on Gray's next film, Low Life. This will be their fourth time collaborating, as Gray also directed Phoenix in The Yards
and We Own the Night
. All solid flicks. Deadline broke the news, reporting that Marion Cotillard and the stupidly busy Jeremy Renner will be involved as well. Cotillard will play a woman attempting to immigrate from Poland. Her American dream turns into a nightmare. While sailing to Ellis Island and a new start, her sister grows deathly ill and she is forced to trade sexual favors for medicine and food to keep her sister alive…she falls prey to a charming sleazebag (Phoenix), who persuades her to turn tricks in New York. Renner is close to signing on to play the sleazebag’s cousin, a magician who sweeps the young woman off her feet and is her best chance to escape the nightmarish life she has fallen into.
Feel good movie of the year? The plan is for this to shoot some time next year due to the insane schedules for all involved. Cotillard is busy with The Dark Knight Rises, and Renner has a little bit of everything going on, in particular The Bourne Legacy
. Phoenix will be taking part in The Master, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. 
