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River Phoenix's Final Film to Be Completed With Brother Joaquin
Us WeeklyUs Weekly – Wed, 19 Oct, 2011 2:43 PM EDT


At long last, River Phoenix's final film will see the light of day.

The actor was in the midst of shooting Dark Blood when he died of heart attack at age 23 outside L.A.'s Viper Room in 1993; autopsy results found lethal traces of cocaine and morphine, in addition to diazepam, ephedrine and marijuana in River's bloodstream.


Following the actor's studden death, director George Sluizer kept the original Dark Blood footage hidden for 18 years out of fear that it would be destroyed.

Sluizer has since re-edited the project for a 2012 release, and he hopes River's brother, Joaquin, 36, will provide a voiceover for his brother's character, Boy.

"The voices of both brothers are very much alike," Sluizer tells The Hollywood Reporter.

In Dark Blood, River plays a young widower who lives in the desert on a nuclear testing site, waiting for the end of the world. When a couple (played by Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis) seek shelter in the area, Boy begins a troubled relationship with Davis' character.

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Dutch-based production company Eyeworks is helping Sluizer deal with the legal issues surrounding the release of Dark Blood. Copyright claims may also lead to retitling the film.

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Reports surfaced yesterday that River Phoenix’s last unfinished film, Dark Blood, was to be completed after 18 years. The late actor was still in the midst of shooting the movie — a thriller about a couple in a desert, co-starring Judy Davis — with director George Sluizer (best known for 1988′s Spoorloos/The Vanishing) when he passed away in 1993 at the age of 23. Sluizer reportedly said he was still in touch with the Phoenix family, and that he planned to ask River’s brother, actor Joaquin Phoenix, to provide the voiceover for River’s character.

This was apparently news to Joaquin Phoenix and family, as the actor’s rep has released the following statement to EW: “Despite George Sluizer’s claim that he has been communicating with River Phoenix’s family in regard to releasing River’s last film, Joaquin Phoenix and his family have not been in communication with the director nor will they participate in any way.”

Sluizer couldn’t be reached for comment.

VioletCloud

Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:16 pm

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