When Dutch director George Sluizer announced that he was in the process of completing Dark Blood, the film that River Phoenix was working when he died in 1993, and that he has been in contact with the late actor’s family, he may have been exaggerating.
A spokesperson for the family has denied that there has been any contact between the parties, issuing the statement –
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.
According to a story which broke yesterday, Sluizer claimed to have kept in contact with Phoenix’s family over the years and had hoped that River’s brother Joaquin would contribute some voiceover work to the film as his voice sounded similar to River’s.
Of course there is the possibility that Sluizer’s original statement may have gotten garbled in translation and that he hoped to have the participation of the Phoenix family. If so, it would be a pity if they were turned off to the possibility of helping complete the project due to a misunderstanding. The family’s statement seems to be fairly final in regards to their participation though.
Via Deadline.
