Noir Dick

For a guy who loathes playing the Oscar campaign game, Joaqun Phoenix sure likes his projects to have an awards-bait-esque allure to ’em, huh.

The actor is in talks to reunite with his Master director, Paul Thomas Anderson, for the adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s comedic noir Inherent Vice.

Robert Downey Jr. had long been attached to the starring role of a detective embroiled in a kidnapping case in 1969-1970 Los Angeles.

Now here’s a guy who plays by his own rules. He’ll probably do it, not give a damn about kissing nobody’s behind should the project become a buzzed-about darling, and still nab an Academy Award nomination in the process. Just like he did with The Master.

Guess that last name of his will always help him: no matter how odd or rude (by Hollywood’s standards) he gets, he’ll always rise back above it all.

Photo: WashingtonLife.com.