A new trailer shows Joaquin Phoenix completely transformed to portray John Callahan, a cartoonist who became paralyzed at the age of 21 and used drawing as a means of therapy.
The trailer comes from Amazon Studios, which produced the forthcoming biopic, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. The movie is based on a memoir written by Callahan himself, which has the same catchy title as the movie.
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The film will be the first time Phoenix is back on set with director Gus Van Sant since 1995’s To Die For. The 23-year-old movie was one of Phoenix’s break-out roles, and helped lead Van Sant to direct Goodwill Hunting.
Other stars of Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot include Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black. The film promises to be full of dark, ironic humor, as Phoenix whizzes around in a powered wheelchair, immobile from the neck down.
The first screening is on Friday, Jan. 19 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it’s expected to do well with critics and industry professionals. After that, Don’t Worry is entered into the Berlin International Film Festival in February.
Wait until you get to know John Callahan.
Get your first look at Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot, starring Joaquin Phoenix, @JonahHill, Rooney Mara and Jack Black. Directed by Gus Van Sant.
In select theaters May 11. #DWHWGFOF pic.twitter.com/Sigc28D7V4
— Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot (@dontworrymovie) January 16, 2018
The official release of the film isn’t until May 11. It will get a nation-wide theatrical release before moving over to Amazon Prime’s proprietary streaming service.
The movie is part of a trend for Amazon, as the studio tries to move into more serious productions and increase their audience. The company reportedly spent a quarter of a billion dollars to get the rights to the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. They’re making a TV series set in his Lord of The Rings universe, which has a projected budget of $2 million per episode.
