Director Casey Affleck has ended months of speculation about his Joaquin Phoenix documentary I'm Still Here, telling The New York Times that it was all fictional.

Casey Affleck told the site that the movie was modeled after the "gonzo" exploits of the late Hunter S. Thompson, following Joaquin Phoenix's "retirement" from acting and his transition into hip-hop music. Here's what the director had to say about Joaquin Phoenix's performance:

"It's a terrific performance, it's the performance of his career. The reviews were so angry. I never intended to trick anybody. The idea of a quote, hoax, unquote, never entered my mind. We wanted to create a space. There were multiple takes, these are performances. You believe what's happening is real. There was no wink. It is a hard movie to watch."

Casey Affleck admitted that virtually the entire film was fabricated, including the supposed home movies of Joaquin Phoenix's childhood. Casey Affleck said those scenes were shot with actors in Hawaii and then ran over a VHS copy of Paris, Texas to get the right kind of degraded image quality.

We reported earlier this week that Joaquin Phoenix will make his return to The Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday, September 22. Casey Affleck said that David Letterman wasn't in on the act the first time around, and that Joaquin Phoenix will not return in character next week.

It was also said that Joaquin Phoenix is fielding offers for new movie roles, although it wasn't specific on what roles he is going out for.

You can CLICK HERE to read the site's entire article.