(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Casey Affleck almost went broke while shooting Im Still Here, so had to take other movie roles in order to complete it.

Im Still Here is a supposed documentary, directed by Casey, which follows Joaquin Phoenix as he swaps acting for a rap career. Since shooting began there was speculation the movie was fake. Joaquin appeared in public in an increasingly befuddled state and with a bushy beard, and made an awkward appearance on The David Letterman Show.

Last week, Casey admitted the film is a hoax and has since spoken about the affect shooting had on him.

Having something at stake is a great motivator and once this thing became public for me that was very helpful because there was no question: I had to see it through, no matter how long it took, he explained, referring to Joaquins monosyllabic appearance on the talk show. I went broke. I hadnt worked for more than a year, and I was pouring money into the movie. I had to stop for a month to do The Killer Inside Me. If I hadnt, I wouldnt have been able to finish the film I was out of money. There was a lot at stake financially and, if we had left [the hoax] there, it would have been very damaging to Joaquins career.

Casey has also admitted being amazed that so few people spoke to him about Joaquins wellbeing. He insists most were happy to just laugh at the stars odd behaviour, explaining no-one actually phoned him to check Joaquin was alright.

Casey insists he never intended to dupe anyone with Im Still Here. Instead he wanted to make a film about the nature of celebrity, and is so pleased with the way it turned out there is nothing he would change about it.

You cant make a movie about a celebrity without it in some way being about celebrity culture. We are obsessed with celebrity. We fixate on celebrities. We create them and then destroy them, and for some reason I dont understand there is this desire to do it over and over again, he told British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. Things happen to people I know who I am very close to and to people I dont know that well. We build them up and then we just beat them down. (C) Cover Media