Leading the film is Joaquin Phoenix who plays Joe Cross in Eddington. He’s the sheriff of a dying town and the kind of man who’d rather watch everything burn than admit he’s lost control. With pandemic paranoia, far-right delusions, and a god complex brewing under his dusty hat, Joe is both terrifying and tragic.

While recently preparing for an interview with Joaquin Phoenix during the Los Angeles press day for his new 2025 movie Eddington, I took notice of a special aspect of his filmography. His latest film is his second time working with writer/director Ari Aster,

Joaquin Phoenix is looking back at the rollercoaster of awkwardness that etched his 2009 interview with David Letterman in late-night history.

Eddington, the latest film from Hereditary director Ari Aster, is a dark comedy about COVID-fueled chaos in a fictional New Mexico town. The film wades into hot-button topics regarding police brutality, the Black Lives Matter movement, AI investment, and mask mandates, among others. Eddington is now playing in theaters.

Costume designer Anna Terrazas tells IndieWire about the real-world influences behind her clothes for Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, and Pedro Pascal in Ari Aster's latest provocation.

A24 is known for its prestige arthouse films, but in its early days as a distributor, it made most of its money from elevated horror films like Ari Aster’s Hereditary and Midsommar. Over a decade in, the ambitions of A24 and Aster have expanded beyond genre film. But for both, the more recent results have been mixed.

"Eddington," co-starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes and Micheal Ward, opens in theaters nationwide Friday, July 18.

Hereditary” and “Midsommar” director Ari Aster takes on contemporary America in “Eddington.” Joaquin Phoenix stars as a local sheriff in a fictional New Mexico town in May 2020, a time