Trivia On the first day of filming, showed up high and blew several takes. As he attempted to hit his mark, he stumbled and almost fell, mumbling his lines into the ground, and not making eye contact with the other actors. Phoenix claimed to director that he had only taken a pain pill and one beer, and that he was mostly depressed over the recent breakup with girlfriend Suzanne Solgot. Bogdanovich would later minimize Phoenix's troubles that night and insisted that he don't cause another problem for the rest of production. This movie is amusing, touching AND captivating the whole way through. River Phoenix' performance, from his excellent singing voice to his southern accent, made me believe he was an up and coming country western singer. Phoenix becomes the insecure yet arrogant James Wright and I believe he played this character perfectly even with the obvious personal struggles in his life.