September 14, 2010 5:50 pm

VIDEO: Werner Herzog tells the story of saving Joaquin Phoenix’s life

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In this video, Werner Herzog tells of the time that he saw Joaquin Phoenix driving “way, way too fast” and wrecking a sports car in the Hollywood Hills. Herzog saved Phoenix after coming to the aid of the actor who had just wrecked his vehicle and was trying to light a cigarette as gasoline started to soak the car’s interior.

And that’s how Joaquin Phoenix is still here. Well, apparently that may not be the whole story. In an interview with Collider.com, the Oscar winner says that isn’t really what happened the night he wrecked his car in 2006.

Joaquin VIDEO: Werner Herzog tells the story of saving Joaquin Phoenix’s life

Joaquin: That’s totally ridiculous. No, because Werner disappeared before I had my cigarette. Another guy came around the back. The car was tilted in such a way that, if I climbed out the passenger side, the driver side was on the street, it was tilted at some lookout and I thought that the weight would then roll it over so I can’t go out that way. And then this guy opened the very back door and it wasn’t Werner. It was the other guy. And, I crawled through and said ‘thanks very much’ and I turned around and Werner was long gone. Then I smoked next to the firemen.

So we have conflicting stories here; one from an award winning German director that once ate his shoe

wernerherzog VIDEO: Werner Herzog tells the story of saving Joaquin Phoenix’s life

and another from an award winning actor that did stuff like this for the past two years…

I don’t know who I believe in this situation, but can we all agree that someone needs to come along and pull Phoenix out of the train wreck his career has recently become?