Yahoo Movies Jonah Hill is stepping away from promoting his upcoming films so he can work on his anxiety
Jonah Hill has recently finished directing Stutz, a documentary about tools he's learned in therapy to aid in his mental health, and now he's decided to take some of his own advice.
In a statement to EW, Hill announced he won't be promoting any of his upcoming films in an effort to focus on anxiety attacks he's been having for nearly 20 years.
According to Deadline, the documentary's title references Hill's therapist, and the film features frank discussions about mental health and how Hill's anxiety attacks progressively grew worse, making the promotion of his films into something resembling a nightmare.
Stutz will have its festival debut this fall while Hill's other upcoming project, You People — which he co-wrote with Blackish's Kenya Barris and stars Hill, Eddie Murphy, David Duchovny, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus — comes out later this year on Netflix.
Kurt Krieger/Corbis via Getty Images
The following is Hill's statement regarding his decision:
"I have finished directing my second film, a documentary about me and my therapist which explores mental health in general called Stutz. The whole purpose of making this film is to give therapy and the tools I've learned in therapy to a wide audience for private use through an entertaining film.
Through this journey of self-discovery within the film, I have come to the understanding that I have spent nearly 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks, which are exacerbated by media appearances and public facing events.
I am so grateful that the film will make its world premiere at a prestigious film festival this fall, and I can't wait to share it with audiences around the world in the hope that it will help those struggling. However, you won't see me out there promoting this film, or any of my upcoming films, while I take this important step to protect myself. If I made myself sicker by going out there and promoting it, I wouldn't be acting true to myself or to the film.
I usually cringe at letters or statements like this but I understand that I am of the privileged few who can afford to take time off. I won't lose my job while working on my anxiety. With this letter and with Stutz, I'm hoping to make it more normal for people to talk and act on this stuff. So they can take steps towards feeling better and so that the people in their lives might understand their issues more clearly.
I hope the work will speak for itself and I'm grateful to my collaborators, my business partners and to all reading this for your understanding and support.
-Jonah Hill"
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