JamieFoxx Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Michael Mann's latest crime opus has already hit theaters, and like most of his devoted fans, I was there opening day. Granted, my desire to be first in line for Public Enemies mainly had to do with my preoccupation with pretty boys in nice suits, but trust me, there were some loftier ideals at work. One of the reasons I love Mann's films is that he finds new ways to tell relatively traditional stories...which brings me to Miami Vice. Vice definitely wasn't one of Mann's most popular films, but I always defend this flick, and here's why: growing up, I watched Miami Vice, and I might have loved it, but even at the tender age of 10 I knew it was kind of silly. I had always wondered what the series would have looked like if the show had a little less cheap humor about Crockett and his alligator and a little more 'dignity' -- fast forward to 2006, and that's exactly what Mann did.

Gone were the over the top white suits and wise cracks (I mean, thank god I didn't have to watch Colin Farrell yucking it up with 'Elvis'), and instead, Mann replaced them with a darker, meaner, and (dare I say it?) more realistic Miami Vice. But just because Mann brought Vice into the present, didn't mean that those traditional touches were gone, and the teaser was proof. That first trailer had it all -- the music perfectly timed with every shotgun pump, speedboats, helicopters, guns and hot girls...and you can't get more Miami Vice than that.

After the jump; the teaser and a reminder of Vice on the small screen..

Hollywood loves to stereotype people with mental illnesses as being merely quirky, or easy to cure if you just give 'em a lot of the right kind of love. The Soloist aims for a more realistic portrayal, and even tries to build awareness about the problems of homeless people in America. Unfortunately, the overall film isn't compelling, and the plot falls into the easy traps of traditional melodrama.

Steve Lopez's nonfiction book was adapted by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich, Catch and Release). Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) is always on the hunt for more material to fill his LA Times column space, even cannibalizing his own cycling accident to tell a good story. When he encounters Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) playing violin by a statue of Beethoven, and learns that this homeless man once attended Juilliard, he figures he's hit the columnist jackpot. Little by little he starts to try to "fix" Nathaniel -- finding him a cello and a safe place to play, taking him to symphony rehearsals -- but it's not all that easy. And naturally, Steve's life starts to change too, and he's not sure how to handle it.

Some people might think Jamie Foxx has jumped the proverbial shark (and I don't necessarily disagree), but apparently Iron Mike Tyson didn't get the memo. Some extremely brave soul at MTV interviewed the former heavyweight champion, who once again revealed that he wants Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx to play him in a biopic.

Tyson told MTV, "I don't know [who might direct]... Jamie discussed the things he wanted to do. He didn't know which way he wanted to go, but it was something he wanted to do. He told me not to tell anybody [too much]. He's just interested in doing it."

Foxx's The Soloist is getting mixed reviews, and the movie itself was pushed back twice, from November 21, 2008, in what some thought would be an Oscar bid, to March 2009 and then once more to this weekend. However, it's possible that James Toback's doc on the fighter, Tyson, could drum up interest in a biopic.

I just saw Tyson, which is also opening this weekend (read our review), and while it didn't totally change my opinion on Tyson the man, it's absolutely engrossing. Other than clips of Tyson in the media, including footage of him with his mentor Cus D'Amato and with ex-wife Robin Givens on Barbara Walters and, oh yeah, him threatening a heckler ("I'll f*ck you until you love me, [homophobic expletive]"), the doc is literally all Tyson talking and it's hypnotic. While Toback doesn't pull any punches (har), the trust he established with the fighter over the years allows the viewer an unprecedented look into Tyson's mind and life. Plus, as someone who occasionally dons a pink pair of Everlast gloves, I was totally rocked by the footage of him fighting as a young man.

Besides, a star turn as an ear-biting convicted rapist has Oscar bait written all over it.

Not too long ago, it seemed as though his career knew no heights. Jamie Foxx established his comedy credentials in the early 90s with his work on the groundbreaking, star-making TV show In Living Color, showcased his dramatic acting ability with Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday in 1999, and really knocked it out of the park in 2004 with the 1-2 punch of Taylor Hackford's Ray, for which he won an Academy Award, and Michael Mann's Collateral, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Ray made people sit up and take notice of Foxx's musical capabilities. Since then he's been busy with his music career, selling millions of CDs, and has also been hosting a comedy show on satellite radio. As far as his movie career, though, it's been more problematic. Only a handful have been released in the last five years -- Stealth, Jarhead, Miami Vice, Dreamgirls, The Kingdom -- and, while his performances have been fine, they haven't set the world on fire.

He plays a schizophrenic musician opposite Robert Downey, Jr. in this week's release of Joe Wright's The Soloist, and told the Los Angeles Times he's decided to be more selective: "I've asked my agent to find me beautiful-character movies. That's where we flourish." He only has one other upcoming project set, the thriller Law Abiding Citizen, which is due next year, and the way he's talking, the 41-year-old Foxx sounds like he'd be content to be a dramatic character actor from here on out. Of course, this is the same man who made tasteless jokes about Miley Cyrus on his radio show last week, so maybe this is just a phase.

Has Jamie Foxx's career as a movie star jumped the shark? Take our poll and let us know.

For more on Jamie Foxx, check out Moviefone's interview with the actor.

Steve Lopez first stumbled onto Nathaniel Anthony Ayers near a tunnel in Los Angeles, not far from Skid Row. Lopez, a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times, was hard up for a column topic, heard an unusually talented street musician in an unlikely place, and struck up a conversation. Articulate, clearly unwell, and doing impressive things with a broken-down violin, Ayers half-intrigues and half-amuses Lopez, who comes back to see him. On his second visit, Lopez notices Ayers scrawling names in the asphalt. "Who are those people?" Lopez asks. "Oh, those are just my classmates from Juilliard," Ayers answers.

Wait, what? That last sends Lopez back to his office to do some Googling and make some phone calls. Indeed, it turns out that Mr. Ayers attended Juilliard as a bass violinist before paranoid schizophrenia drove him out and eventually onto the streets. If the word "Juilliard" means nothing to you, suffice it to say that musicians with the chops to get into the immensely prestigious New York City academy do not ordinarily wind up homeless. Here, Steve Lopez thought, was a column. Maybe a couple.

There's just something so gratifying about a vigilante flick isn't there? Sure, they might be a little silly, but you're usually guaranteed a very satisfying night at the movies. Now that F. Gary Gray's Law Abiding Citizen is back gearing up for production, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that four new cast members have just signed to star alongside Gerard Butler and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx in the thriller; they are: Michael Gambon, Leslie Bibb (Iron Man), Colm Meaney and Theresa Randle (Bad Boys II).

In Citizen, Butler plays a successful assistant D.A., who finds himself at the center of a plot for revenge hatched by Foxx after he's been screwed by the legal system. When Foxx discovers that one of the men responsible for the death of his wife and daughter is about to go free, he targets everyone who had either something to do with the murder, or the impending legal deal.

Citizen is the first film to come out of Butler's Evil Twins shingle, and it's had some high-powered help along the way -- including a rewrite by Frank Darabont, who was also set to direct at one time, but there were some personnel changes and now Gray, a former music video director, is at the helm. Not to mention the script is still scheduled for a polish by Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard) before the film starts production on January 21st.

Law Abiding Citizen will arrive in theaters later this year.

Last week, the upcoming thriller Law Abiding Citizen was embroiled in a bit of drama when its director, Frank Darabont, unexpectedly dropped out seemingly just after it had managed to cast Jamie Foxx. Rumors still abound that the split wasn't a friendly one -- and given that there's been a storyline switch-a-roo, we're not even sure what we'll see onscreen.

Well, happily for Citizen, they landed themselves a new director. Variety reports that F. Gary Gray has signed for the enviable job of directing Foxx and Gerard Butler (who is also producing). And while the story still focuses on a vigilante hounding a city and its assistant D.A., the roles have now switched. Foxx is now playing the assistant D.A., and Butler the vigilante, with the film set to shoot in December.

And for a movie about a vigilante, it's leaving an appropriate amount of bodies in its wake. Thanks to the shift in directors, now Eric Bana has been left job less. Gray was all set to direct Armored, the heist thriller that had chased Bana around Star Trek before finally landing him. Oddly, Armored doesn't even get the luxury of a replacement director -- Millenium Films is reporting that Gray's departure has left it dead in the water, a mere week after it had appeared in the trades.

I have an idea! Cast Bana in Law Abiding Citizen as the serial killer who controls the city and Butler's vigilante, combining both script ideas into one film of crazy, blood-splattered fun questioning the nature of justice ... or at least just ending violently in an abandoned warehouse. (By the way, if they need someone to die violently at the hands of justice-dealing Butler, I'm available. Call me!)

Just three days ago, when we told you that Jamie Foxx was joining Gerard Butler for vigilante thriller Law Abiding Citizen, we were all still under the impression that Frank Darabont remained in the director's seat for the project. Unfortunately, AICN has confirmed word that Darabont has indeed stepped away from the film, for reasons unknown, and I for one share the sentiment that this is a distinctly less exciting prospect now.

What's curious is how descriptions of the film's plot have varied. Our post on Darabont's hiring and the film's IMDb page (at the moment) both shared a synopsis that involved an elaborate scheme by an incarcerated criminal mastermind to control the city. Last week's Hollywood Reporter piece on Foxx coming aboard took it back to an reportedly original, comparably simpler tale of injustice and revenge, which screenwriter Kurt Wimmer (Street Kings) may still be able to spin into something special.

Just not, y'know, Darabont special. (Maybe he could return to Stephen King country and finally bring "The Long Walk" to the screen; one can hope...).

Gerard Butler's RocknRolla week has gone rather sour, poor lad. (And I do mean that.) But maybe he can keep cheerful at the idea that Law Abiding Citizen is finally moving forward again. If you remember, this is the first film Butler will be producing under his Evil Twins shingle, and he snagged Frank Darabont for the director's chair.

Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Mr. Butler has snagged himself a pretty big costar: Jamie Foxx. Butler will play a successful assistant D.A., who finds himself in the middle of a vigilante plot hatched by Foxx, who has been screwed over by the legal system and discovers that one of the men responsible for killing his wife and daughter is about to be set free. All who participated in the deal and the killings are fair game for his revenge. It's going to be a lot of fun watching Butler and Foxx square off.

Possibly better than Foxx's casting is that they seem to be keeping the original plot. When Darabont became attached to the film, the press release suggested that the story was revamped to center around a criminal mastermind rather than vigilante justice. Who wants to see a Hannibal Lecter knockoff over a Harvey Dent clone? Not I, I like my moral ambiguity and Batman style justice. No word on when this starts shooting, but let's hope it's soon. I think Butler could use some good news -- and a safer outlet for his own vigilante justice.