This Thanksgiving's blockbuster movie season will launch another retooling of Hollywood's fair-weather obsession with heartwarming, musical stories (see Music of the Heart, Mr. Holland's Opus, August Rush, Shine, Red Violin, Unfaithfully Yours, et al.). Sandwiched between the latest James Bond chapter Quantum of Solace, Baz Luhrmann's Australia, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, comes "The Soloist".
Slated to release this November from director Joe Wright (who brought us last year's Atonement), "The Soloist" is based on a 5-part series written by journalist Steven Lopez for the Los Angeles Times. The series, which was turned into a book, tells the story of Lopez's chance meeting with local homeless guy, Nathaniel Ayers, in downtown Los Angeles's Pershing Square in 2005. This guy sums up the plot well:
"The movie is a true story about musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers who developed schizophrenia in his second year at Juilliard. Ayers ends up homeless on the streets of downtown Los Angeles, where he plays his cello and violin. Steve Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist, writes about Ayers and the two strike up a friendship. Robert [Downey, Jr.] is playing Steve Lopez’s character and Jamie [Foxx] plays Nathaniel Ayers. I read on Variety.com that Jamie’s actually learning to play stringed instruments from a cellist with the L.A. Philharmonic for this movie."
Jamie Foxx plays the homeless cello prodigy "Nathaniel Ayers", Robert Downey Jr. is L.A. Times reporter "Steve Lopez", and Katherine Keener his ex-wife/colleague. It has been filming all over downtown Los Angeles since late January 2008: mainly at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the L.A. Times building, and the Biltmore Hotel. Loads more pictures here.
Bust & lusted. What is it with the Left Coast and homeless people? They need to take lessons from Rudolph Giuliani. NYC's homeless population is growing phat off the wild heron on North Brother Island & dipping their toes in the East River as we speak. This movie alto be ashamed of itself. Will we see it? AW CELL(N)O!