I am sitting here watching the very engaging 2008 documenatary kicking It on ESPN and feeling very enlightened on the Homelessness issue. The movie follows six homeless men from around the world as they gear up for the 4th annual Homeless World Cup soccer tournament in Cape Town South Africa. I recommend you go here to learn more about the movie and keep an eye on ESPN2 because I am sure they will be airing it again.

Anyways, while watching Kicking It, I was reminded of a trailer I had seen earlier in the day for a film called The Soloist. This film stars Robert Downey Jr. as real life L.A. Times Journalist Steve Lopez who discovers a left behind homeless musical genius named Nathaniel Ayers, played by Jamie Foxx. And while this film clearly takes a more Hollywood approach to the issue (read across from Resurrecting the Champ, August Rush, and Reign Over Me), it clearly hits all the right notes. Take for example two excellent actors, Jamie Foxx with a Miles David haircut circa Amandla era, and a running soundtrack of Bach Cello Prelude in Gm. And seeing as Foxx already won an Oscar in a musical role for his work in Ray, I don’t think that Oscar buzz for this movie is out of the question.

The Soloist, which will debut November 21st, is conceived from Steve Lopez’s original articles, written by Susannah Grant (28 Days and Erin Brockovich), and directed by Atonement’s Joe Wright.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.