While Martin Scorsese always seems to have a busy schedule, it might have opened up slightly given the recent revelation that he bailed on that Frank Sinatra biopic. The director’s next picture is expected to be the hitman tale “The Irishman,” which will reteam him with his longtime friend Robert De Niro, but according to Jamie Foxx, Scorsese is still going to make a Mike Tyson biopic.
You might have forgotten, but two years ago, Jamie Foxx dropped the news that a biopic about the boxer was set up at Paramount, with Scorsese attached to helm his first boxing movie since “Raging Bull,” from a script by “The Wolf of Wall Street” screenwriter and ”Boardwalk Empire” showrunner and lead writer Terence Winter. Foxx has been talking up playing Tyson since at least 2009 (at which time he wanted “Ray” helmer Taylor Hackford to direct), and clearly the actor hasn’t let the idea go.
Talking with ScreenRant, the actor said, “That is a go” when asked about the project adding, “Yeah, [Scorsese is] attached, and it’s—Mike Tyson’s life is one of the most amazing American stories.”
Foxx has also said in the past that the movie would use digital technology to allow him to play Tyson as a younger man, which is interesting given that Scorsese is looking at doing the same thing to De Niro for “The Irishman.” We’ll see if this Foxx/Scorsese collaboration ever happens, but I won’t be surprised if another couple years pass and it’s still just an idea floating around.