We know Jamie Foxx has a bit of an ego (and he’s somewhat entitled- the guy can act), but this is just ridiculous. Speaking to MTV, he claims he’s reached out to Mike Tyson regarding a dramatization of the life of the legendary heavyweight champion, and with his blessing, he’ll re-team with “Ray” director Taylor Hackford on a movie.
“I’ve reached out to Mike, and I’ve been open about it,” Foxx says. “I think that, of all the biopics that are out there, he has the most interesting story that no one has ever heard.” While sounding like he’s picking biopics off a supermarket aisle, Foxx seems to only be discussing a pipe dream, though MTV adorably presupposes Foxx’s musings are already an in-development project. Foxx looks and sounds nothing like Tyson, though, something I imagine Hackford would instantly be aware of.
Foxx’s statements about how this story seems untold is also false. For one, there’s the trouble with making a biopic of anybody in the media age. Cameras followed Mike Tyson wherever he went, and as such, there is so much footage of the man out there, a man who led a disastrous, but very public life, that there’s barely a need for anyone to truly re-examine it, especially not the team behind the thuddingly-obvious “Ray.” And then there’s James Toback’s final word on the subject, this year’s “Tyson,” which let the man speak in his own words about his hardships, revealing a compelling but seriously damaged man. To want to make a movie out of Tyson’s story after that brilliant picture is almost disrespectful in a way. If you haven’t seen it, get to it as quick as you can.
