Jamie Foxx Tunes Up For 'The Soloist'

Zap2It.com | August 17, 2007

Jamie Foxx

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Joe Wright will direct the based-on-fact story

Jamie Foxx is looking to polish up his post-Oscar resume by returning to the musical biopic genre.

According to the industry trades, Foxx is set to star in DreamWorks' "The Soloist," which will be directed by Joe Wright, currently building buzz with his Oscar-season release "Atonement."

"The Soloist" is based on a 12-part series of columns by Los Angeles Times scribe Steve Lopez. Foxx would play Nathaniel Ayers, a cello and violin prodigy who ended up homeless and schizophrenic on the streets of Los Angeles, but never lost his dream of playing with the L.A. Philharmonic. The friendship between Ayers and Lopez will be central to the story, leaving one lead to be cast.

Susannah Grant ("Erin Brockovich") is writing the script, while Lopez's has turned his articles into the basis for an upcoming Putnam book.

Since winning his Oscar for "Ray," Foxx's credits have included both successes ("Dreamgirls") and disappointments ("Stealth," "Miami Vice"). Foxx has the thriller "The Kingdom" coming out this fall.