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LOS ANGELES - Jamie Foxx is returning to the genre that won him an Oscar. The Ray star has signed on to The Soloist, a musical biopic that Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) will direct for DreamWorks.
Based on a 12-part series of articles by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, the story centres on Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a homeless musician with schizophrenia who dreams of playing at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Lopez's articles, "From Skid Row to Disney Hall," were published in 2005 and will serve as the basis for an upcoming book by Putnam.
Foxx, a classically trained musician who won the best actor Academy Award for playing Ray Charles in Ray, teamed with DreamWorks for the Motown-inspired musical Dreamgirls. He returns to theatres later this year in the Middle East-set thriller The Kingdom.
- REUTERS