Ray (film)

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Ray

Ray film poster
Directed by Taylor Hackford
Produced by Taylor Hackford
Stuart Benjamin
Howard Baldwin
Karen Baldwin
Written by James L. White
Starring Jamie Foxx
Kerry Washington
Regina King
Larenz Tate
Clifton Powell
C.J. Sanders
Music by Craig Armstrong
Ray Charles (songs)
Cinematography Paweł Edelman
Editing by Paul Hirsch
Distributed by Universal Studios
Release date(s) October 19, 2004
Language English
Budget $40,000,000 (estimated)[1]
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Ray is a 2004 biographical film focusing on thirty years[2]of the life of legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles.

The independently-produced film was directed by Taylor Hackford and starred Jamie Foxx in the title role; Foxx received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Born in Albany, Georgia and raised in St. Augustine, Florida, Ray Charles Robinson went blind at the age of seven from glaucoma shortly after watching his younger brother drown, leaving him with feelings of guilt. With the staunch support of his determined single mother, he developed the fierce resolve, wit and incredible talent that would eventually enable him to overcome not only Jim Crow racism and the cruel prejudices against the blind, but also discover his own sound which revolutionized American popular music.

Ray has a lot going against him when he first arrives in Seattle, Washington to play at a seedy club in the late 1940s, encountering adversity wherever he goes. His first manager Marlene Andres and his partner Gossie McKee takes advantage of him financially. His second manager Wilbur Brassfield shortchanges him, other people refuse to hang out with him because of his handicap, and he has to be constantly aware of his surroundings. But his music grabs people. He feels the beat every time he sits at the piano, and the house always comes alive, no matter what the size of the venue. Working his way out of juke joints and onto a tour, Ray is advised to drop his last name and just go by Ray Charles and soon his star rises.

Discovered by Atlantic Records producers Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, Ray is soon given the freedom to write his own music and a phenomenon is born. Mixing blues with gospel music (but, he jokes, without the "gospel attitude") his place in history is soon set. Along the way he marries Houston singer Della Beatrice Antwine who catches his fancy. But she alone can not satisfy him. Time on the road and the temptations of show business overwhelm Ray, and he is soon keeping a lover in tow: backup singer Margie Hendricks.

As Ray's unprecedented fame grew, so did his weakness for drugs and women, until they threatened to strip away the very things he held most dear. Ray is the story of Ray Charles' meteoric rise from humble beginnings, his successful struggle to excel in a sighted world and his eventual defeat of his personal demons.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Songs used in the film

[edit] Awards

[edit] Won

[edit] Nominations

  • 77th Academy Awards:
    • Best Picture
    • Best Director (Taylor Hackford)
    • Best Editing (Paul Hirsch)
    • Best Costume Design (Sharen Davis)
  • American Society of Cinematographers: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (Paweł Edelman)
  • 58th BAFTA Awards:
    • Best Screenplay - Original (James L. White)
    • Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (Craig Armstrong)
  • Black Reel Awards: Best Actress - Drama (Regina King), Best Actress - Drama (Kerry Washington), Best Supporting Actor (Clifton Powell), Best Breakthrough Performance (C.J. Sanders)
  • Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Picture , Best Director (Taylor Hackford)
  • Casting Society of America: Best Feature Film Casting - Drama (Nancy Klopper and Mark Fincannon [location casting])
  • Cinema Audio Society: Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures (Steve Cantamessa, Scott Millan, Greg Orloff and Bob Beemer)
  • Costume Designers Guild: Excellence in Costume Design for Film - Period/Fantasy (Sharen Davis)
  • David di Donatello Awards (Italy): Best Foreign Film
  • Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Taylor Hackford)
  • 62nd Golden Globe Awards:
    • Best Picture - Comedy or Musical
  • Golden Trailer Awards: Best Drama
  • Image Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Clifton Powell), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (C.J. Sanders), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Sharon Warren)
  • MTV Movie Awards: Best Movie, Best Male Performance (Jamie Foxx)
  • Motion Picture Sound Editors: Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features - Dialogue & ADR
  • Online Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Supporting Actress (Sharon Warren)
  • Satellite Awards: Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Kerry Washington), Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Comedy or Musical (Sharon Warren), Best Director (Taylor Hackfor)
  • Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Aunjanue Ellis, Jamie Foxx, Terrence Howard, Regina King, Harry J. Lennix, Clifton Powell, Larenz Tate, Kerry Washington)
  • Teen Choice Awards: Choice Movie Actor - Drama (Jamie Foxx), Choice Movie Actress - Drama (Kerry Washington)
  • Young Artist Awards: Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor (C.J. Sanders)

[edit] Differences from factual events

As noted in the film's final credits, Ray is based on true events, but include some characters, names, locations, and events which have been changed and others which have been "fictionalized for dramatization purposes." Examples of the fictionalized scenes include:

  • In the film, when Ray's younger brother George drowns in their mother's wash tub, he stands there and does nothing as George drowns. In his autobiography, Ray remembers trying to pull his brother out of the tub after realizing he was drowning but was unable to save him.
  • In the film Ray Charles is banned in the state of Georgia for not playing at Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Georgia; he refused to play in protest against segregated seating required by Jim Crow laws. In reality[citation needed], Ray refused to play there after receiving a telegram from angry black college youth who begged him not to do so; Charles ended up having to pay compensation. Although in the film Ray is convinced not to play the concert when a black college youth persuaded him outside the venue.
  • In the scene set at the Georgia State Capitol, 1979, when his version of "Georgia on My Mind" is made Georgia's official state song, Georgia gives Ray a "public apology" for "banning" Charles. As already noted, no such ban occurred.
  • Ray and his wife Della actually divorced in 1977, but in the film, Della is with him when Georgia makes "Georgia on My Mind" the official state song in 1979 (although this doesn't necessarily mean that they were still married, it's just implied).
  • In one scene, Ray Charles composes "Hit the Road Jack"; in reality, the song was written by Percy Mayfield; Mayfield offered it to Ray when Ray asked Mayfield if he had any songs for him to record. However, during that scene Ray comments that Percy has sent him some new music.
  • In the studio scene where Ray is taught the "Mess Around," he is told it's in the "Key of G." The "Mess Around" is actually in the key of E flat.

[edit] Trivia

  • The film's production was entirely financed by Philip Anschutz, through his Bristol Bay Productions company.
  • Charles was given a braille copy of the film's original script; he objected only to a scene showing him taking up piano grudgingly, and a scene implying that Charles had shown mistress and lead "Raelette" Margie Hendricks how to shoot heroin.
  • According to Taylor Hackford, in a DVD bonus feature, it took 15 years to make the film.
  • Ray debuted at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival.
  • Jamie Foxx was nominated for Best Actor for this film and Best Supporting Actor for Collateral. He is the second actor to have been nominated in both categories in the same year, after Al Pacino. Like Pacino, he won the former, but not the latter.
  • Kanye West and Ludacris have since both made songs with Jamie Foxx singing as Ray Charles in their songs "Gold Digger" and "Georgia", respectively.

Despite releasing a successful album after Ray, Jamie Foxx does not actually sing in the movie Ray. Jamie Foxx adeptly lip-synchs over Ray Charles' original music.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
v • d • e
Films directed by Taylor Hackford

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