Ray | |
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Theatrical film poster |
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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 Curtis Armstrong |
Music by | Craig Armstrong Ray Charles (songs) |
Cinematography | Paweł Edelman |
Editing by | Paul Hirsch |
Studio | Bristol Bay Productions |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date(s) | October 29, 2004 |
Running time | 152 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $40 million[1] |
Box office | $124,731,534 |
Ray is a 2004 biographical film focusing on 30 years[2] of the life of 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.
Charles was set to attend an opening of the completed film, but he died of liver disease before its premiere.[3]
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Raised on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles Robinson went blind at the age of seven, shortly after witnessing his younger brother's death. Inspired by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make his own way in the world, Charles found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered incorporating gospel, country, jazz and orchestral influences into his inimitable style.
As he revolutionized the way people appreciated music, he simultaneously fought segregation in the very clubs that launched him and championed artists’ rights within the corporate music business. The movie provides a portrait of Charles’ musical genius as he overcomes heroin addiction while transforming into one of his country’s most beloved performers.
The film's production was entirely financed by Philip Anschutz, through his Bristol Bay Productions company. Taylor Hackford stated in a DVD bonus feature that it took 15 years to make the film. He later clarified in the liner notes of the soundtrack album that it took that time to secure financing.
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 to shoot heroin.
Ray debuted at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival.
The following songs were used in the film:
Ray was released in theaters on October 29, 2004 on a budget of $40 million. The film went on to become a box-office hit, earning $75 million in the U.S. with an additional $50 million internationally, bringing its world wide gross to $125 million.
The film received mostly positive reviews. Most of the praise went to Jamie Foxx's performance for which he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film however did receive some bad reviews, with critics complaining that the film suffered from a mediocre screenplay buoyed by powerful performances.[4] Currently Ray has a certified fresh rating of 81% based on 188 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.[5]
As noted in the film's final credits, Ray is based on true events, but includes 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:
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