Jamie Foxx and director Martin Scorsese are teaming up for a biopic that we’re probably going to be talking about for a long time. Jamie Foxx will step into some pretty large shoes as boxer Mike Tyson.
According to Entertainment Weekly , Foxx gave out some of the details during an interview with The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1. At the time Foxx described the film as, “the first boxing movie that Martin Scorsese has done since Raging Bull .”
“I just went in with Paramount with Mike Tyson. So I’m going to do the Mike Tyson story. Listen, to be in the same room pitching Mike Tyson to Paramount, Mike Tyson is on one side, I’m on the other side and doing Mike Tyson at the same time.”
That alone should be enough to get people excited about Scorsese returning to the ring, so to speak.
Another Knockout Film for @iamjamiefoxx Says Martin Scorsese Will Direct His @MikeTyson Biopic http://t.co/ZtrZ4sHwhj pic.twitter.com/ZiSeJgvYJK
— BET (@BET) March 14, 2015
This movie news goes back to July of last year, but back then there was no director attached — let along the Oscar winning legendary director.
This isn’t the first time that Foxx has played a real life legend. The comedian and actor won an Academy Award for playing singer Ray Charles in the biopic Ray . Prior to that he was in the boxing film Ali , which saw Will Smith as Muhammad Ali. Back then Foxx played assistant trainer Dwight “Bundini” Brown.
#MartinScorses to direct #MikeTyson movie feat #JamieFoxx ! it will be #Legendary http://t.co/k7gQY8YLZk pic.twitter.com/t6xKbgnRCR
— SWAG MAGAZINE (@SWAGMAGNEWS) March 13, 2015
Right now it’s not known which period of Mike Tyson’s life will be portrayed on the big screen, but they have plenty of material with the media blitz that surrounded the fight between Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Of course that fight ended with Tyson biting off part of Holyfield’s ear, but the two squashed it years after the match.
After ending his career as a boxer Mike Tyson headed to Las Vegas for his one-man show, which later played on Broadway.
As for other depictions of Tyson, this isn’t the first film on the boxer. Back in 1995 HBO produced a film called Tyson starring Michael Jai White. That said, Jamie Foxx will be the first person to portray Tyson in a biopic that will hit theaters.
In addition to Scorsese, Terence Winter ( The Wolf of Wall Street ) will write the screenplay.
[Photo by Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images]
