Box Office - 'Obsessed' Goes for $28 Million

If nothing else, the last weekend before the summer movie season begins is kind of like Punxsatawney Phil: It shows us that audiences are more than willing to spend the money, even though the economy is down. A very consistent box office all year, which actually has been markedly improved over 2008, should be a strong bellwether for all those summer blockbuster with $200 and $300 million dreams.

There's no quantifiable reason that Obsessed should make $28 million, although that's the estimate from Box Office Mojo. Beyonce isn't (or hasn't been) a major movie star, and Ali Larter isn't exactly Reese Witherspoon when it comes to opening weekends. That total is at least $10 million more than the film was expected to generate, and if they'll throw down an extra 35% on this movie, what does that mean for Wolverine or Transformers? The other new releases did fairly well, too, given their expectations. Fighting hit the mark at over $10 million, The Soloist made about $9 million, and I believe the Disney documentary, Earth, became just the second non-fiction film to ever debut in the top five. Of those, only The Soloist probably had a disappointing weekend, just because this film was once touted as an Oscar contender and after it got bumped to late April, is facing a rather anonymous $25 - $30 million box office ride.

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Movie Review - 'The Soloist'

The Soloist Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Jamie Foxx, and Catherine Keener Directed by Joe Wright Rated PG-13

Journalist Steve Lopez had a chance encounter with homeless street musician Nathaniel Ayers and decided to investigate the man's claims that he went to Julliard. It seemed like a stretch, this man pushing shopping carts loaded with garbage, playing a two-stringed violin, and sleeping in parks used to study at the country's top school for young talent. But much to his surprise and delight, Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.) discovered that Ayers (Jamie Foxx) had been a student at Julliard, about 35 years earlier. But why did he leave the prestigious academy before he graduated, and how did he wind up here among the 90,000 homeless in Los Angeles? Lopez began to write articles about Ayers for The Los Angeles Times, which grew in popularity, prompted a book, and now, this film. The Soloist is the story of friendship despite overwhelming odds. I never got the sense that Lopez took pity on Ayers, but instead was concerned about a man who sparked his curiosity at first, subsequently left him in awe with his talent, and ultimately became an integral part of his own life. Ayers suffers from schizophrenia, and he had a major breakdown while at Julliard. We don't see his stint in a mental institution, but that's probably not important because his is as much about Lopez as Ayers.

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'60 Minutes' Feature on the Real Life 'Soloist'

On 60 Minutes this weekend, there was a feature about Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez, the subjects of the upcoming film, The Soloist. Their story is so uniquely cinematic, that's it's difficult to believe that it's actually true.

Ayers (played by Jamie Foxx) in the film, was a supremely gifted musician, a Julliard student, and tragically, a paranoid schizophrenic. His sickness not only kept him from realizing his full potential, it also led him to a life on the streets of Los Angeles. He lived in an underpass tunnel. Robert Downey, Jr. will play Lopez in the film, a Los Angeles Times writer working against a deadline who happens to hear a homeless musician playing remarkable music. Approaching Ayers that day, Lopez developed not just one article but a series of them, and he and the troubled cellist become fast friends, and that friendship leads them to the famed Walt Disney Concert Hall and down the dark alleys of mental illness. The movie will be released on April 24th, but to get more background on the friendship and to hear how wonderfully talented and unfortunately afflicted Ayers truly is, check out the great 60 Minutes story anchored by Morely Safer.

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New Production Photos for Delayed 'Soloist'

I'm still very puzzled by the decision to move The Soloist not once but twice over the past six weeks. Long story short: A movie that once eyed awards is now hoping to find an audience in late April. The cast is great - Robert Downey and Jamie Foxx - I like director Joe Wright, and the true story of a journalist helping a schizophrenic and homeless musical prodigy realize his dream of playing the Disney Concert Hall definitely smacks of November or December and not the week before Wolverine.But I digress.We just got a couple new Soloist production photos from DreamWorks, so feel free to download the monster sized versions and see what happens when Iron Man and Ray Charles get together.
Super Size It!
Super Size It!The Soloist is now due out on April 24th.

'The Soloist' Banished Yet Again

Everyone I know is confused by the new stepchild status placed on The Soloist by DreamWorks. There was a time, some two months ago or so, when I watched the trailer and proclaimed that this movie was made for Oscar contention. That's not to say it's great or anything, but certain movies are crafted to be contenders, whether they really are or not. This one had Robert Downey Jr., and there's nobody hotter than him right now, Jamie Foxx playing a remarkable musician stricken with mental illness, a compelling true story, and a great up-and-coming director in Joe Wright.

In the words of John Madden, "Boom!" That's how you make an awards season movie. And then DreamWorks did something curious. The studio moved the film from December to March 2009. That effectively killed its Oscar chances. You could make the case that with DreamWorks swinging from Paramount to Universal a few weeks ago that it kind of interrupted the flow. Unfortunate timing. But how would you explain the latest decision to move The Soloist again, this time to the week before the official opening date of summer? The obvious flashing red light you see is the impression that it's just not as good as everyone hoped. The film will now open April 24th, according to Variety, a real dead zone where a good movie can make some cash because there's nothing else before it that people want to see and it's so early in the summer there are really only a couple solid options.

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