The Soloist - Production notes

THE SOLOIST

Production Notes

Director Joe Wright
Director of the Academy Award-nominated “Atonement,”
Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Oscar nominee Robert
Journalist’s transformative odyssey through the hidden streets of Los Angeles, where he discovers and builds a most unlikely friendship with a man from those same streets, bonding through the redemptive power of music.
Universal Pictures Present in Association with StudioCanal and Participant Media A Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment Production In Association with Working Title Films “The Soloist” starring Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr, Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander and LisaGay Hamilton.
Screenplay by Susannah Grant based on the book by Steve Lopez.
The producers are Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff.
The executive producers are Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jeff Skoll and Patricia Whitcher.
The director of photography is Seamus McGarvey BSC.
The production designer is Sarah Greenwood.
The editor is Paul Tothill ACE.
The costume designer is Jacqueline Durran.
The music is by Dario Marianelli.
PG-13

‘I’ve read many scripts from Hollywood and this is the first one that moved me to consider making my first film in America.’ He saw this story as a way of bringing Hollywood and British realism together, which we were very excited about.”

“Joe went on a bit of his own emotional journey in exploring Skid Row to determine if he could commit to immersing himself in this film. Then, he thrilled us all by saying, ‘I’m in, but on the condition that I be able to make the film in and with the community in which the story is being told.’”

“Working with members of the Skid Row community was, without exaggeration, kind of life-changing really. It taught me a lot of humility and to never underestimate anyone, and also that it’s possible, even within the film industry, to bring about some good and to have a positive, practical effect on people’s lives. That was tremendously exciting.”

Music often inspired specific photographic sequences in “The Soloist.” McGarvey gves an example: “When Nathaniel is playing underground in the tunnel, we wanted to show how the music elevates him, and give a sense of him taking flight. We devised a shot that would lead us into a symphonic, lyrical sequence, a centerpiece scene in the film that required a 100-foot Strada crane to rise up above an aperture in the street overpass and reveal the city above.”

“Jamie has a heart the size of America and a very
sensitive and gentle one at that. I believe he really loves Nathaniel, which was so
important.”

 “Joe Wright had the beautiful insight to give the film the
authentic quality of the people who live there. He took a risk and he made it work.
Joe stuck to his guns and came out with his heart wide open and that opened us
all up.”