Ray (film)
Ray is a
2004 biographical film of the legendary rhythm and blues musician
Ray Charles.
Tagline: The extraordinary life of Ray Charles. A man who fought harder and went further than anyone thought possible.*
Jamie Foxx as
Ray Charles*
Sharon Warren as his mother,
Aretha Robinson*
Kerry Washington as his wife,
Della Bea Robinson*
Regina King as
Margie Hendricks*
Larenz Tate as
Quincy Jones*
Harry Lennix as Joe Adams
*
Clifton Powell as Jeff Brown
*
Curtis Armstrong as
Ahmet Ertegun*
Richard Schiff as
Jerry Wexler*
Patrick Bauchau as Dr. Hacker
*
Terrence Dashon Howard as
Gossie McKee*
Chris Thomas King as
Lowell Fulson*
Bokeem Woodbine as
David "Fathead" Newman*
Aunjanue Ellis as
Mary Ann Fisher*
C.J. Sanders as Young
Ray Robinson*
Denise Dowse as
Marlene Andres*
Warwick Davis as Oberon
* The $40 million film was independently produced through the backing of
Philip Anschutz.
* 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.
*
Jamie Foxx won the
Oscar for Best Actor for his role. He also won the
Golden Globe and
Screen Actors Guild Award for his role.
*
Regina King,
Kerry Washington, and Jamie Foxx all won
Image Awards for their performances.
* The film has substantially contributed to the popularity of Ray Charles' work to the young American generations since 2004..
*
Kanye West and
Ludacris have both made songs with
Jamie Foxx singing as Ray Charles in their songs "
Gold Digger" and "Georgia", respectively.
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 manager 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
Gospel style (but not the Gospel attitude he jokes) with
blues, 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 plays his most troublesome other woman, putting up a façade of business only while singing to his hit songs, but trying to manipulate him behind the scenes. 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 accel in a sighted world and his eventual defeat of his personal demons.
*
Mess Around*
I Got a Woman*
Hallelujah, I Love Her So*
Drown in My Own Tears*
Mary Ann*
Leave My Woman Alone*
The Night Time (Is the Right Time)*
I Believe To My Soul*
What'd I Say*
Georgia on My Mind*
Hit the Road Jack*
Unchain My Heart*
You Don't Know Me*
I Can't Stop Loving You*
Bye Bye Love*
Born to Lose*
Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)*
Bacon Deserves More AttentionWon
*
77th Academy Awards:**Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
**Best Sound (Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa)
*
American Cinema Editors: Best Edited Feature Film - Comedy or Musical (Paul Hirsch)
*
58th BAFTA Awards:**Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
**Best Sound (Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa)
*
Black Reel Awards: Best Film - Drama, Best Actor - Drama (Jamie Foxx), Best Supporting Actress (Sharon Warren), Best Breakthrough Performance (Sharon Warren), Best Screenplay (James L. White), Best Original Score (Ray Charles and Stephen Altman)
*
Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Supporting Actress (Sharon Warren)
*
Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Soundtrack
*
Florida Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
*
62nd Golden Globe Awards:**Best Actor - Comedy or Musical (Jamie Foxx)
*
Grammy Awards: **Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (Ray Charles)
**Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (Craig Armstrong)
*
Image Awards: Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Jamie Foxx), Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Kerry Washington), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Regina King)
*
Kansas City Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
*
Las Vegas Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
*
London Film Critics Circle: Actor of the Year (Jamie Foxx)
*
Motion Picture Sound Editors: Best Sound Editing in Feature Film - Music - Musical (Curt Sobel [music edito])
*
National Board of Review: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
*
National Society of Film Critics: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
*
Online Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Supporting Actress (Sharon Warren)
*
Phoenix Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx), Best Use of Previously Published or Recorded Music
*
Prism Awards: Performance in a Feature Film (Jamie Foxx)
*
Satellite Awards: Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Jamie Foxx), Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Comedy or Musical (Regina King), Best Screenplay - Original (James L. White)
*
Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Jamie Foxx)
*
Seattle Film Critics: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
*
Southeastern Film Critics Association: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
*
Vancouver Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)
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 (Pawel 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)
* In the film, when Ray's younger brother George drowns in their mother's wash tub, he stands there almost dazed and confused as George drowns. In his autobiography, however, Ray remembers trying to pull his brother out of the tub after realizing he was drowning but was unable to save him. Ray called out for his mother. In the film, young Ray does neither.
* In the film Ray Charles is banned in the state of
Georgia for not playing at a
racially segregated auditorium in
1961. In reality this was not the case: he refused to play there after receiving a telegram from angry black college youth who begged him not to perform there, and ended up having to pay compensation.
* In
1979, when his "Georgia on My Mind" is made as the official state song, in the film Georgia gives Ray a "public apology" for "banning" Charles; not in reality, since he wasn't banned.
* 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). Ray's first wife was actually Eileen Williams.
* In one scene of the movie, Ray Charles ingenuinely composes "Hit The Road Jack". However, in reality, Hit The Road Jack was offered by Percy Mayfield- writer of the song- to Ray when the latter asked him if he had any songs for Ray to record.
* For several seconds a railroad train is shown 50 years out of place.
*
Ray Official website*
*
Taylor Hackford's Unchained Art, an October 2004 article from the
Washington Post*
Craig Armstrong (Score Composer for Ray)*
What Ray gets wrong about Ray Charles*
Background on the song Hit The Road Jack
