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Ray (film)

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Ray
Directed byTaylor Hackford
Written byTaylor Hackford, James L. White (story)
James L. White (screenplay)
Produced byHoward Baldwin
Karen Elise Baldwin
Stuart Benjamin
Taylor Hackford
StarringJamie Foxx
Kerry Washington
Regina King
Larenz Tate
Clifton Powell
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Running time
152 min./USA: 178 min. (extended version)
Budget$40,000,000 (estimated)

Ray is a 2004 film starring Jamie Foxx as the late Ray Charles, Sharon Warren as his mother, Kerry Washington as his wife Della Bea, 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, and Terrence Dashon Howard as Gossie McKee. It was directed by Taylor Hackford. The screenplay was by James L. White.

The $30 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 "Raylette" Margie Hendricks how to shoot heroin.

It debuted at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival.

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.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler Born in a poor African-American town in central 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 resolved, 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 to play at a seedy club in the late 1940s, but encounters 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 Antoine 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 facade 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. This little known story of Ray Charles' meteoric rise from humble beginnings, his successful struggle to excel in a sighted world and his eventual defeat of his personal demons make for an inspiring and unforgettable true story of human triumph.

Tagline: The extraordinary life of Ray Charles. A man who fought harder and went farther than anyone thought possible.

Main cast

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