This has got Oscar written all over it…
There is nothing more JOE loves to watch in the cinema than a good sports film. In the last few years we have been treated to The Damned United, Moneyball and Rush but the news of a Mike Tyson biopic has been warmly welcomed by us.
Jamie Foxx won an Oscar in 2005 for portraying singer/songwriter Ray Charles and now he’s looking to take on another well-known personality as he enters the boxing ring to portray ‘Iron Mike’.
According to Variety, Foxx is attached to an untitled biopic on the controversial sports star but the news gets better. The film is being written by Terence Winter who has previously penned The Wolf Of Wall Street, Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos.
JOE doesn’t even have to hear anything about the style, approach or time period of the film to know that this will be great. Tyson’s life is perfect for a big budget biopic and is a gift for any screenwriter. As a boxer he was a child prodigy in the ring, winning numerous prestigious belts by the time he was 20.
Tyson won his first 19 professional bouts by knock-out and 12 of these were in the first round. His crowning achievement was when he was declared the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World at the amazing age of 21, he held the title from 1987 until 1990.
Just look at the sheer ferocious power of the man in some of these fights…
YouTube credit: Ricky Boy
His fall from grace was equally spectacular though as he was sentenced to six years in prison for rape, faced subsequent charges of drunk driving and drug possession and after the tragic death of his daughter, he filed for bankruptcy.
This is all without mentioning that bite on Evander Holyfield or his return to the world of entertainment as seen by his hilarious cameos in The Hangover.
Foxx was recently seen as Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but we can forgive him for that, especially when you take a look at his sporting CV.
The Oscar winner played Dwight Brown, Muhammad Ali’s corner man, in Michael Mann’s Ali and quarterback Willie Beamen in Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday.
We can’t write this story without including this…
YouTube Credit: The Hangover
Hat-Tip to Empire
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