Ray (2004 film)

CTL-E-5478 · Work · film · 2004

PROVISIONAL evidence grade of this record

Ray, directed by Taylor Hackford and written by James L. White, was released by Universal Pictures on October 29, 2004 — an independently produced biography of Ray Charles that follows the singer from his Florida childhood and the loss of his sight through the Atlantic Records years to the creation of a sound that fused gospel, blues, and country into soul. Jamie Foxx's performance won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the film also won for Best Sound Mixing, from six nominations including Best Picture. Foxx won all five major lead-actor honors for the role — Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics' Choice — only the second actor ever to sweep them. The film arrived shadowed by its subject's absence: Charles had been set to attend a screening of the completed picture but died in June 2004, four months before release, and the film is dedicated to his memory. The graph files Ray as the music-biography shelf's standard: the performance by which later singer-portrayals are measured, made while its subject could still almost see it.

The record

• Also known as: Ray

Notes

Statistics: Universal Pictures, 2004; Academy Awards for Best Actor (Foxx) and Sound Mixing. Namesake adjudication (Gate A): graph hits for 'Ray' were people and Ray Charles references, not the film. · Curator's Judgment: DRAFT — for founder review: Foxx did not impersonate Charles; he submitted to the man's disciplines until the performance stopped looking like one. The record notes the dedication to Charles's memory — the biopic's subject died four months from its premiere, and the film has carried that fact like a title card ever since. · Photo slot: HELD — poster/key art and production stills for this title are copyrighted studio material and were NOT pulled (per CTL-PHOTO-001 and the wave brief: never force non-free key art); no cleared Commons image was verified for this title in this run. Slot honestly HELD pending a cleared visual.

Sources

• Wikipedia, 'Ray (film)' — supports: director and writer, Universal, the October 29, 2004 release, the Best Actor and Sound Mixing wins from six nominations, Foxx's five-award sweep, and Charles's June 2004 death before the release — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_(film)

Record CTL-E-5478 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: PROVISIONAL · 1 source · CTL research: MEDIA-001, MUSIC-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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