Well, this was unexpected. Jamie Foxx recently spoke to Screen Rant and divulged some interesting information about a Mike Tyson biopic he has been passionately working on for the better part of a decade. The big news is that Martin Scorsese is officially attached to the film. If you are, for some reason, unaware of the connection between Scorsese and boxing, the venerable 74 year-old filmmaker directed the greatest boxing movie of all-time in 1980 with "Raging Bull." Scorsese tackling Tyson, who might be even more flawed, violent and aggressive than Lake LaMotta ever dreamed he could be, might be a match made in cinematic heaven.
Now is Scorsese involved as producer or director? That's the big question, but all seems to indicate that it is in fact as director. This adds to the lineup of films coming up for Scorsese. He is rumored to start shooting "The Irishman" with De Niro, Keitel, Pacino and, possibly, Pesci this February and is currently waiting for the final draft of a screenplay adaptation of Erik Larson’s book, "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America." The latter would star Leonardo Dicaprio and, if all goes according to planned, would be their sixth collaboration together.
Screen Rant: Speaking of getting punched, one of the most polarizing lives of the past thirty years has been Mike Tyson. I know you were attached [to a biopic of Tyson], what’s the update on that?
Jamie Foxx: That is a go.
Screen Rant: It’s a go? Martin Scorsese’s still attached?
Jamie Foxx: Yeah, he’s attached, and it’s—Mike Tyson’s life is one of the most amazing American stories.
Full Screen Rant interview can be found HERE.