Logo

Cool News

Jamie Foxx to play calculatingly pissed off in Frank Darabont's LAW ABIDING CITIZEN!

Published at:  Oct 09, 2008 1:26:13 AM CDT

Hey folks, Harry here... Over at The Hollywood Reporter, they're reporting that Jamie Foxx is just about wrapped up to star opposite Gerard Butler in Frank Darabont's next film, something called LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, which has been written by Frank Darabont and a well known cinematic badass, Kurt Wimmer. Jamie is going to be playing a calculating, manipulative, pissed off Father/Husband, whom's wife and daugther were murdered... and apparently due to some manner of plea bargaining (Gerard Butler plays an Assistant D.A.) - one of the murderers is going free. Well, Foxx sets up some manner of what we hope is an elaborately intense and fucked up Revenge Plot that will fuck up not just the freed murderer - but all those involved in making him free.

I love stuff like this. Sounds like it could be a ton of fun. No matter what, with Darabont at the helm, it'll be wonderfully directed. That's assured.



    + Expand All

    Readers Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 1:32:00 AM CDT

    First

    by odo19

  • Oct 09, 2008 1:34:16 AM CDT

    I love Frank

    by odo19

    Outside of The Majestic I love every movie he's made. This movie sounds woefully fucking generic though. Here's hoping I'm dead wrong about that. Also Kurt Wimmer?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 2:05:36 AM CDT

    Always the wife and daughter murdered...

    by fa fa fooey

    For you writers out there, please stay away from "wife and daughter murdered." That and "down and out cop." Oy.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 2:13:32 AM CDT

    Wife and Daughter Murdered

    by deanbarry

    Usually by the husband/father. sad fact. Hey, he could track himself down and mete out some bloody violent justice on himself. Preferrably while watching Girls Gone Wild #17

    Reply to Talkback

  • "Jamie Foxx in: Law Abiding Dog Lover..."

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 2:44:37 AM CDT

    "Whom's" is not a word

    by shiftyeyeddog2

    ....just so ya know...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 3:05:37 AM CDT

    Darabont is great...BUUUUUUT

    by badmrwonka

    no free passes....
    Jamie Foxx can fuck up anything...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 3:15:59 AM CDT

    Revengeploitation has far more derivations

    by jackrabbitslim

    than "wife and daughter killed" cliche. Last year alone we had "First Son then wife get killed" in Death Sentence and the more uncommon "male fiance gets killed" in The Brave One - though that was popularized in the Kill Bill series. Funny how the girl-as-vengeance subgenre has slipped away from the "she gets raped and boyfriend killed so shes really mad" theme that was prevalent through the 1970s and 80s.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 3:19:09 AM CDT

    "well known cinematic badass"

    by vern

    I can only assume Harry is referring to ONE MAN'S JUSTICE starring Brian Bosworth, or if you prefer the original title (which you definitely will), ONE TOUGH BASTARD. It's not as good as STONE COLD but it's a pretty entertaining Bozploitation picture. Let me just say that MC Hammer plays a drug lord in it. So I think you will agree that you are currently turning off the computer and heading for the video store. I know some of you guys love EQUILIBRIUM, but I honestly like ONE TOUGH BASTARD way better because it's every bit as dumb as EQUILIBRIUM but without appearing to mistakenly believe it's making some powerful statement about, uh, a world where love is against the law or whatever he thought he was doing there.
    I'm not as big as everybody else here on Darabont, but THE MIST was real good and for some reason I can't get enough of DEATH WISH riffs (if that's what this is). So this sounds good.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 3:25:12 AM CDT

    Harisson Ford was being Considered

    by mattforce7

    "I want my family back!"

    but really, Darabont has always pleased me. his last movie The Mist was a well crafted film and i rave about it to friends, cuz i was one of those guys that said "This movie looks just as bad as The Fog"(which was fuxking horrible. I cant wait for this next one :D

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 3:27:46 AM CDT

    Jack Rabbit

    by vern

    I agree, there are all kinds of family members and loved ones who can get killed in a revenge movie. I'm not sure I can list off the top of my head every loved one that was killed in the DEATH WISH series, but I believe it includes wife, daughter, housekeeper, war buddy, new girlfriend, new girlfriend's daughter. I think Bronson is clearly the most badass revenger around, but I think there's some kind of patriarchal shit going on there where he's so often avenging the deaths of these females. So I always like to see a woman get revenge on her own behalf, like in THEY CALL HER ONE EYE, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE or even SUDDEN IMPACT.
    By the way, did anybody else out there like DEATH SENTENCE? I think I'm alone on that one. I thought it was an effective b-movie elevated by Kevin Bacon giving a full-on performance like he thought it was an end of the year awards contender. Plus there's an awesome foot chase.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 3:48:10 AM CDT

    I loved Death Sentence

    by bitterman23

    It sickens me that it tanked in theaters, opening the same wkd as Rob Zombie's John Carpenter's Halloween.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 3:53:29 AM CDT

    Do I just not get it?

    by boardbrtn

    I hear about how great The Mist was but I actually really disliked it. I'm willing to give it a second chance but, really, the ending was the only good thing about that movie. The acting, the bad CGI, the characters... everything! I just don't get why this website (and many critics) loved The Mist so much... tell me, what did I not see?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 3:55:52 AM CDT

    VERN

    by the insneider

    I dug Death Sentence. But then The Brave One came along and as good as Bacon was, he's no Jodie Foster. She should've been nominated. I'm being completely serious too.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 4:05:13 AM CDT

    Jamie Foxx? Uh oh.

    by derlanghaarige

    This guy just can't act. I know, he won an Oscar, but only for a celebrity impersonation. That's not just an easy win, that's something people do for a living on birthday parties and stuff like that! (Not to mention the members of shows like SNL or Mad TV.)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 4:06:44 AM CDT

    BTW: Death Sentence is on my list of DVDs...

    by derlanghaarige

    ...that I got here at home but haven't watched yet. I wish I had Quint's energy.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 4:24:11 AM CDT

    the long walk

    by bacci40

    goddamnit...dont make this shit...start doing the long walk...i have been waiting for years for that movie to be made...despite the huge plot hole that is the end...its still a brilliant story

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 4:56:54 AM CDT

    Death Sentence

    by thedeadnextdoor

    I thought that "Death Sentence" were one of the more entertaining "Death Wish"-riffs in a long time. The footchase was great and I really hope that Darabont brings the bleakness and pessimism to this film that he was able to infuse "the Mist" with. And with "Rock´n´rolla" and this one, Gerard Butler seems to be on some kinda roll.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 5:15:56 AM CDT

    I have always thought Brian Bosworth and Kate Bosworth...

    by darthbakpao

    ...are related

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 6:19:10 AM CDT

    boardbrtn RE: The Mist

    by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for

    The reason so many people liked The Mist is that it wasn't about the "mist", cgi creatures, or boo! shock moments. It was about fear and its effect on everyday people. It was a comment on human weakness, showing this group of people form a mob mentality, blindly following a leader that uses religion as a platform for retaliation, and their willingness to sacrifice the young, believing it is for “the greater good”. It’s a commentary on (very) recent history, and an effective one. It’s well made, acted and is one of the rarest of films these days… Intelligent. It expects you to bring something to the table. It invites you to think. Plus, its pretty scary and that ending is like a kick in the guts. Over and out.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 6:19:35 AM CDT

    DEATH SENTENCE...

    by bluelou_boyle

    Was fantastic. You're right Vern, Bacon's performance really elevated the material. I love the crazy transformation he goes through.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 6:43:19 AM CDT

    I liked the Mist because it was entertaining and...

    by derlanghaarige

    ...was one of the more believable entries in the "Man is more dangerous than any monster"-subgenre. In fact, it played more like "Desperate people grab any straw" than "the real monsters were inside the supermarket". I didn't see any commentaries on recent history. Maybe they were there, maybe not, but it was a good movie anyway. I just hated the cheap Let's-see-how-we-can-make-the-audience-cry-ending.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 6:54:55 AM CDT

    I was hoping The Long Walk was going to be his next...

    by karl childers

    Please make this happen!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 6:58:47 AM CDT

    ^ Yes

    by undeadxeke

    Long Walk please. Awesome book.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 7:29:43 AM CDT

    DerLanghaarige

    by caruso_stalker217

    I don't think Darabont was out to make the audience cry at the end. I think he was trying to make people angry.
    Or, in my case, laugh.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 7:39:37 AM CDT

    Darabont is a Good Storyteller. The Mist , Not So Great

    by cowboyone

    Hopefully this will be a return to his great cinematic filmmaking and storytelling, and not that digital handheld shit he was f-ing around with (and experimenting with?) with the Mist.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 8:04:55 AM CDT

    bacci40...

    by nasty in the pasty

    ...what's the "huge plot hole" at the end of The Long Walk?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 8:06:03 AM CDT

    Darabont is great but eject Jamie Foxx.

    by stuntcock mike

  • Oct 09, 2008 8:07:56 AM CDT

    Death Sentence is awesome.

    by stuntcock mike

    Bacon's fucked haircut at the end just adds to it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 8:21:23 AM CDT

    The Star Chamber/Dirty Harry only with

    by grammaton cleric binks

    no remorse/code of honor to hold you back. Ironic that Hal Holbrook was in both, well Magnum Force as it were.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 8:41:56 AM CDT

    Star Chamber...

    by karl childers

    was being remade recently, no?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 8:44:15 AM CDT

    I tend to agree with boardbrtn

    by chaplinatemyshoe

    I thought The Mist was pretty bad...like bad Stephen King tv miniseries bad. Best I can say about it is that it's compulsively watchable. But it played out like an extended episode of the Twilight Zone. Combine that with similar opinions I have about The Majestic and The Green Mile, and I'm not exactly going to be the first in line to see this movie. Throwing Wimmer's name into the mix doesn't help a whole lot either given his writing and directing credits aren't exactly stellar either.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 8:49:36 AM CDT

    Vigilante justice films are very difficult to pull off.

    by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for

    Using the example of the two last year. Death Sentence and The Brave One. DS had the great, balls out Bacon performance, and at least had the courage of its convictions to follow through to the inevitable conclusion. By that i mean that I assumed Bacons character would probably either die of his wounds, or go to jail. On the other hand, TBO was quality until the end when it had Howards character make a decision that was COMPLETELY OUT OF CHARACTER!!!! The movie set him up really well, allowed him time to flesh out his background, posing the moral decisions he would be willing to make, then had him do the fucking opposite! That film infuriated me because it was really good all the way leading up to it, but didn't follow the story to its logical conclusion. One huge missed opportunity for a GREAT film. On topic, I'll watch anything Darabont makes. Also, read the synopses of The Long Walk on wiki (had never heard of it before). Sounds pretty weird, and similar to The Running Man (i've read the book) in it's subject matter. ie. Volunteering for a deadly competition. The wiki page also quotes Darabont as saying he would "get to it one day". So who knows when that will be.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 9:27:41 AM CDT

    Anyone else instinctively dislike Jamie Foxx...

    by the grug

    On screen? I can't say I've ever really cared for a single character he's played.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 9:37:49 AM CDT

    The Grug

    by stuntcock mike

    I never liked the guy's acting. Ever. Just annoying in general.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 10:00:00 AM CDT

    'Darabont at the helm, it'll be wonderfully directed?'

    by neilf

    Huh? Did no one else see 'The Mist'? Bit TV movie!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 10:02:30 AM CDT

    Gerard Butler did it

    by mara69

    If you really don't want Jamie Foxx in this, talk to Gerard Butler, his production company is behind this.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 10:02:40 AM CDT

    Death Sentence...

    by darkman

    Liked the film, liked Bacon, had a good score...but I hardly see anyone mention John Goodman. Fuck, was he incredible in that!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 10:03:35 AM CDT

    I loved Death Sentence

    by thecontinentalop

    Skipped work on my birthday to go see it. Time well spent. I like how he shaves his head wrong at the end and ends up looking like a cenobite or some shit.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 10:22:01 AM CDT

    It's sad when Colin Farrell outacts the hell out of ya...

    by iamjack'suserid

    Regardless of your feelings on Miami Vice, Foxx phoned that performance in. We should have had Terrence Howard instead.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 10:22:29 AM CDT

    Id much rather see Long Walk

    by lovecraftfan

    Will he ever do that?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 11:15:53 AM CDT

    Good Jamie Foxx performances...

    by big dm

    He was better in Collateral than Ray, in my opinion. Also was very good in the Will Smith Ali movie as Bundini Brown. You kids need to stop with the knee-jerk reactions about people.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 11:29:16 AM CDT

    I happen to think Colin Farrell is awesome.

    by knuckleduster

    He really impressed in Tigerland, and The New World and Miami Vice kind of sealed the deal for me. I think he's great, and will probably even get better with age.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 11:30:42 AM CDT

    also liked Death Sentence...

    by eustisclay

    ... but while I wanted to like the Brave One, the ending just took me out of it. Sure, Howard's character came off wrong. But what the fuck was it with the dog? "Here Jodie, here's a bad guy, shoot him. Got him? Okay let me go find another one. Got him? Okay let me go get another one." C'mon. From a house dog?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 12:30:36 PM CDT

    The Mist, why we like it

    by mattforce7

    it was the unexpected scope and atmosphere which really pulled me in. I thought they handled the rather cliché characters/ events in the store rather well, and the only bad CG was *SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER* the first tentacle shots when red head was dragged out from the back store room.*END SPOILER END SPOILER END SPOILER*

    I think i liked it so much because iw as expecting a really RAELLY shitty movie, then i heard some good praise being tossed around and it really took a turn for me

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 1:14:15 PM CDT

    Darabont? Revenge?

    by fivezero

    I'm there. No questions asked. I wonder how he'll depict the violence. Pretty, crisp shots with bursts of mostly off-screen violence, I imagine. And watch for the crane lift shot of the bloody aftermath. Can't wait to see how this one pans out.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 2:00:48 PM CDT

    Can't Wait!

    by fassbinder79

    Darabont can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. Happy to see Foxx playing the heavy. Good choice. Just bought the blu-ray for The Mist today!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 2:06:50 PM CDT

    Whom v. Who

    by yomomma

    Who is a subject, whom is the direct object. In the sentence "an angry man, WHOM's wife and children..." WHOM is restating the subject and should therefore be WHO. Just a friendly message from your local grammar Nazi to whom? Why, to a person who (subject) writes for a living.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 2:39:39 PM CDT

    BluRay MIST!!!??

    by mattforce7

    I getting it now!!!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 4:13:32 PM CDT

    Darabont

    by fartedinthefaceofhollywood

    i didn't like The Mist at all...im not gonna say its worse than The Happening...but it had that unintentionally funny shit that just made it a "screwball horror film" for me. Death Sentence???...im a sucker for revenge films so i had fun with that one, but yeah...youre right Vern...its totally got that B-movie vibe, the last part of the movie reminded me of Taxi Driver in some ways.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 6:04:37 PM CDT

    I would MUUUUUUUUUCH rather him do The Long Walk

    by the amazing g

    also bacci40 I actually found the ending pretty chilling

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 6:32:50 PM CDT

    Having a female murdered seems to be more dramatic

    by terry1978

    That whole "women in refrigerators" thing. A dude gets killed that's a friend, meh...I'm pissed. You kill a woman...dammit, that is just crossing the line and I will exact my bloody veageance.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 9:15:48 PM CDT

    Israeli army would agree with Terry

    by jackrabbitslim

    Remember reading a thing (prolly bs) that Israel tried women soldiers and canned the idea - not because of performance reasons - but that male soldiers had a difficult time effectively doing their appointed tasks when a woman was injured. Emotional/genetic/societal - nature vs nurture - whatever the reasoning, you decide.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Oct 09, 2008 9:33:23 PM CDT

    Random Thoughts and for Vern

    by jackrabbitslim

    1) I loved Death Senetence for the variety of reasons brought up here as well as A) the return of that most 70's of killing machines - the shotgun and B) John Goodman who, though he seems to be consuming Crisco by the container now, really is a quality character actor. 2) As for Vern - I'm a big fan of revengeploitation but it occurs to me - has there ever been a revenger where a woman is wreaking her wrath for a killed loved one without being violated herself? Nearly all the woman-as-badass movies of the 70s and 80s had her being raped and even today's have her being physically assaulted but cant think of any that have the Death Wish structure - she finds out lover/son/daddy/cat/whatever is dead - looses her terrible swift sword. Reminds me of the old horror trope - death of women almost always more prolonged, torturous than men - playing on a primarily male audience's (?Latent?) misogynist interest. Oh my God - I sound like Drew. 3) I've said it before. "The Long Walk" is such a mental game that it would take a deft director's touch to make it compelling. Think about it - it could become the cinematic equivalent of "99 bottles of beer on the wall" if not done right. Not as 'unfilmmable' as - say - Gerald's Game but a tough nut to crack imo.

    Reply to Talkback

User Login

Forgot password? Retrieve it here

or register as new user

Quick Talkback Form

Please login to post talkback