The Soloist The Making Of...

Who was/were the producers of ‘The Soloist’?

The producers of ‘The Soloist’ were Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff.

What did Steve Lopez question about the film from the start?

Steve Lopez was unsure on how you could “make a movie if you didn’t have an ending”, as (being based on a non-fictional series of articles by him) the real relationship it’s based on didn’t have an “ending” either – Nathaniel remains schizophrenic and Steve Lopez remains his friend. Films tend to need endings in order to make people feel satisfied after watching it – audience satisfaction tends to have higher priority over realism.

When did the producers meet Nathaniel?

The producers met Nathaniel in 2005 after having lunch with Lopez, who then took them to meet him.

Where were the real-life locations in the film?

The real-life locations used within the film were the Disney Concert Hall, the LAMP centre, and Skid Row (or, more accurately, Anderson Street – Wright chose to use the real homeless around the area as extras, both for realism and moral concern, and moving them from their home to work somewhere else would have been cruel to them).

Suzannah Grant’s aim when screenwriting was…?

Grant’s aim when screenwriting was to “humanize” the homeless and allow the audience to connect to them, as people nowadays just walk past them and don’t take much notice – she aimed to make people realize that they were people too, with families, backgrounds, etcetera.

Why was Joe Wright apprehensive about making the film?

Joe Wright was a tad apprehensive about making the film due to it being based in America, and, being a British director, he didn’t know much about the place himself – however, he decided to do it because he thought it’d be better made from an outsider’s point of view. He said that the “more time he spent there, the less he understood”.

What does Robert Downey Jr. say about the role of Nathaniel?

Downey said that the role of Nathaniel had a high degree of difficulty, due to having to correctly portray a schizophrenic without being over the top or dulling it – done wrong it could ruin an actor’s career. He said that it’s a hard thing to get into the head and persona of someone that you just don’t understand, and that he respects Jamie Foxx for being able to do it properly.

Why did Joe Wright want authentic locations and people in the film?

Wright wanted to use authentic people and locations in the film for two reasons – for realisms sake, in terms of the portrayal of certain areas, and for a personal moral concern about the inhabitants. He said that by getting the homeless to be in his film, he was helping them, as well as adding to the realism, and it would give them a sense of “self-worth”.

How long did the set designers have on location to build the set?

The set designers had 4 weeks on location in order to build the set, and spent a huge amount of time prior to this in the workshop, creating scale models and the like, so that they knew exactly what to do once they got there.

What process did the actors go through to ensure that the acting was authentic?

Foxx stated that he had to submerse himself into the role of Nathaniel in order to correctly portray him, which involved meeting with the real Nathaniel Ayers and observing him. They also got to know each other, in order to build a sense of trust between them – this, according to the people at LAMP, gave the homeless a “sense of self worth”.

What comments are made about the ending by Suzannah Grant and Russ Krasnoff?

Grant chose to leave the ending as it was in order to keep it honest, realistic, and respectful to those suffering from schizophrenia (throwing a cure at it wouldn’t have highlighted the severity of the condition at all) – it isn’t “a fairy tale”.

Joe Wright also added that he doesn’t like to assume what the audience will be feeling at the end of the film, which is a dangerous thought process – it leaves the possibility that an audience will be left unsatisfied by the ending (as I was – it seemed very anticlimactic).