Ep. 66: Drinking With...Ray

Pour up a Liquid Heroin and kick off Season 5 of 'Drinking With...' as McCash relives one of the best biopics of the last 21 years featuring a career-defining performance from Jamie Foxx. Of course, Brandon and Stoney are along for the ride. Today, we're drinking with...Ray.

To make the Liquid Heroin, you'll need: 

• 1 1/2 oz Rumple Minze
• 1 1/2 oz Jägermeister

To make it: 

1. Mix in a shaker with ice (if items are not already stored cold) and strain into a shot glass.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
The Sobrose Network presents the movie podcast, breaking down films
and their impact on pop culture as they approach the
legal drinking age. This is Drinking With. Now here's your host,
Steven m cash.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Have been new year, everybody.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Welcome to an all new, exciting episode of Drinking With.
We're starting season five right here with you today. Drinking
With is the podcast where we raise a glass to
the movies that have reached the legal drinking age. I'm
your host mccash and the Sobrose Network, and join me
as we embark on a cinematic journey through the classics
of yesteryear, celebrating their twenty first birthdays and styles, from

(01:03):
iconic blockbusters to hidden gems. Each episode will toast to
a different film that has stood the test of time
and shaped our cultural landscape. So grab your favorite beverage
or the one we have curated for this episode, and
let's dive into the nostalgia as we explore movies that
are finally old enough to join us for a drink
and doing so are the two people who I think
are the best to stumble out of a bar with

(01:24):
after a long discussion of movies, and that is one
mister Brandon Vick, who is the film critic, resident film
critic of the Sobros Network, who's also a member of
the Southeastern Film Critics Association, a board member of the
Music City Films Critics Association, and most importantly, the birth
giver the vix Flicks and the Cinema Chronicles podcast heard
right here on the Sobros Network and with him joining

(01:47):
us as always, is the man behind the Sobros Network,
the eic, the glue of the brand, A Jennafishonado cat
lover and all around football wordsmith. Mister Stony Keeley, gentlemen,
how is this New Year's finding both of you?

Speaker 4 (02:04):
Very well? Very well. I didn't watch the movie we're
going to talk about today, so I can't weigh in
that much. I'm just kind of producing and supporting you guys.
But I'm still happy to be here. I'm still happy
to be here to sit in on this conversation about
this iconic biopic.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
This is one of my favorite movies.

Speaker 4 (02:25):
Movies periods, not just biopick.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, yeah, I performance direction, obviously, the music. Yeah. I
listened to this soundtrack, I think two years after it
came out. I could listen to Ray Charles anytime of
the day. So yeah, I'm pumped.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Spoiler alert, We're talking about Ray. They who The Academy
Award winning film All About Ray Charles. Ray chronicles the
life of the equally brilliant and troubled singer and pianist
Ray Charles, from his early childhood where he learned to
deal with the challenges of a disability, to his fighting
his personal demons and addictions. Ray showcases key moments in

(03:05):
his career in personal life, showing why Charles is one
of the most influential musicians in the history of American music.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
And man did he have some cool pepsi commercials.

Speaker 3 (03:16):
Oh man, he did, got other right on and he
could sing, you know, a patriotic song like nobody.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Else, especially if Andre the Giant was there? Yeah? Was
he there?

Speaker 3 (03:31):
Was that?

Speaker 2 (03:31):
Was that three? Right? He was at three? Yeah? Yeah he.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
We're not gonna talk about who Andre wrestled in that
match because.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
Uh nope, never heard of him, never heard him.

Speaker 3 (03:40):
Uh canceled, canceled anyway, Let's talk about good things. Ray
stars Jamie Fox as the one and Only Ray Charles.
Also features Regina King as Margie Hendricks. Kerrie Washington is
Dela b Robinson, Clifton Powe Is, Jeff Brown, Bokeem Woodbine
as fat Head Newman. And you also have Richard schiff

(04:01):
Is in the film, Terrence Howard, and Lorenz Tate who
plays a young Quincy Jones. Yeah, before seeing Ray, I
didn't know they had a connection from that early on
in their careers.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, I didn't realize that. I didn't realize that either. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
Ray was directed by Taylor Hackford, who did An Officer
and Gentlemen Against All Odds Delors Claiborne. I had no
idea he directed those films before seeing Ray.

Speaker 2 (04:28):
Do you know what else he's doing? I please? And
likeen Us Helen Marion, they're married. Whoa man, that's a
prize right there.

Speaker 4 (04:37):
That is a prize right there, all due respect, Yeah,
it was really go ahead.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
And oh no, sorry, I was gonna say. One of
the last movies Taylor Hackford did was with Helen Marion
and Joe Pesci, The Love Ranch about the prostitution thing
that ended up getting busted in like the seventies or eighties.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
I'm not familiar with that one. Yeah, Helen is Helen
one of the horses. You show her biddies.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Yeah. O, No, she's classy. She runs the joint. Unfortunately,
got to keep Peshi under control.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah, but it was written by Taylor as well as
Jmel White and uh to start the year off right,
I'm gonna get as fucked up.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
Oh hello.

Speaker 3 (05:13):
It's well documented the problems that Ray Charles had with
a certain substance throughout his life that almost put him
in jail and took away everything that he had worked
so hard for.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
Is this a diet coke and cocaine?

Speaker 4 (05:27):
Not quite diet pepsi?

Speaker 3 (05:30):
But today's drink is simply liquid heroin?

Speaker 2 (05:34):
Oh damn.

Speaker 3 (05:35):
And it's a shot. We're not doing anything fancy. You're
gonna take an ounce and a half of Rumplements and
an ounce and a half of Jagermeister, mixing in a
shaker with some ice, and then strain into a shotglass.

Speaker 4 (05:46):
Y'all have fun with that. The last time I drank Rumpelman's,
the last time I drank Rumpelman's was twenty fourteen. I
drink an entire bottle and my face was green the
next morning.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
Well, why did you go through a whole bottle?

Speaker 4 (05:58):
It's tasty, It's tasty and easy to drink, and I
can't drink yeager. Yeah, because, Yeah, I can't drink yeager
because one of my friends threw it up in my
mouth one night out the passenger seat of a taxi,
into out the window and into the back window, in
the back of my throat as I was yawning.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
I'll tell you right now, whether you drank it out
of a bottle or it came out of your friend's mouth,
I guarantee you it tasted the.

Speaker 4 (06:23):
Same, Yes, I can confirm.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
And gosh, Happy New Year to everybody. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
So yeah, y'all are gonna have to do this month's
drinks on your own.

Speaker 3 (06:31):
Yeah. Uh, much like the rest of this episode, we're
doing on our own. Brandy damn. So Brandy gets to
experience what it's like when me and Stony do shows
without you.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
Yeah, I think.

Speaker 3 (06:44):
And then I'll sit out March and see how it goes.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
Take that. Uh, let's talk money, let's do let's do
one without my cash. But we'll find a John Cusack movie. Yes,
that'd be awesome.

Speaker 3 (06:55):
Uh money, budgets, what do we think it costs for ray?

Speaker 2 (07:00):
See you start talking movies like this, and to me,
that's a lot tougher to think it, like, you know,
like the period piece where I feel like, you know,
it can't be more than like thirty million, But this one, God,
I don't know. I just feel like it might cost
money to even try and get all his songs. But
the family kind of has to give you permission.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
Oh he was He was still alive when the movie
was filmed, was he?

Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah? He actually, I mean I know he was breathing,
but he set it through a screening. They said that
he got to see it in his own way see it,
But he said in his own way, So I don't
know how that works. But like, hey, what'd you think
sounded good? Yeah? The guy singing was really good. Yeah,

(07:44):
I like that guy. I'm gonna say, m Jamee's forty
eight million, I think it's under fifty.

Speaker 4 (07:58):
Dang, I was gonna say, I was gonna say twenty
twenty four.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
You might be right, So I'm wait, I don't think
I get any of this right.

Speaker 3 (08:05):
Well, forty eight and twenty four yep, forty al right,
forty million dollars for for Ray and uh, it's well
documented that Ray that Jamie Fox used like almost glue,
basically some sort of prosthetic that had his eyes closed
for like fourteen hours a day, so you can see.

(08:27):
And I think that's where all the money went to
and the fake heroin.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
So yeah, I didn't see that coming that that was
gonna be where all those funds were spent.

Speaker 3 (08:36):
Box office wise, still talking money, this was a film.
This film was released October twenty ninth, two thousand and four.
Perfect time for a movie like this, in the midst
of spooky season.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah, yeah, that's Oscar. That's prime. We're really getting into
that prime Oscar season.

Speaker 3 (08:53):
Well, yeah, it did not open it number one. Yeah,
and opened at number two for the week, behind The Grudge,
which in its second week, and it just beat out Saul,
which was released the same weekend as Ray.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
Saul is three, Ray is two, and The Grudge after
a week so it's second week, second week of the Grudge.

Speaker 3 (09:15):
So what did Ray bring in its opening weekend US
Canada box office?

Speaker 4 (09:24):
I feel like this was a pretty big opening.

Speaker 2 (09:27):
But a movie that came out a week before was
number one. Again.

Speaker 4 (09:31):
Yeah, it's spooky season, though, I'm gonna say.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
I mean, even if it drops off a.

Speaker 4 (09:37):
Bit, I'm gonna say thirty eight.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say twenty nine.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
Okay, so twenty nine and thirty eight and it finished second.
And you think the Grudge brought in forty million.

Speaker 2 (09:56):
I didn't say forty, No, he said thirty eight.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
So I'm rounded up if the Grudge is notuber one.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, because I'm thinking maybe the Grudge made thirty and
Ray's like sort of behind it. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (10:08):
Ray brought in just over twenty million.

Speaker 2 (10:10):
Twenty millions, almost said twenty.

Speaker 3 (10:13):
Four US Canada total box office. It was just right
at seventy five and a half million dollars.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
There you go, yep.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
And then worldwide it really did some damage as well,
bringing in total of just right at one hundred and
twenty four million.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
That's a hell of a number for forty million dollars.
Ray Charles movie.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
More than tripled its budget, So you can't hate that.
The French really loved Ray Charles oh in the movie,
especially bringing in a little over eleven point one million dollars.
And then the Egyptians here we go, fucking hated Ray.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
It's always them and the god dang Bulgarians.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
Egypt brought in eighteen hundred dollars. Oh, get out of here.

Speaker 2 (10:56):
Egypt.

Speaker 3 (10:57):
But the Bulgarians twenty two, five hundred dollars.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
You know, they always are in this kind of fifteen
to twenty five thousand dollars. That's all you're gonna really get.

Speaker 3 (11:08):
Probably only have two screens in the whole country.

Speaker 2 (11:11):
Probably the other one was the Grudge. Yeah, so they
just went back and forth.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
I will say that I love that I have snuck
in what Bulgaria does on every episode for like the
last six months.

Speaker 2 (11:21):
Yeah, you have. I think now you have to stick.

Speaker 3 (11:22):
With It's a bit speaking, a bit that just started
about a year or so ago. On here Rotten Tomato Scores,
we're looking tomato meter. What do we think the critics
thought of Ray.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
Ninety six, say, ninety one.

Speaker 3 (11:41):
Seven, seventy. I didn't think you're gonna go that fast.
I scrolled up, I got a note seventy nine.

Speaker 2 (11:47):
Really didn't get to eighty.

Speaker 3 (11:49):
Yep, but then we have the audience the popcorn meter.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
There're seventy nine the another critics tomato meter.

Speaker 4 (11:58):
Yeah, I'm really surprised by that first, and I at.

Speaker 2 (12:01):
Least thought it'd be in the eighties. That's why I
thought I'll just go right over.

Speaker 4 (12:04):
Eighty five for the audience score.

Speaker 2 (12:06):
Okay, hmmm, I'm gonna say ninety.

Speaker 3 (12:12):
You're kind of kind of split in half. Eighty seven Okay,
not too shabby.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
No, that's good.

Speaker 4 (12:17):
No.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
And then another fun thing we like to do around
this time is the letter box for Ray and uh
lydia four and a half stars for Ray.

Speaker 2 (12:29):
Okay, okay.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
She simply says, Jamie Fox was coming for that oscar
as his life depended on it.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
It's true.

Speaker 4 (12:36):
Yeah, he brought it. That's true, he really brought it.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yep, Nathan, I haven't seen this.

Speaker 4 (12:42):
How the hell do you know?

Speaker 2 (12:45):
I will tell you by the time. I mean, you
gotta guess what.

Speaker 3 (12:49):
Ray's never seen it either by.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
The time at by the beginning of August to the
end of October, Jamie Fox has done.

Speaker 4 (12:58):
Collateral and Ray, that's a heater.

Speaker 2 (13:00):
That's a nice it's a nice nice one. P yep
yep uh spoiler alert.

Speaker 3 (13:05):
Next month we talked all things collateral, so Jamie Fox
want to start.

Speaker 4 (13:12):
But this was like, would y'all say that this was
his like big arrival, like the next step in his career?

Speaker 3 (13:18):
Absolutely absolute, because he had done in Living Color, done
stand up, booty Call, and then yes, Booty Call and
then started doing music. He'd had some hits by this point.
He did yeah and then uh, and then Ray was
really what launched him.

Speaker 2 (13:35):
What wasn't after Ray? He had that Kanye song, Well, yeah,
gold Digger after that, but that Blame It on the Goose,
Got Your Feeling Lost? Tea Pain? But yes, was it? Yeah,
Jamie Fox is in it. Yeah that's his song. That's
a T pain song.

Speaker 4 (13:50):
No, that's Jamie Fox.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah, yeah, that's Jamie Fox. It might be Jamie Fox
featuring Tea Paint. But I do because I remember the
music video.

Speaker 4 (13:58):
Blame it on the out Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
That's what it's called. Blame It on the Goose, Got
your Feeling Loose. He also sang that my pants got bigger.
He also sang that I didn't feel it in my fingers. No,
he didn't sing that feeling. Stoney definitely knows Jamie Fox music.

(14:22):
Doesn't watch Ray, but those hids. He's waiting for the
Jamie Fox biopic.

Speaker 4 (14:29):
Yeah, who would blame him?

Speaker 2 (14:31):
Uh, Michael B.

Speaker 4 (14:32):
Jordan's there you go, Jamie Fox.

Speaker 2 (14:35):
That was I was gonna say that was a really
quick answer because I think Michael B. Jordan can do everything.

Speaker 3 (14:40):
Well, that's true, Nathan three stars say, I'm back at
the letter box.

Speaker 2 (14:47):
I know, but he gave it three I'm just pissed
about the rating a wrap. Let me at least he
watched the movie, that's true, But does he know all
the words to Jamie fox songs of He.

Speaker 3 (15:00):
Says, it's bizarrely structured and far too long. But Jamie
Fox is great and most of the musical moments worked
really well.

Speaker 2 (15:07):
Bizarrely structured, it's a biopic the hell, okay.

Speaker 3 (15:13):
And then Steve no No related three and a half stars,
one star removed for insinuating that white folks in the
sixties had rhythm.

Speaker 2 (15:25):
Damn, I get the penalty on that, but I mean
you had a knock at a whole star. Whole star.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
And then lastly, Leyton Trent gave it four stars, says
that Jamie Fox Inhabitation of Ray Charles is something film
will never see again. It's not just a performance piece,
though the film is fantastic across the board. Haxford choices
are expert here, and the writing, cinematography, costumes, design, et cetera.
Are all top of the line.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, I'd agree with that. Yeah, that whole like look
it sotony, you know what about it? Yeah, but the
whole look of it. And I really did like those
musical scenes, like even the ones where they're in the
studio and much less, you know, when he's first starting
out and it's in these like shitty bars where you

(16:15):
can't even really you know, it's really just for black
black people. He can't joint ye, So, but I agree,
I think that film isn't the what it is without that,
I mean even the editing, but especially the writing, and
I mean the direction and performances. You can't. I mean,

(16:35):
I think it's a heavy hitter in all of them.
I can't. I can't disagree.

Speaker 3 (16:42):
Uh some little uh insight to Ray Charles if you
don't know a lot about his career and such. Ray
Charles Robinson is real birth name. Robinson was the last name.
They obviously wanted to change it away from the boxer sugar.
Ray Robinson didn't want to be associated to having the
same person with the same name. Yeah, he was often

(17:03):
called the father of Soul. Born in Albany, Georgia in
nineteen thirty and then quickly moved to Florida shortly after
his birth. Uh, not long after witnessing the untimely death
of his younger brother, Ray began to lose his vision
and was one hundred percent blind by the age of seven. Wow,
I've never read anywhere on like what was the cause?

Speaker 2 (17:24):
I don't know. I mean, I I don't know what
it like what it would be classified now, I don't
I'm sure they didn't know then, because I mean, I
think they didn't even understand it. There's a scene where
he's at the doctor. I think is it. Is it
after his brother's pass.

Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, because I just remember that the mother has like
that like syrupy pace his eyes to kind of make
it better. But shortly after he goes, he's I don't
know if he's one hundred percent blind at this point,
but shortly close to that, his mother sends him to
the Florida School for the Deaf and Lined, where he

(18:00):
learns to read Braille, write and arrange music and breil
as well. And there he learned to play not only
the piano, but also the organ, saxophone, clarinet, and trumpets. Wow,
that's quite impressive, I say, at a young age. And
then by the time he was twenty three, he landed
a deal with Atlantic Records and released the hit single
mess Around, and then a year later earned his first

(18:21):
number one hit with I Got a Woman.

Speaker 2 (18:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (18:24):
Throughout the fifties and sixties, Charles crossed multiple genres with
hits on the R and B pop end country charts.
Even with all his success, Charles struggled with his own demons,
arrested in nineteen sixty five for possession of heroin. Luckily,
he was able to avoid any jail time and finally
kicked the habit, going through rehab in Los Angeles. Sadly,

(18:48):
he succumbed to liver disease in two thousand and four,
just four months before the movie Ray premiered.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
Oh it was liver disease.

Speaker 3 (18:55):
Yeah, he came down with He was diagnosed with hepatitis
C at one point, and which affects your liver, and
succumbed to that over time.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
But he was in his eighties, wasn't he.

Speaker 3 (19:08):
So this will been in twenty four when he passed.
He was born in thirty so seventy mid seventies early.

Speaker 2 (19:16):
Oh yeah, okay, I guess it's close to eighty. Yeah.
I still I didn't actually get into this song. We
have a radio station in Nashville that plays old stuff
and they have the ray Charles Willie Nelson seven Spanish Angels. Yeyeah,
I have really come to like that. You're talking about
how he's on the country charts too, and also he

(19:37):
has I forgot the title of it, but it plays
in Christmas Vacation when Chevy Chase is up in the
attic and he's watching those home movies, they play a
ray Charles Christmas song that I don't know why people
don't play it. It's a beautiful Christmas song. I'm not familiar.
I can look it up while we do it, but

(19:57):
it's like the most wonderful time, Like why can't it
be like that all year round? Sounds just like it
I just said.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
So.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
I don't think Stony's seen that movie either.

Speaker 4 (20:06):
Oh God, I love that movie. That's my favorite Christmas movie.
I know what song you're talking about, but I don't
know the name of it.

Speaker 2 (20:14):
The Spirit of Christmas. Okay, that's what it's called. If
you have it now he does. I think the Spirit
of Christmas was also an album, but it is called
It's like, it's that Spirit of Christmas.

Speaker 5 (20:27):
You can keep saying, it's a perfect Timmy let's move
on with the one you love. Did you know Ray
Charles could fly planes?

Speaker 2 (20:38):
What? Yeah? True story paper planes. No.

Speaker 3 (20:41):
Charles had an interest in flying and was determined to
buy his own plane, so during the early sixties, he
bought a five passengers Sessna three ten, which was piloted
by Tom mcgarrity, one of the very few Black Air
Force veterans. And then often Charles would ask mcgarritty questions
about the plane and would even help the pilot under

(21:02):
the plane's hood when they were doing repairs and such.
And on some nights, instead of mcgarretty switching to autopilot
when they were flying somewhere, Charles would fly the plane
listening to the hum of the beam tones off of
the radar, so he listened to the radar for directions.
The man could do everything in this world but one.

Speaker 2 (21:23):
See correct, and he technically got to do that until seven.
That's true. He's done it all. He's done it all.

Speaker 3 (21:32):
It was while Ray Charles was enrolled in a rehabilitation
program at Saint Francis Hospital near la in the mid
sixties that he learned to play chess. His doctor was
teaching him and ways to help fight insomnia, so to
play chess.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (21:48):
He would often play throughout the night with other patients.
He loved winning at chess and was not and it
was not a matter of luck, but rather of skill.
That's what he loved about the game because you don't
get lucky playing chess.

Speaker 2 (21:59):
Actually a skill game.

Speaker 3 (22:01):
So we start to somebody quoted, He's like, we start
with the same pieces in the same places. You've got
to outwit, out thinking, out maneuver the other person, Charles said,
which is.

Speaker 2 (22:10):
A lot like Survivor.

Speaker 4 (22:12):
Now, yeah, makes sense.

Speaker 2 (22:14):
I didn't see that in the movie.

Speaker 3 (22:16):
You didn't see the chess scene with the doctor. Did
you see Ray?

Speaker 2 (22:22):
God? Did I watch a different movie? I think you did.
Jesus uh.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
He maintained a long life passion for the game. He
even had his own chessboards made, one of which is
in the American History Museum. Gosh Rich Well, what's interesting
about it is they feature squares of alternating heights, so
one one the white would be on the one side
one height, and the black ones would be on the

(22:46):
other height. So that way he knew which pieces were
his the other persons and then also the uh the
to help him identify the pieces by touch. The black
pieces had sharper tops, while the white ones were more
round it.

Speaker 2 (23:00):
In I mean, even with such a disability. I I mean,
look at all the things he did and accomplished. And
you're talking about flying a plane, and everybody talks about Stevie. Wonder, right,
what's he done lately?

Speaker 3 (23:13):
What's he done? I bet he couldn't beat somebody in chess?

Speaker 4 (23:17):
No, hell, no, no way no.

Speaker 2 (23:20):
And then although you know, what about when do we
get to the part where he defined woman's beauty by
the size of the wrist.

Speaker 3 (23:29):
We can talk about that right now, I have I
have no no agenda.

Speaker 2 (23:33):
I like, I'm not saying it's right, but I laugh
when I first saw it and when I saw it
again because I love that that's what That's how he
decided if the woman was pretty or not.

Speaker 3 (23:45):
Well, they say pretty in the movie, but I think
you more look it at if they were fat or not?

Speaker 2 (23:51):
Well, Yeah, I think, yeah, that's actually that's actually right.

Speaker 3 (23:55):
Very much like a certain director of love act no stop, come.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
On, fat sham.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
And I think Ray Charles did the same thing again.

Speaker 4 (24:03):
You can tell which three episodes we filmed on this
same day.

Speaker 2 (24:07):
But no, I just I love that that Actually it
was just last month guys. That that's how he thought,
Like that's what he took from that. But yeah, I
mean he was. And the thing is, I mean, and
it's like anybody. I mean, he he's a he was
a flawed man and so you know he did like

(24:27):
you said, he got his life in order, but I mean,
you know, I mean he cheated on his what I mean.

Speaker 3 (24:33):
Well, it's funny the movie and I have it in
somewhere in my notes. I can't remember. Oh yeah, here
it is right here. Della b who played by Kerry Washington, Yeah,
is not his first wife in real life. He married
a woman before her. Her name was he was younger,
Aileen Williams. They married in nineteen fifty one, had a child,

(24:53):
and then divorced in fifty two, so they were really
together long enough to have a kid literally wow, before
he split and by the time.

Speaker 2 (25:03):
Wow. I love the scene where Regina King, who is
amazing in her role, who had enough? Yeah, and it's
that what's that song hit the Road Jackson? Yeah? Yeah,
and when she sings it and it's almost like out

(25:23):
of like anger. Yeah, I love that. And when I
when you listen to it on the soundtrack, I can't
help but think of that scene every time.

Speaker 3 (25:31):
And I wonder, because you have that one, and there
was one other song portrayed in the film where he's
like just writing it right then and there with somebody
else is involved in the scene as well, and I
just wonder if that's actually how that those songs came
in his house and she Yeah, I forget which song
it was, but I think it was him and not

(25:54):
Regina King's character.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
But was it unchained my heart? Maybe? I think I
kind of know because it's in like their bedroom or
something like that.

Speaker 3 (26:02):
Yeah, So I'm curious that that was just you know,
they wrote that to make it fit in the film,
or if.

Speaker 2 (26:06):
That actually happened. I mean, that's probably.

Speaker 3 (26:10):
Too Regina's character just riffing off of Hit the Road
Jack and it actually but then it.

Speaker 2 (26:15):
Makes you think, like because of like, you know, it's
all the real recordings, did like was the actual real
person pissed or did they make that into the movie
because the recordings are recording and it sounds like she's angry,
but you know, you're just hearing it when you see

(26:37):
Regina King doing it, it's like oh so now, like
I just associate like when she sings that, like, oh,
she must have been pissed at him. But man, he
just didn't. I mean, he just didn't care. And the
thing is, he did not hide it at all. And
I know, like I'm sure people say, you know, back
then it didn't matter and you didn't divorce, just a

(26:58):
divorce and you though he said, already been divorced once. Yeah,
but but yeah, I mean, and you know what the
thing is that I guess as they become an old man.
But then like you see the life, he love it.
I mean he I mean if there was a bad boy,
I mean he yeah, back then he that's what he was.
And it wasn't until he kicked Hero when and that

(27:20):
wasn't he wasn't that young.

Speaker 3 (27:22):
And if you if you haven't seen the film or
really know anything about Ray Charles and you only know
him from the music the commercials you've seen is such
you just think he's, you know, happy, go lucky, blind
guy who's really talented at singing and playing the piano,
not knowing this really dark history he has.

Speaker 2 (27:38):
Well and I'm thinking of people of a certain age.
You don't mean he had already cleaned you know, he'd
already been cleaned up by then, Like I imagine him,
I don't even remember, like when I was seeing him
on TV and stuff, I don't even remember him with
like not having gray hair.

Speaker 3 (27:54):
Now I first I first learned to Ray Charles watching
The Blues Brothers.

Speaker 2 (27:58):
Oh yeah, oh yeah the movie. Yeah so but yeah,
I mean, I am glad he got cleaned up at man,
his his voices, it's incomparable.

Speaker 4 (28:09):
It's one of a kind.

Speaker 2 (28:10):
Yeah, I'm I'm I agree. Where we talked about this
before we hit play about where one of the things is,
like you thought Jamie fox should sing. I have some stuff,
but I don't know. I'm mainly for that. I think
Raymy Mallick copying Freddie Mercury. But then you have Taron
Egerton who did his own singing in Rocketman Joaquen he

(28:35):
did it.

Speaker 3 (28:37):
But there's so Jamie FOXX is a more known singer
than those two.

Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah, goose got your feeling loose. But I but I
kind of think because of like with Ray Charles, it
doesn't bother me. And I don't know, like I don't
really have a reason why. But and maybe it's because
the way that it's done in this one. It doesn't

(29:01):
even seem like it's lips like. It just seems like
it's a natural thing. So that's that's credit to Jamie
Foxx and the editing Taylor Hackfert could have. I mean,
it could have been a shit show. But but yeah,
I was just thinking, like more, I would always be
up for people doing it. But I'm like, you know,
I don't. I don't mind it. And I don't know

(29:22):
if it's just because I like Ray Charles's voice, so
I don't care. Because Freddie Murcury's voice. I mean, he
needs that. He needs that. Hey now. Oh and by
the way, Raymon mallach, he won the Oscar. Yeah, he
shouldn't have. He shouldn't have. I will say that.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
One of the most touching scenes for me is at
the end of the movie where Ray finds out that
I forget the actor the character's name has passed away,
one of the ones he impregnated and had a child with.
Oh yeah, And he finds out at his home for
his on his son's birthday, and he breaks down crying
and everything, and and b comes in. Kerry Washington, she

(30:00):
finds out and she's like I'll start sending money, and
he's like, I've always been sending money every month and
then he kind of storms out of the room and
breaks down in tears, crying, and then she has this
look where I felt like, and I don't know what
what happened in real life, but it seemed like she
had this moment where she thought it was her responsibility
then to raise this bastard child.

Speaker 2 (30:22):
Basically, yeah, that's that one. And you know, we talk
about like his multiple affairs, but it was also cool
to see and I forgot the location, but basically they left,
he left the constant. He didn't do a show. I

(30:44):
was in Georgia because of SegReg He's like, I can't. Oh, yeah,
because the fan from the state. Yeah, and then they
forgave him. Of course, Georgia, on my mind is now
the song of the state. But but I just but
there's things like that too, where like that took balls
to say no, I'm not I'm getting back on the
bus and we're even.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
Well it's it's a little upsetting with the way that
came about because he had to be basically be coerced,
not coerced into it, but you know, kind of shamed like, hey,
you've got all this power and you're doing nothing with Yeah.

Speaker 2 (31:13):
Yeah, well but and then you think, like even people today,
like how they use their voice and especially when they
decide they're going to use it. But I mean, you know,
back then, I know, I mean it made a difference.
I mean you know, I mean he was the he
was the guy. Yeah, so then somebody.

Speaker 3 (31:31):
And then in today's world, you have a certain segment
of the population that I'll tell you to just shut
up and dribble right.

Speaker 2 (31:36):
Right, Well, depending on who you are, what you.

Speaker 3 (31:39):
Look like, and where you are and all those good things.

Speaker 2 (31:43):
You know.

Speaker 3 (31:43):
No one had interest in backing this movie, No studio
had any interests. It was shot independently and it was
only distributed by Universal because one of the executives there
used to hitchhike to Ray Charles concerts.

Speaker 2 (31:58):
That these are stories that amazed me, where literally no
one wanted it, and then literally a Ray Charles fan
who just happened to have I guess a higher role
than most gets it done. And now look and then
Universal takes credit for him.

Speaker 3 (32:15):
Yeah, this is our baby the whole time. Yeah. Taylor Hackford,
the director, secured the rights to Ray Charles's life story
back in nineteen eighty seven, but couldn't find a studio
to finance the.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
Film nineteen eighty seven.

Speaker 3 (32:26):
Holy shit, so he said on that for you know,
fifteen plus years.

Speaker 2 (32:30):
So it's everyone else's fault that Ray Charles didn't really
get to see it and die four months before.

Speaker 3 (32:34):
Well, it's not really any studio's fault that Ray Charles
didn't get to see it, because.

Speaker 2 (32:38):
He right, But he could have been. He could have
gone to the premiere.

Speaker 3 (32:41):
Yeah, Hackford ended Ray where it ends because the rest
of Ray Charles's life was actually full of success and
no conflict.

Speaker 2 (32:54):
Oh after he kind of gets like, oh yeah, after
the you know, Georgia back to Georgia. Yea, as it
makes sense. Well, good for them, what a what a
time to stop be like, actually all good news from
here are folks.

Speaker 3 (33:07):
So Ray didn't get to see the film, but he
did get to read it because the script was translated
into Braille for him.

Speaker 2 (33:15):
Oh good, I mean this should if you're making chessboards,
you could at least give the man a script that
he can so true.

Speaker 3 (33:23):
Like I mentioned earlier, Charles was able to sit through
the first edit of the film before his death in
June of two thousand and four.

Speaker 2 (33:30):
And while we talked about.

Speaker 3 (33:31):
Briefly, Jamie does not sing in the in the film
at all. He did, however, excuse me, uh oh, I
feel it kind of Oh. While Jamie did not sing
in the movie, despite his uncanny impersonation, he did actually
play the piano in all the musical scenes.

Speaker 2 (33:51):
Oh good, yep, did he learn it.

Speaker 3 (33:55):
I'm sure he knew how to play the piano, but
I'm sure I know well, he did study Ray charl
like the way he plays it old videos, and he
actually he would once he got the role, he would
go and visit Ray Charles.

Speaker 2 (34:07):
Periodically together piano.

Speaker 3 (34:10):
And then after a while he stopped going to visit
Ray because he's like a seventy year old man can't
a seven year old Ray Charles really can't help me
play a young Ray Charles. So he relied on old
videos and cassette tapes that were given to him by Case.

Speaker 2 (34:24):
So did he just spit in Ray Charles's face and
say you're too old to teach me, you old man.

Speaker 3 (34:29):
No, that makes sense, but no, Quincy Jones gave him
a bunch of old cassettes of Ray Charles and that's
how he learned really to mimic Quincy Jones.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
God rest his soul.

Speaker 4 (34:39):
Man.

Speaker 3 (34:40):
It's upsetting that that man's gone, because he was a
musical genius.

Speaker 2 (34:43):
I think, I'll be honest, though, I think he was
starting to go into me too stuff. I think people Jones.
I think people started accusing him. I have never heard
such a story. Is it Russell Simmons? It could be
Russell Simmons too, it's definitely. I think you've got the
wrong You got the wrong Quincy, then you.

Speaker 3 (35:02):
Got the wrong man. That's Rashida's daddy.

Speaker 2 (35:04):
Now I know, I know. Listen still, I mean, listen,
he's a genius. But I thought I could have sworn
there was stuff. Now maybe it didn't come any nothing
came of it. But because then I didn't hear anything.
And then the last thing I heard is that he
passed away.

Speaker 3 (35:19):
I will say I think one of the funniest moments
in the film is kind of at the early where
Ray has got on the bus. He's gone to Seattle,
and anybody Terrence Howard, Uh, it's Terrence Howard himself, and
I forget the other actor's name. They align themselves with
that club booker whatever. Yeah, that's jipping them, but also

(35:40):
getting a little side piece of a Ray Charles.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, she is having her way
with Ray Charles on the night lib. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (35:49):
Every time Ray would go to the bathroom, he's like,
She's like.

Speaker 2 (35:52):
Ray, when you coming back to bed, he almost and
he almost seems scared. He seems scared, Yeah, very much.

Speaker 3 (35:59):
So. I mean maybe he didn't like the feel of
her wrist.

Speaker 2 (36:02):
I don't know, I I really I am. I'm I'm
a huge fan of the entire film, but I really,
I really like when they get into like the music part,
Like even if a student like seeing it, but it
it just sounds so good. Yeah, and it's done so well,
even if he's like, you know, just kind of mirroring

(36:25):
his moves along with the music and the voice. But
but yeah, I mean it's almost like any time they'd start,
like you know, there's times where like it's it was
cool to see certain stuff, but to me, like if
the music's going on, it's great. If it's not, and
you're kind of seeing you know, maybe his hardships, you know,
him overcoming it. But it's like he I thought it

(36:48):
was really enthralling all all the way through, and I
do think, like you said, I don't know if like
all of it. I'm sure some of it's for the movie,
is for how these songs came about. But I like
the stuff where you know, Sinatra doesn't even get that deal.
Yeah what he's what he's wanted.

Speaker 3 (37:09):
I mean, he's wanting his masters, Yeah, which was unneard
of which about that, Like, I don't know if I
mentioned while we were recording, but I said so earlier,
Like this was my first time watching rend Yeah. Yeah,
it's a movie I'd always had on my list to
watch but just never got around to. And plus I'm
not a fan of if your movie's over two and
a half hours, I'm just it's hard for me to

(37:30):
get to watch it. But I watched it, really thoroughly
enjoyed it. Those who know me, no, I'm a massive
Prince fan. And like he fought for artist rights, even
fought to get his own masters from Warner Brothers, which
he eventually did before he passed away. But knowing that
that was on Ray Charles's mind like in the sixties
is just fascinating.

Speaker 2 (37:51):
I also shows you just how smart right he was,
just business wise, not anything else, because it was it
was unheard of, and I didn't even realize that, I guess,
like you, I didn't realize that was even like a thing,
much less a black artist saying, Hey, this is what
I'm gonna have, You're gonna give it to me, and

(38:12):
you know, and then like even when he leaves, is
it what record is? Is it? It's not Sun is it? No?

Speaker 3 (38:19):
No, it was a smaller record. He leaves that for Atlantic.
Even now that Atlantic tries, I mean he's trying somebody
tries to steal him from Atlantic was ABC, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:29):
And so but even then he's like, hey, man, you know,
there's nothing personal. It's business. But that's the thing is
that it was about money. But he knew, he knew
how to do it and how to capitalize. So then
by the time he's going there and he's requesting something that,
like you said, is unheard of, that just shows you
that he he he's got enough sense and enough confidence

(38:50):
to know that if his stuff is his.

Speaker 3 (38:54):
I also thought he had phenomenal street smarts as well,
whether this happened in real life or not, because early
in the film, he's ready to get on the bus
ahead to the Seattle. The bus pulls in there. The guys,
the bus drivers like, hey, the bathroom's are here, get
you something to eat. We got to be gone in
forty five minutes whatever. And Ray's just standing there waiting
to board this bus with his with his bag, He's

(39:15):
holding the things like sir. And the guy comes up
to hims a white fellow obviously, and he drops the
end word a couple of times towards Ray, and h
He's like makes some sort of comment about him being blind.
He's like, yeah, I left, I left my eyes over
and World War two somewhere Normandy or whatever. Yeahs knowing
that it's a damn lie. But what it's so it's

(39:36):
so early in the film and me not seen him
before and not really knowing Ray Charles's history, I was like,
did Ray Charles go to fight in World War Two?
And that's actually how he lost his visit?

Speaker 2 (39:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (39:45):
I was like, let me do a quick gurgle search,
real quick, and I'm like that line bastard was fucking sneaky.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
No, he here's good, and I mean he was he
seemed funny, but then it is, I mean, you know,
depending on what how much you know about him or not,
it is like he is he kind of becomes that
kind of you know, self suffering artists and the womanizer,

(40:14):
but there is such he's he's breaking barriers and making
history even while like, yes he has his faults, but
as far as with music and stuff that I mean,
I think that's what it is. It's almost like there's
this great success. But look at what I mean, it's
it's it's it's a tale as old as time as

(40:36):
success and you know what is that related to happiness?
And then of course I mean he's obviously you know
with these broken relationships and stuff, but but there's that
genius that just it runs all the way through.

Speaker 3 (40:49):
And you talked about him being a smart businessman. I
love the scenes where like because I before these even happened,
I was questioning, was like, how much did he get
robbed over the years? Yeah, that he wasn't aware of.
And and then you saw that he has a deal
set up. He's like, I get paid in once. Yeah,
so you're gonna count every single one out to me? Yeah,

(41:09):
Because I was like, oh, let's say he made one
hundred dollars for a gig or whatnot. Some we could
go twenty forty sixty eighty hundred and it is only
five dollars, right, But he's like if he has one,
and you can't fuck up a one.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
But that's what he I mean, what's sad is that's
what he had to do. And as much as like
you no, you know, none of us can at this
table can sit here and think about it, but he's
like he was smart, yeah, because he also understood the
culture and the country he's living in and thinks if
I'm doing it, and you know, he was getting ripped off.
So some of it is kind of learning and thinking, Okay,

(41:43):
this is I'll go, Yeah, this is how I'll do it.
I mean, from getting paid to the masters to play
in chess. And I also I kind of.

Speaker 3 (41:52):
Give some of that credit to his mother, who died
shortly after he moved away to Florida. She died at
while Ray was at a young age. But in the
film they keep hammering in how important an education was
to her for him to.

Speaker 2 (42:06):
Get Yeah, well she knew, yeah, yeah, that's true.

Speaker 3 (42:09):
Because you see her getting robbed at the very beginning
of the film. She's like, I see what you're charging
these white people and you're not giving me.

Speaker 2 (42:16):
Yeah mind, she kind of wasn't taking any shit, like
calling it out for what it Yeah, for what it was.
And uh so yeah, that's true. That is a lot
of it is how she is, how she raised him,
and it kind of shows you she did something right
because he you know, being black and being blind and
he wasn't going to be pushed around. But again, that

(42:38):
that mind of his, yeah, saved his life. You know.
I'm sure several times.

Speaker 3 (42:44):
The needle tried to take it from him several times,
but no, luckily that did That's not what got him
in the end.

Speaker 2 (42:49):
Uh, Nope.

Speaker 3 (42:50):
Liver disease, liver disease, damn hepatitis. Yep, what you could
have gotten from a needle. I guess that's true. Yeah.
This film was highly awarded throughout the the seasons of
the awards season. It was nominated for six Academy Awards,
winning two of them, for one for Best Actor. We've
already discussed that with Jamie Fox and then sound mixing

(43:11):
as well. Oh that makes sense, yeah, uh best Actor,
Oh yeah, Best Actor. Jamie Fox won every major award
for his performance.

Speaker 2 (43:24):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (43:25):
Nominated for Oscar or won the Oscar, won the Golden
Globe won the BAFTA, won the Critics Choice, the be Et,
the Image Awards, Screen Actors Guilt, but he.

Speaker 2 (43:35):
Did not win at the MTV Movie Awards. What or
the Teen Choice Awards? You know what? Who won? I
didn't go that far. I didn't care that much. Well,
that's bullshit. Probably Tom Cruise. Can I ask, do we
know who was nominated for the OSCAR that year for

(43:56):
Best Actor? I don't really, I did not. Look That's okay,
I keep going, I'll find it.

Speaker 3 (44:02):
But the other nominations they had this year was, like
I said, Best Actor, Best sound Mixing, but they also
had Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Directing
as well as Best Picture. If I didn't say that
earlier this film, this is where the sound mixing comes in,
because we talked about how the sound mixing was very important.
Sound editing was very important for this film. Originally slated

(44:24):
to be released on the first week of October of
two thousand and four, but there was a delay at
the start of editing that prompted this movie to be
released two weeks later. So, according to the writer, producer,
and director Taylor Hackford, the original editor of the film
quit the project one month after production started, before Paul

(44:44):
Hirsch was brought in, and when Hirst joined in, he
wanted an additional two weeks to edit the earlier material,
which was approved, and he insisted to have a standalone
work print, which became the extended version of this film.
I guess that put it in around three hours. I
would not. I don't need a three hour ray film.
I'm in, I'm sure, Yeah, that's all you.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
Let's watch five five hours and a sequel, Oh my god,
six hours?

Speaker 3 (45:13):
Yeah, Ray two Electric Boogoloo Baby.

Speaker 2 (45:17):
So I have it up here. Jamie Fox won, and
his fellow nominees were Don Cheatle for Hotel Rwanda, Johnny
Depp for Finding Neverland, No DiCaprio for The Aviator, An
Eastwood for A Million Dollar Baby Deserving. I yeah, I

(45:42):
got no problem with him whinning. Yeah, And honestly, you
could throw in a few more people, and this was
an incredible performance. I don't think he'll never get there again.
And I in parts of me was kind of thinking,
did he make the most up? But I'm like, you
know what, I guess he did. I still don't know

(46:02):
what happened with this illness. He addresses it in some
stand up he's doing for Netflix. I've heard rumors he
almost died.

Speaker 3 (46:10):
I've heard rumors that the Puff Daddy organization has something.

Speaker 2 (46:14):
To do with his illness. Oh my god.

Speaker 3 (46:20):
I haven't seen the stand up so well.

Speaker 2 (46:22):
I think it comes out at the end of the year. Maybe. Yeah, No,
it's not out yet. Well, but he did The Kingdom.
I don't remember that action one. But I mean, you know,
he got to be a Spider Man villain.

Speaker 3 (46:34):
He's got his own game show.

Speaker 2 (46:36):
Yeah, he got to be a Tarantino movie. He was
in Baby Driver, Edgar Wright. He's done something.

Speaker 3 (46:42):
He's done fine for himself. I think I don't.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
Think he'll ever get I think the thing is is
that I think he probably had those few years, got
some money. But I don't know about headlining movies anymore.

Speaker 3 (46:55):
I mean, but he put out you know, Grammy nominated.

Speaker 2 (46:59):
Yeah. Yeah, he capitalized on everything. No, No, but I
don't think. I don't think he has that Ray Collateral
and like, I think that was just lightning in a bottle?

Speaker 4 (47:13):
Is that his name in that movie? Ray Collaborate, Ray Collateral.

Speaker 2 (47:16):
I think that's a that's a great name right there,
Vincent Collateral sorry spoiler alert, but you know what I mean, Like,
it's almost like you have that year that's like career defining, like,
but but then it's like the choices he makes after
and I mean, you know, he's in some vampire movie
on Netflix, which stupid.

Speaker 3 (47:36):
Well, I mean, some some actors, depending on I think
it depends on your ego and such, some actors will
have a year like that and then try to chase
it for.

Speaker 2 (47:42):
The rest of their career. Oh that's true.

Speaker 3 (47:44):
And then you have actors who are like, I got
I got the Golden ticket. I'm happy I don't have
to chase this anymore. I know I made the rest
of my life.

Speaker 2 (47:53):
Yea.

Speaker 3 (47:54):
And going to his game show, he's doing it with
his daughter, so yeah, so's he's happy.

Speaker 2 (48:00):
Yeah, not as cool, but yeah, I mean not everybody
has supposed to another bio pic. Yeah, you know of
who Ali? Nope, but it's another boxer sugar A Leonard Nope, Tyson.
Now it's Michael beat Jordan's role. I could see. I

(48:22):
could see Jamie Foxx being of Mike Tyson. I really could.
Michael B. Jordan can't. He's Creed. Yeah, He'll always be Creed.
You know what I mean, Like Collateral Ray just seemed
like man, but Janego was probably on up there, because
I mean, anytime you do a Tarantino movie, that's a

(48:44):
big deal. Again, he wasn't the best, but he was
a Spider Man villain twice, Yeah, which at least the
second time was a little more gave it a little
bit more justice.

Speaker 3 (48:55):
I will say that that first time in Spider Man.
He's the reason why I bought a ticket.

Speaker 2 (49:00):
Oh yeah, no, I agree. I just then you see
it and you're like, okay, was that Toby? No, that
was Garfield? Garfield?

Speaker 3 (49:07):
Okay, yeah, I didn't know who the hell Andrew Garfield
was at the time.

Speaker 2 (49:10):
Who was Who was the other villain in that one?

Speaker 3 (49:13):
I remember that the sand one with Thomas Aydon Church.

Speaker 2 (49:16):
Now that's Spider Man three with Toby and Venom? Who
was with two? Yeah? It was Spider Man.

Speaker 4 (49:22):
Paul Giamatti's Rhino, wasn't it.

Speaker 2 (49:24):
I think that was at the beginning, But I then
the he we didn't see him again. I've seen it once.
I feel like I'm missing It wasn't Lizard, Who's the
wasn't another Green Goblin? Dang de Han didn't he play, yeah,
the other green gar Yeah.

Speaker 3 (49:39):
Okay, folks, if you're new to drinking with this happens
in every episode where we get way off the fucking rail.

Speaker 2 (49:44):
I'm still talking about Jamie foxx Jesus anyway back to
him being probably playing those biggest role that you ever have.

Speaker 3 (49:54):
This was the first African American biopick nominated for Academy Awards,
including Best Picture and Best Picture Best Actor.

Speaker 2 (50:02):
Was this? This must have been before before all? Lee?
I think so, it'd have to because a LEI I
know no, uh, Michael mahn Represent Ray was.

Speaker 3 (50:12):
The only Best Picture nominee at the Oscars that year
that was not nominated for Best Picture at the Producer's
Guild of America Awards.

Speaker 2 (50:20):
PAS. You know it took its place. Mm hmm. So
out of the five, that was the only one that
didn't that didn't. You want to hint, Well, I'm thinking
Sideways is in there, a million dollar babies in there,
the aviators in.

Speaker 3 (50:36):
There, and I forget what the other is it?

Speaker 2 (50:40):
Finding never Land? It was, Oh, that's right. We talked
about how we can replace that. Yeah, give me a hint.

Speaker 3 (50:49):
Animated, oh man, The Incredibles bingo, Okay.

Speaker 2 (50:57):
That's a great film. But yes, it's it's fine, But
I would have hated to I would have that over Ray,
I think is a bit.

Speaker 3 (51:08):
It was also the only Best Picture nominee that year
not to be nominated for one of the writing categories
for Original, Original or Adapted.

Speaker 2 (51:18):
So fuck you, Taylor Hackford.

Speaker 3 (51:22):
I do not have much left, but I do have
a could, would have should have.

Speaker 2 (51:25):
Let's hear it. Yeah, who should have played Ray Charles?
All right?

Speaker 3 (51:29):
The only person that was thought of for any roles
outside of who was cast was the title character himself.
I figured there was originally another Ray.

Speaker 4 (51:40):
Okay, surprising.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
Ray Winstone.

Speaker 3 (51:46):
Ray Collateral.

Speaker 4 (51:50):
I would love to see you know who.

Speaker 2 (51:52):
I you know, I'm There's only one person that comes
to mind, But I hope that isn't it. I don't.
I just feel like if it's a prominent role, and
you know, Denzel is Denzel, Wow, I can't see I

(52:14):
just I just couldn't actually see him do it. I
don't even think he I don't know. I don't think
I can see him as the young Ray Charles going in.
I don't know. Yeah, I can't see it either. And
I love Denzel. Oh, Denzel is the best of the best.

Speaker 3 (52:29):
Yeah, I mean he was amazing as Malcolm the.

Speaker 2 (52:34):
Hurricane, the Hurricane. Yeah, I'm only talking biopicture right now,
but yes.

Speaker 3 (52:39):
But he's he's phenomenal and everything he's ever been.

Speaker 2 (52:41):
But I can't but you know, like just physically, I
don't think I can see him no, not doing it.
I know he could me doing whatever he wants. But
but I also was kind of hoping you would say
someone different, because I feel like that's just like the
go to, like, well called Denzel. Ye see what he's doing.

Speaker 3 (52:58):
Well, the history of this show is if if you
needed a black actor, yeah, Denzel's the guy go too.
And then if you needed a white actress, it was
always Alicia Stilverstone, Right, That's the history of Drinking Wee.

Speaker 2 (53:09):
And they're both pretty much yeah, yeah, they're the same,
basically the same person.

Speaker 3 (53:15):
Is that It just Denzel That was the only one
that was really short and simple, and that really wraps
up what I have for Ray I do. Uh. I
thoroughly enjoyed the musical scenes in this film, especially the ones.
I forget what concert hall they're in, But it's a
segregate It's not segregated because you had the whites and blacks.

(53:35):
I think I think it was later he went back
to Georgia. They kind of showed that.

Speaker 2 (53:39):
Is it that give me the hay? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (53:41):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, that's probably my favorite there.

Speaker 2 (53:45):
And then I love that one and I forgot how
it sings it and it might not be the one
where the mic is a little messed up he has
to fix it. But were you told like he's like,
I got it, let me tell you about a girl.
I know, jeez, might be like it's so good and
that energy that's brought in these musical scenes like it,

(54:11):
it's it. It's great stuff I only do. And it
hasn't aged like it's still it's a pretty I will
say it's a pretty what's the word. It's a pretty
standard biopic as far as your structure and storytelling. So

(54:34):
that tells me that then it comes down to how
it's shaped and how it's crafted, and I think that's
where direction obviously performances, everything dealing with the music really
shines because it's not telling you a story you probably
haven't already heard. It may not be Ray Charles's story.

(54:56):
But but then I think, and what I appreciate and
that's this is some of my.

Speaker 4 (55:03):
Gripe with.

Speaker 2 (55:06):
Bohemian Rhapsody is Queen comes in. Freddy mrcury's dead, right,
So Queen is gonna make a Freddie Mercury movie, right,
So they're going to tell it one way and then
that's it. And if anybody has seen Bohemian Rhapsody, it's
not a bad movie, but it's a Freddie Mercury movie

(55:27):
that Queen is telling, not Freddie Mercury. There's there's I
don't even know if there there's barely mention of him
being gay, which I thought that was a huge fact.
I like that Ray Charles, it's the good with the bad.
I cheated, I had my affairs, I had heroin and

(55:52):
there you go. And there's there's an extra element because
when he's getting famous, it's during a hell of a time,
not just not just for not just for race factor,
but just the business. Yeah, where there is rock and
roll coming and it's not that same kind of blues

(56:14):
and you know, Sinatra's out, He's in kind of stuff. Yeah,
it's like in.

Speaker 3 (56:18):
The beginning of the film, like I knew Ray Charles
through the hits like Hit the Road, Jack I Got
a Woman, the really upbeat stuff. But then you learned
that early in his career he was basically a nat
king cole.

Speaker 2 (56:31):
Yeah he did.

Speaker 3 (56:32):
Yeah, he just did standards type songs, and it wasn't
until really something like I Got a Woman.

Speaker 2 (56:37):
Well mess Around was sort of a hi.

Speaker 3 (56:39):
Yeah, and then I Got a Woman was a huge
hit the following year. And there's even the scene where
uh be as chastising Ray when he's playing I Got
a Woman in their home.

Speaker 2 (56:50):
Yeah. Well, because it's church music.

Speaker 3 (56:52):
It's a gospel song by the Southern Tones called It
Must Be Jesus that he had basically taken and changed
up the lyrics to make I Got a Woman.

Speaker 2 (57:01):
And but that I mean again, he it was. It's
such genius and I think they capture it really well.
But I think there's a lot of the time that
he's coming up in that makes it because honestly, after
watching it again, I'm like, and I've seen it several times, Like,

(57:22):
you know, the structure is, it's nothing original like it's
but yeah, what you're filling in with those two and
a half hours, I mean it's to me, it's terrific stuff.
So are we ready for Mount Rushmore.

Speaker 3 (57:40):
Let's Mount Rushmore this bitch, because I think it's stony.

Speaker 2 (57:43):
Can you wake up?

Speaker 4 (57:44):
Huh?

Speaker 2 (57:46):
It's Mount Rushmore time.

Speaker 4 (57:47):
I got mine ready.

Speaker 3 (57:49):
Favorite biopics, not necessarily movie I mean a music biopics,
but just biopicks in general.

Speaker 2 (57:55):
And this could be a life spanning one like Ray,
or it could be just a moment in a time
in history. So that's why basically whatever we want it
to be biopic.

Speaker 4 (58:05):
So the first one that immediately came to mind for
me was Walk the Line. Loved Walk the Line.

Speaker 2 (58:11):
Yep, that's one.

Speaker 4 (58:12):
I go Moneyball, Yep.

Speaker 2 (58:14):
That was kind of surprising one, but that does make sinse.
I mean, it's again moment and change Baseball Billy Bean.

Speaker 4 (58:21):
I go with Oppenheimer yep.

Speaker 3 (58:23):
Which spoiler alert we hadn't really talked about. We had
before we recorded. We uh were going over you mention
of our numbers. I was like, after I had my list,
I realized Oppenheimer and you were like, holy shit, God, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (58:37):
It's one of my one of the one of my
favorite movies.

Speaker 2 (58:40):
Of all time.

Speaker 4 (58:40):
Yeah, or my time. I can't say of all time
because I wasn't around for the twenties.

Speaker 2 (58:46):
So what do you have Moneyball, Oppenheimer walk.

Speaker 4 (58:49):
The Line, and then I'm I'm going with Spotlight.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
Oh nice one, now see, I that's a good one too.
That's a good one too. I'm gonna say Oppenheimer for sure.
I'm gonna say Wolf of Wall Street.

Speaker 4 (59:05):
Ray.

Speaker 2 (59:06):
It is, like I said, one of the best that
I've seen just movies in general, which less biopics. The
fourth one, the fourth one is kind of it's kind
of tough. I will stay away from Moneyball, even though
that is a really a really good one. Also walked

(59:27):
the line. I actually really enjoyed that one. That was
the closest thing to Ray. I think we're kind of
seeing because it did it went for that same structure. Damn.
I also thought I already had one Oppenheimer, Wolf of
Wall Street Ray, and m Cash.

Speaker 3 (59:53):
Go ahead, man, now that I have my list, but
then there's so many that I just saw and thought
of that I want to change my complete list.

Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
But with what.

Speaker 3 (01:00:05):
I have an honorable mention to start with, and it's
a movie I haven't seen yet because at the time
of this recording, it hasn't been released. But I'm gonna
go with better Man, the biopic of megastar Robbie Williams
from the director of the Greatest Showman. I can't wait
to see that movie. I know I'm gonna love it.
That's hornerable mention, but one that just really just popped

(01:00:26):
up that I completely forgot about, because when this movie
came out, I absolutely loved it. I'm obsessed with the
lead actor, and that's Chaplain. Robert Danny Jr. As Charles
Chaplin was just phenomenal. But my real four that I
had listed, I'm gonna go first with Wonderland, which is
the story of porn star jon John Holmes starring Val Kilmer,

(01:00:47):
Lisa Kudro and Kate Bosworth. Love that movie. Another one
that's it's called Shattered Glass, which is the story of
disgraced journalist Stephen Glass, who's known for fabricating over half
of the articles that he wrote for The New Republic
that Hayden Christensen plays play Stephen in that movie. And
then Tik Tik Boom, the kind of biopic on Jonathan Larson,

(01:01:11):
who famously wrote the Broadway musical Rent. And then lastly,
being the Spike Leaf fan that I am, I went
with Black Klansman.

Speaker 2 (01:01:20):
I just saw Black Klansman, like on for the list,
I thought, hmm, that's a good one.

Speaker 3 (01:01:28):
But Man on the Moon is one that just popped
in my head that I'm like, damn, that's a good movie.

Speaker 4 (01:01:34):
I never saw that.

Speaker 2 (01:01:34):
I never caught Man on the Moon. No, you never
saw that one.

Speaker 4 (01:01:38):
No, it was playing at the Bellcourt they did their
nineteen ninety nine series last summer, and I wanted to
go see it in the theater for the first time,
but couldn't make it happen.

Speaker 2 (01:01:47):
Couldn't make it work, man, I thought, as I'm looking,
I swear I thought I had my fourth one. Ama,
dais I've actually never seen that? Oh great film. Yeah,
I wanted to see it a Bellcourt, but I never
I've never got to.

Speaker 3 (01:02:05):
I'm disappointed I didn't say Chandler's List because I love
that movie.

Speaker 2 (01:02:09):
Schindler's List is a is a good one. That's a
hell of a It's not one you rewatch. Oh no, No,
that's true.

Speaker 3 (01:02:17):
But I'm kind of surprised Tony didn't throw in remember
the Titans.

Speaker 2 (01:02:20):
Wa talk about that. But I but I'm kind of
like him. I'm like, well, that's I don't know, that's
I liked that.

Speaker 4 (01:02:27):
I like to remember the Titans. I'm not saying I didn't,
but I think the four movies that I picked would
be like five out of five all timer's in my opinion.

Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
You know what, I am gonna go with one and
I I wish I would have remembered because I'm even
looking at like music biopics. I did enjoy Maestro Bradley. Yeah,
I did enjoy that one. Elvis is good. I wouldn't
put it up there, but you know I will. The
King speech yeah, and Last King of Scotland was one

(01:03:01):
of those too where I was like, you know what
I would like to I would like to watch that again.

Speaker 3 (01:03:08):
Anybody mention a beautiful mind?

Speaker 2 (01:03:12):
No? Or the social network I see Braveheart? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:03:18):
Oh straight out of Compton. Yeah, I'm disappointed.

Speaker 2 (01:03:21):
Oh I just remember what it was. Social network. I
just said. I literally just said, did you yeah, dude?
Oh sorry, I was looking God, I'm sorry I did
not hear that at all. But I will say another
one I was about to say, and I like as
Judas in The Black Messiah. Oh yeah I was that

(01:03:41):
was a good one. But yeah, social network. I knew
I had one because when you said open and Ember
like oh that's my fourth. But but yeah, it's also
kind of funny what is considered biopics. Like I think
a lot of people think of Ray like real people
in there. But like Moneyball is a great example where
it's not your traditional biop but it is about a
real person and about a real time that also obviously

(01:04:04):
was a huge you know, had huge effect on in
this case Baseball, but also just that's one of the
best films. Brad Pitt should have won an oscar with
it right then and there.

Speaker 3 (01:04:16):
There was one that just popped up that I wasn't
aware was a biopic, Goodfellas.

Speaker 2 (01:04:21):
Yeah, it is based on the real people because they
were Yeah I did not know that. Did you someone
already say catch me if you can? Did I say it? No?
I saw Tony brought that up beforehand, and I thought
that that was a That was a good one. Christopher
walking in that one. Yeah, Milk is another good one.
Oh yeah, that's right, he said that one too. How

(01:04:42):
come you to say House of Gucci?

Speaker 4 (01:04:44):
Oh, I like I like that.

Speaker 3 (01:04:46):
I know The blind Side, Yeah that hasn't aged well
it hasn't, it has it?

Speaker 2 (01:04:52):
And you know what, I did really like that movie.
But his time has gone on, and especially now like
I'm pretty sure he sued the family. I'm like, oh this,
this was like a Disney like reimagining The White Woman.

Speaker 3 (01:05:08):
And then two boxing ones, The Fighter and Cinderella Man.

Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
Yeah was good.

Speaker 3 (01:05:15):
That was Yeah, can ma got anything else? I mean,
we get those biopics till dawn and I'd rather not.

Speaker 4 (01:05:22):
I know, yeah, no, no, I made it through my
notes for this.

Speaker 2 (01:05:26):
Yes I was. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:05:28):
So cheers to that, and cheers to another episode of
Drinking with where we've explored the films that have come
int age, just like a fine wine, as we raise
our glasses to movies turning twenty one, We've laughed, reminisced,
and maybe shed a tear two over the timeless classics.
So until next time, maybe drinks me cold, your conversation
is lively, and your movie night's unforgettable. Drink responsibly and

(01:05:49):
remember age is just a number of but great films
are forever. You can find me on Twitter at mc
underscore Cast seventy five and also on letterbox that Stephen mccash.
It's that simple, gentlemen. Tell these fine folks how they
can connect with.

Speaker 4 (01:06:02):
You at Stony Keeley at sobrose Network.

Speaker 2 (01:06:06):
And me Twitter at sir Brandon Vee and Sir Brandon
on letterbox.

Speaker 3 (01:06:11):
Make sure you go buy Sobrosnetwork dot com, where you
can find all of our work and mostly importantly subscribed
to Drinking With Wherever you get your podcast fixed, Leave
us a rating and review so we know what you
think about the show. Let us know what movie that's
turning twenty one years old that you would like us discuss.
And until next time, we got to go because I
got some videotapes to return boom