The Motion Picture academy rewarded Jamie Foxx's brilliant portrayal of the legendary Ray Charles with an Oscar for Best Actor. A fitting ending to a story that started long ago. Its been nearly 15 years since Taylor Hackford first conceived his project for a Charles biography. Major studios repeatedly rejected Hackford's idea over the years. Eventually, Philip Anschutz, a millionaire theatre owner outside the major studio corporate structure, agreed to finance the piece.

Free from studio funding, Hackford was also free from many of the structural limitations big budget projects face. Taylor took this freedom to select the cast as he wanted and chose Foxx for the lead role. Foxx threw himself into the role and nailed it. Some reports even say that Foxx had his eyes sealed shut for up several hours a gain perspective on being blind. Foxx deserves the Oscar and Taylor Hackford deserves credit for perseverance and foresight. And, of course, Ray Charles deserves recognition for creating music worthy of such a great film.