Jamie Foxx’s directorial debut may never really debut. This is largely due to the controversy surrounding the casting of Robert Downey Jr. in a persona described only as Mexican. While promoting his latest vampire comedy, Day Shift, Foxx discussed the status of his stalled basketball comedy, All-Star Weekend.
It’s been tough… with the lay of the land of comedy… We’re trying to break down those sensitive corners where people laugh again.”
It seems Foxx was actively avoiding the hot-button phrase “cancel culture,” a modern-day form of backlash that a film like, say, Tropic Thunder dodged by a couple of years.
Obvious comparisons can be drawn to Downey Jr.’s role in this film, in which he played (infamously) a white Australian actor who undergoes ‘pigment-altering’ surgery to play a black soldier. That role sparked controversy — and was particularly risky considering it took place immediately after Downey Jr.’s post-Iron Man resurgence — but it also earned him an Oscar nomination. Some wonder if Tropic Thunder could be made in today’s climate.
It turns out that Downey Jr.’s role in All-Star Weekend would have been more of a cameo since he was reportedly only on set for four hours. The film would have reunited Foxx and Downey Jr. after 2009’s The Soloist and 2010’s Due Date.
All-Star Weekend stars Foxx and Jeremy Piven as two basketball-obsessed truck drivers who win tickets to the NBA All-Star Game. (Foxx also stated that he has another role as a “white racist cop.”) It was originally slated to release in 2018 around the time of the NBA All-Star Game and then again in 2019 before being shelved altogether.
What do you think of Foxx’s statement as to why his debut was shelved? Is abandonment culture playing too big a role in movie releases? Do you think Tropic Thunder could come out in 2022? Share your thoughts with us below!