Notes from "The Soloist"

The film is based on a column in the LA Times. The column is about two real people; Nathanial Ayers and Steve Lopez.

The film humanises problems which people over look, eg. Homelessness.
It was also shot in "Anderson street" giving a very good portrayal of what it is actually like. This also came with how they chose their extras for the film who were from social services or also the real people living on the street who actually live in these conditions.

Something else that really made the film more realistic was the fact that they brought Nathaniel on to the set when rehearsing the music. This must of gave him a view on what the film was going to be like and to even help with how to make it more like real life and more like his music.

There were 2 potential problems for this film. The first was that the director, Joe Wright was filming in America, which is a country he had never worked in before and knew nothing about. Another was that the actor, Robert Downey Jr, had to play 'crazy', and if this is done wrong it can look taccy and cheap, and he could even risk his career.