Ray Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Ray rated?
A: Ray is rated PG-13 for “depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements.”

Q: Did Ray Charles help out with his own movie? Also, I heard he died before the movie was released. Is that true?
A: Ray Charles died on June 11, 2004. The movie was released on October 29, 2004. Ray was a major consultant on the movie and even commented on the script and progress of the film a few months before his death saying, “I can see that Taylor [the director] has done his homework. He’s got my life down pretty good. I would like for people to understand the trials and tribulations that I’ve gone through from when I was a little kid up until I really got into my career and all the different things that happened to me, too. I would like for people to know that you can recover from a lot of adversity that you might have in your life if you keep pressing on – if you still feel you know where you want to go. In other words, you don’t give up just because you get knocked down a few times.”

Q: How old was Ray Charles when he died and what did he die from?
A: Ray Charles was 73 years old when he died. His death was attributed to complications from liver disease.

Q: How close is the movie to Ray’s life?
A: The movie was extremely well-researched and Ray Charles himself consulted on the film. Hollywood can never be 100% accurate on a historical representation, but they can get within a decent range when doing their homework. The movie Ray is pretty accurate.

Q: How did the movie come about?
A: Director Taylor Hackford became a big fan of Ray Charles back when Charles released the hit single, “I’ve Got Woman”. From that time, in the 1950’s, Hackford closely followed Charles career. In 1987, Hackford met Charles for the first time, trying to secure the rights to the life story of Charles. That started a working relationship of 15 years, leading up to the start of the production of Ray.

The general problem here is that many Hollywood filmmakers feel that the only way to reach adults in a kids movie is to add a lot of sexual innuendos that may go over kids heads. They also have a mistaken concept that the funniest type of humor for kids is gross humor. What these filmmakers need to do is study Pixar movies. They can learn something about reaching wider audiences with creativity versus stupidity.

Q: Wouldn’t Ray’s involvement cloud the objectivity of the movie?
A: Absolutely not because Ray encouraged filmmakers not to shy away from the dark aspects of his life and as you can see in the movie, they don’t. According to Hackford, Ray said to him, “You can tell any story you want and you can make me look any way you want, but I will not let you not tell the truth, because that wouldn’t be right.”

Q: Was anyone else in Ray’s family involved in the movie?
A: Yes. The son of Ray Charles, Ray Charles Robinson, Jr. served as one of the movie’s co-producers.

Q: How is it that Jamie Foxx came about to play the role of Ray?
A: The casting of Jamie Foxx as Ray really helped make the movie because of his award-winning performance. The filmmakers had been very impressed with Foxx’s performances in the movies Any Given Sunday and Ali. Even though Foxx has a comic background his dramatic performances were well mastered. But while the filmmakers liked Foxx for the role, they were concerned that he couldn’t portray the same soulful music connection that Ray had with the soul of music. That was until they found out that Foxx, like Ray, had played piano since he was three and even earned a university piano scholarship. Casting the role of Ray was a no-brainer after learning that information.

Q: Was most of the movie filmed in Hollywood?
A: No. Most of the movie was actually filmed in New Orleans, but many authentic locations were also used, like RPM Studios in Los Angeles which Ray Charles founded in the 1960’s.