It’s great to see that Jamie Foxx is so busy lately, following his recovery from a life-threatening health scare. Not only did he have the sci-fi film They Cloned Tyrone, he also scored the role of God in an upcoming comedy. And now he’ll also be at TIFF with The Burial, a legal drama set to make its world premiere at the festival.
Foxx stars with Tommy Lee Jones in a film about the owner of a small funeral home business who enlists a smooth-talking attorney to help take on a corrupt industry. The film is based on a real-life underdog story captured in Jonathan Hart’s 1999 New Yorker article.
Behind the camera is Maggie Betts, who is probably best known for directing 2017’s Novitiate with Margaret Qualley.
The cast includes Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, and Pamela Reed, with Bill Camp, and Alan Ruck.
This one has been in the works for years, and at one point had Alexander Payne in talks to direct. But it didn’t really get moving until Betts came aboard, working from a script by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Doug Wright.
Here’s the synopsis: Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral home owner Jeremiah O’Keefe (Academy Award® winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare, and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.
The Burial opens in theaters on October 6th, followed by Prime Video on October 13th.
