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The Soloist is a 2009 drama film directed by Joe Wright, and starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. The screenplay by Susannah Grant is based on the book, The Soloist by Steve Lopez. The film is based on a true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who becomes schizophrenic and homeless.

Foxx portrays Ayers, who is considered a cello prodigy, and Downey portrays Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist who discovers Ayers and writes about him in the newspaper. The film was released in theatres on 24 April 2009 and on DVD and Blu-Ray August 5.

Plot

The Soloist is based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a musical prodigy who develops schizophrenia during his second year at Juilliard School. Ayers becomes homeless in the streets of downtown Los Angeles, while still playing the violin and the cello.

The Soloist, directed by Joe Wright, was written by Susannah Grant, based on a series of columns written by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, who chronicled the plight of schizophrenic musician Nathaniel Ayers (which eventually was chronicled in Lopez' book, "The Soloist"). Grant also drew elements of the story from a book written by Lopez, which was published in the spring of 2008. The film was budgeted at $60 million, twice the budget amount of Wright's previous film, Atonement. Production began in January 2008 and was filmed mostly in Los Angeles, with some scenes shot in Cleveland.