We live in dark times in which the label of “problematic” can condemn a film or television production to remain locked in the fridge indefinitely. As an example, here we have the case of ‘All-Star Weekend’, the film directed by Jamie Foxx that was shot six years ago and continues to wander in limbo from fear of offense by studios and distributors.
Push it to the limit
The feature film, starring Foxx himself, revolves around two best friends who win two tickets to see the NBA event featured in the title. Of course, the thing goes wrong and they end up dealing with a group of characters that include – eye to the data – to a Mexican played by Robert Downey Jr. and a racist white police officer who is also brought to life by the director of the film —which would have multiple roles—.
Foxx has spoken about her with the CinemaBlend medium during an interview promoting ‘Day Shift’, her latest vampire action comedy from Netflix.
“Comedy-wise, it’s being tough as it is. We’re trying to uncover the sore spots so people can laugh again. What’s great is [que] the only thing we keep hearing at screenings is how much people laughed. We hope to keep you guys laughing and lure you into ‘All-Star Weekend,’ because we were definitely going for it.”
In 2017, Foxx told Joe Rogan how cHe contacted Downey Jr. to change his race again after his hilarious—and wildly controversial—work on ‘Tropic Thunder’.
“I called Robert and said, ‘I need you to play a Mexican.’ I said, ‘Fuck, you played the black guy [en ‘Tropic Thunder’] and you hit it’. We have to be able to create characters. He said, ‘Dude, here’s the deal. Of course. fuck it Why not? Of course. Mexican. Whatever'”.
‘All-Star Weekend’, which should have been released in 2018 and that also has the interpretations of Eva Longoria, Gerard Butler and Benicio del Toro continues to collect dust on some shelf. Will we get to see her one day? Personally, I have as many doubts as I want to get my hands on her.