iW NEWS | "The Soloist" To Open AFI

AFI Fest 2008 has announced that Joe Wright's "The Soloist" has been selected as the Festival's Opening Night Gala presentation. "The Sololist," a Dreamworks and Universal co-production, stars Robert Downey Jr as a journalist and Jamie Foxx as the mentally ill musician he befriends. "We are thrilled that AFI Fest has chosen 'The Soloist' for its Opening Night Gala," said Stacey Snider, Chairman and CEO of DreamWorks Studios and AFI Trustee, in a statement. "We think it's a wonderful, emotionally powerful film and, especially given its Los Angeles setting, believe there couldn't be a better way to introduce it to the public." The film will have its North American Premiere when it opens the fest on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at ArcLight Hollywood's Cinerama Dome Theatre. The film is due for theatrical release on November 21. AFI Fest will run October 30-November 9, 2008. [Peter Knegt]