Jamie Foxx is taking his talents to the sci-fi genre in Netflix’s upcoming film “Project Power.”
In the trailer, Foxx poses a question that many would likely answer with an enthusiastic “Yes!” “If there was a pill that could give you five minutes of pure power, would you take it?” he asks, referring to the film’s fictional drug, power.
The movie stars Foxx as a man searching for his kidnapped daughter alongside a cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and a young dealer of the drug (Dominique Fishback) as they all work together to figure out where it came from.
According to Netflix, “Project Power” is set in New Orleans, where “a mysterious new pill … unlocks superpowers unique to each user.” While that may sound like a dream come true at first, there’s a catch. “You don’t know what will happen until you take it. While some develop bulletproof skin, invisibility, and super strength, others exhibit a deadlier reaction.”
The arrival of the pill increases crime in the city, leading the trio to team up and try to hunt down the source of the trouble, who, by the looks of the trailer, are the same people that took Foxx’s daughter.
The trailer paints the film as an action-packed, high-energy ride through a world where virtually anyone can become a superhero at any time.
The film’s directors, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, had nothing but good things to say about their time working with the Academy Award-winning actor. “I don’t think I’m exaggerating things: Jamie is the funniest person I’ve ever met,” Joost told Entertainment Weekly. “He’s also one of the greatest dramatic actors in the world.”
Schulman agreed. “He’s here to bring you in and entertain the world around him. It’s never about him. It’s always about you.”
He went on to tell a story about how kind the actor was to Schulman’s grandmother when she visited the set during filming. “Jamie looked over his shoulder and he said, ‘She with you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, it’s my grandmother.’ He said, ‘I’ll be right back.’ He went over, he found her a seat. He told her her hair looked great. He made sure she had a good time. She was in heaven. He made a fan for life.”
Foxx’s co-star Dominique Fishback also enjoyed her time working with the “Baby Driver” actor. “He’s always laughing and making jokes, and that’s how he keeps himself grounded and ultimately what keeps everybody else grounded around him,” she said.
The actor has been keeping busy these days. Additional projects fans can look forward to coming down the pipeline from Foxx include Pixar film “Soul,” the studio’s first film with a Black lead, and the highly-anticipated Mike Tyson biopic “Finding Mike.”
“Project Power” heads to Netflix on August 14.
