How does it feel to work with Oscar winners and nominees like Jamie Foxx and Viola Davis?
F. GARY GRAY: It’s incredible to work with actors of that caliber; they always bring new gifts to a film that neither the director nor the writer could have envisioned. Take Viola for example: there was one day when she jumped on a plane, arrived to set, threw on her wardrobe, and gave us a magical performance. Combine that with Jamie’s ability to always perform on the highest level and what you get is pure fire. ESSENCE.COM: What do you hope this generation of movie watchers will gain from your new film, “Law Abiding Citizen?” GRAY: I want them to see a retro-fresh approach to the psychological thriller. The film has a high-powered, mano-y-mano battle on the surface but you’ll find that a chess game between Jamie’s and Gerard’s [Butler, of “300” fame] characters begin to unravel. It adds a unique complexity to the film and I felt shooting it with a neo-noir look would complement that complexity by giving it a classic look that still relates to a modern audience. ESSENCE.COM: As a dire
