Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones star in 'The Burial,' courtroom drama about Florida attorney

Gianna Montesano, Treasure Coast Newspapers
Updated ·3 min read
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Jamie Foxx will portray prominent Florida attorney Willie Gary in "The Burial," a courtroom drama whose star-studded cast includes Tommy Lee Jones, Alan Ruck and Bill Camp.

The Amazon Studios movie centers around a lawsuit filed by Gary, a Stuart attorney who calls himself the “Giant Killer” because of his legal victories against corporate giants such as Disney, Motorola, Anheuser-Busch and Loewen Funeral Homes.

The movie, directed by Maggie Betts, is in post-production after being filmed in New Orleans, Louisiana, from March 3 to April 28, 2022. The studio has not announced a release date yet, but you can see photos from the set.

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Willie Gary speaks during the funeral for David L. Anderson, a life-long resident of Martin County and the namesake of Martin County middle school on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, at Christ Fellowship Church in Martin County. Anderson was the first Black member of the Martin County School Board and earned the title of the longest serving school board member in the state of Florida with 32 years.

What is "The Burial" about?

"The Burial" tells the story of the O’Keefe v. Loewen case.

Jones plays Jeremiah O'Keefe, whose family owned a funeral business in Jackson, Mississippi, that became the target of a multimillion-dollar Canadian corporation that was rapidly expanding into the United States.

The trial garnered attention because of Gary's attempt to bring an emotional trial to the courtroom for an otherwise run-of-the-mill contract lawsuit. Gary provided evidence of income inequality and oppression against Raymond Loewen, played by Camp, resulting in O'Keefe winning the case and a $500 million settlement.

Harrison Ford was supposed to play O'Keefe, but stepped out of the picture, according to IMBD.

The film is based on The Burial by Jonathan Harr, a 1999 article in The New Yorker.

Who is Willie Gary?

Gary's practice — Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson, Gary & Gillespie — is a national partnership that specializes in personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, medical malpractice, commercial litigation and class action lawsuits. The office is at 221 S.E. Osceola St. in Stuart.

Notable verdicts include:

Gary is also a figure in "The Giant Killers: Taking on America's Largest Corporations," a book by law partner Robert V. Parenti, who worked with him on some high-profile cases.

Gary has attracted national media attention throughout his career, including an interview on "60 Minutes" and a feature on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s underserved communities reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on Twitter @gmontesano13. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Jamie Foxx plays Willie Gary in film, Tommy Lee Jones, Alan Ruck co-star