"The Soloist," Just In Time

For the embattled folks at the Los Angeles Times, the upcoming movie "The Soloist" should come as a rare morale boost. The feature stars Robert Downey Jr. as LAT columnist Steve Lopez, and Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, the gifted musician who battles with schizophrenia as a homeless man on L.A.'s Skid Row.

The LAT appears to play a prominent role in the feature; portions of "The Soloist" were filmed at the newspaper last year. As the movie's protagonist, the character based on Lopez looks to be the prototypical troubled-but-heroic journalist (hell, that's a positive on-screen depiction that all of journalism, not just LAT staffers, will probably cheer).

"The Soloist" hits theaters on April 24, which is why TV ads for the movie are starting to appear (I saw one last night during "The Amazing Race).

Check out the archive of Lopez's columns on Ayers -- which led to a book, which then led to the movie -- here.