The Orlando Sentinel‘s Roger Moore got in touch last week with a question about Tyson director James Toback. “I thought you might have a take on whatever natural connection Toback might have with Tyson,” he asked. “I know he did the journalism and Jim Brown thing early on. Is the fact that he and Tyson are both outsiders the most relevant factor, or is something else drawing them together?

I answered as follows: “James Toback’s handle has long been that of a brilliant, nervy, larger-than-life type with a risky existential attitude about things. Meaning that he likes to fly high and flirt with the edge, propelled by a standard gambler psychology mixed with charm and audacity and the usual big-city appetites.

“Being a gambler, Toback has always loved sports and the company of athletes. And so he’s naturally attracted to Tyson, a former world champion athlete who’s also a bit of a danger junkie. Like every boxing champ since the begining of time, Tyson put his life and career on the line every time he stepped into the ring. His edge attraction has led him to flirt with ruin in the form of drugs, arrests, living beyond his means, biting Holyfield’s ear, etc. Always a bit of the mad man lurking within.

“I also think Toback feels sorry for Tyson now that his high-flying days are over. Which clearly comes through in the film.”

I went searching for Moore’s piece on the Orlando Sentinel website, but the search engine is ridiculous. Sony Classics is opening Tyson on 4.24.