LATEST NEWS

'42' Star Chadwick Boseman is James Brown for 'The Help' Director

by Ethan Anderton
August 26, 2013
Source: THR

Last fall, we learned that The Help director Tate Taylor would direct a biopic about The Godfather of Soul, singer James Brown, with the help of producers Brian Grazer and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. Now the film has a leading man as THR reports 42 star Chadwick Boseman will play Brown in the film tha. Grazer has been trying to get made at Imagine Entertainment for over 10 years. Stars like Eddie Murphy, famous for his James Brown impersonation on "Saturday Night Live" back in the day, and directors like Spike Lee have circled the project, but it sounds like this time the film will move forward.

Jez and John-Henry Butterworth wrote the script, which follows the young James Brown as he rose out of poverty and avoided a path of violence during his rise to prominence, leading him to become one of the most legendary and influential musicians of all time. Brown was involved with the film up until his passing in 2006, so it should be a fairly accurate portrayal of his life. There's a good chance some other iconic names in music will need to be cast as well, but probably not on the scale of something like The Butler with stars making cameos left and right. Since 42 didn't really give Boseman a chance to shine in an Oscar worthy film, maybe Tate Taylor can help him with a breakthrough performance.

UPDATE: The Wrap reports that The Help stars Viola Davis, Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and Nelsan Ellis are also being eyed for three unknown supporting roles. Stay tuned for more updates.

Find more posts: Casting, Development, Movie News

3 Comments

New comments are no longer allowed on this post.