James Brown biopic ‘Get On Up’ trailer drops
Unlike musical biopics that have trended recently toward narrower timelines, director Tate Taylor is going all out for the Godfather
Georgia native James Brown’s long-awaited biopic will finally make its way to the big screen this summer. And the first trailer for Get On Up has just hit the web. It stars Chadwick Boseman, who played Jackie Robinson in 42 to mixed reviews, and is directed by Tate Taylor (The Help).
Whereas musical biopics have trended toward smaller, indie productions with narrower timelines in recent years, as the New York Times wrote about the new Hendrix pic All is By My Side, Get On Up seems to go for the more traditional womb-to-the-tomb epic as seen in the Oscar-winning Ray. Also unlike the Hendrix biopic, Get On Up will be full of Brown’s original music.
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It’s hard to judge the script or Boseman’s portrayal by this clip, alone, but more power to anyone attempting to pull off the role of the undisputed Godfather of Soul and Funk. If anything, the evolving hairstyles, from conk to fro and back to perm, are on point. At one point, director Spike Lee had been attached to the project with Eddie Murphy rumored to play Brown, according to Indiewire.com. Instead, The Help alumni Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer star alongside a cast that also includes Tika Sumpter, Jill Scott, Dan Aykroyd, and Nelsan Ellis, aka Lafayette from HBO’s “True Blood,” who portrays James Brown collaborator Bobby Byrd.
In light of this sneak peek, you might want to revisit former Creative Loafing news editor Scott Freeman’s oral history “James Brown: Soul Brother No. 1 (1933-2006),” which ran in 2007, shortly after Brown’s death. Freeman talked to several of Brown’s long-time musicians, including drummer Jab’o Starks, music director Fred Wesley, and tour manager Alan Leeds.