Last year, relative unknown Chadwick Boseman made his presence known when he starred as Jackie Robinson in the Warner Bros. release 42. Before it left theaters the period baseball drama would earn $95 million as well as get strong approval from critics and audiences alike.
In 2014, Boseman looks to strike lightning again in another biopic. But instead of playing baseball, he’ll play the “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown. For those that only recall Brown from his appearance in Rocky IV, well you don’t know the full story of one of the men who founded the funk movement with such hits as “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” and “The Payback”, the latter of which was used to great effect in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch.
The James Brown biopic, titled Get On Up, is directed by Tate Taylor, his first film since 2011’s The Help. Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind) and the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger are two of producers behind the film.
Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Nelsan Ellis, Lennie James, Tiki Sumpter Jill Scott and Dan Aykroyd make up the supporting cast.
Universal Pictures will release Get On Up head to head with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1st, 2014.
