Chadwick Boseman has been selected to play the lead in James Brown’s biopic this autumn. Producer Brian Grazer has settled in on Chadwick Boseman as the ideal person to act in the film. The movie is housed at Universal Pictures. Boseman would play his real-life public personality on the screen. Earlier, he starred in Brian Helgeland’s biopic on the history of the baseball legend, 42. He stars as Jackie Robinson in the film.
Spike Lee was long-attached to direct the movie, but was replaced by Tate Taylor, the director of ‘The Help’. Taylor expects to shoot the movie this autumn in Mississippi, the same place where Brown performed a concert in February 1969.
Jez Butterworth and & John-Henry Butterworth are taking care of the screenplay of the movie. Both of them are experienced scriptwriters, having written Fair Game, Sean Penn film and Naomi Watts.
Basically, ‘The Godfather of Soul’s story would be narrated on the screen by white producers, white writers and a white director. Ironically, it was originally penned by James Brown. The story begins Brown’s adolescence and his rise to ‘The Godfather of Soul’s’ from abject poverty.
Boseman impressed the critics with his performance as Robinson, and would be next seen in Lionsgate’s sports film, ‘Draft Day’, wherein he plays Vontae Mack. He happens to be a linebacker with NFL dreams, and is starring alongside Kevin Costner.He is also director as well despite being such a good actor.
It is rumoured that Boseman is on the top of Marvel’s list of actors who are to be cast in their Black Panther film. This is a project which most of the die-hard fans would love to watch. Teenagers would enjoy the film as well and is likely to capture their imagination.