For a guy with no singing or dancing training he’s really killing it. The film hasn’t even hit screens yet and “42″ actor Chadwick Boseman is already being praised for his portrayal of James Brown in an upcoming biopic. Via Shadow and Act reports : Chadwick Boseman stars as James Brown in the upcoming Universal Pictures’ biopic titled Get on Up, directed by The Help’s Tate Taylor, and produced by Brian Grazer and Mick Jagger. The footage comes courtesy of the Today morning show, in an interview with producers Grazer and Jagger, as well as star Boseman, who discuss the project, as footage of Boseman as Brown is intercut throughout. Universal has set the film’s release date for August 1, 2014, which isn’t too far away (5 months from now); so I expect a first trailer/teaser to surface soon. Get on Up, which promises a “warts and all” telling of Brown’s life story on film, boasts an impressive cast which includes Viola Davis (Brown’s mom), Octavia Spencer (Brown’s aunt), Lennie James (Brown’s father), Nelsan Ellis (Bobby Byrd), and others. Jill Scott, Dan Aykroyd, Keith Robinson also feature, and, based on the video below, Craig Robinson is also in the film (there wasn’t an official announcement on his attachment). IMDBPro states that he’s playing Maceo Parker. Ralph Tresvant (of New Edition fame) is also listed in the credits, playing Sam Cooke. And Tika Sumpter is Yvonne Fair, who performed with Brown early in his career. Get on Up was penned by Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth, who wrote the script for Fair Game, which starred Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. Check out the footage below, as Boseman shows us he can move just like James Brown. Even director Tate Taylor shares just how mesmerized he’s been with Boseman’s performance, adding that, sometimes he forgets to say “cut” after a scene is shot, because of how impressive Boseman is in the role. The clip is definitely something else. That cast is off the chain. We can’t wait to see this one.
