In “Viva Nigeria,” one of Fela Kuti’s earliest 45s, the Afrobeat pioneer proclaims, “Men are born, kings are made.” Kuti, who was born a man in 1938 and died a king of music in ’97, transformed his home country and the world at large into something more inclusive and compassionate through driving, dynamic drums, big, funky horns, and scabrous lyrics that skewered the violent military junta controlling Nigeria. He had studied music in London, where he played piano in jazz, R&b, and rock groups — creating a tight bond with Cream...
- 2/17/2021
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Have you been to any good shows lately? Yeah, me neither.
Ever since lockdowns went into effect, my new heart-crushing routine has been going through the concert calendar I’d made in January and painfully removing each unrequited gig on the day it was supposed to happen. So in recent months, I’ve been seeking solace in recordings I previously appreciated but maybe took a bit for granted: live albums.
I’ve always liked live albums, but the true meaning behind them clicked with me almost two decades ago. In...
Ever since lockdowns went into effect, my new heart-crushing routine has been going through the concert calendar I’d made in January and painfully removing each unrequited gig on the day it was supposed to happen. So in recent months, I’ve been seeking solace in recordings I previously appreciated but maybe took a bit for granted: live albums.
I’ve always liked live albums, but the true meaning behind them clicked with me almost two decades ago. In...
- 8/21/2020
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
James Brown didn’t ride on the bus; he flew on a private plane. So when Soul Brother Number One and his right-hand man, organist Bobby Byrd, suddenly appeared on his new backing band’s bus after a Nashville gig in the spring of 1970, everyone sobered up quick.
“It was like something from The Twilight Zone, because I mean, who does this kind of stuff?” bassist Bootsy Collins says, laughing. Just a few months earlier, Brown’s entire band had mutinied, so he brought in Collins and his brother, guitarist Phelps “Catfish” Collins,...
“It was like something from The Twilight Zone, because I mean, who does this kind of stuff?” bassist Bootsy Collins says, laughing. Just a few months earlier, Brown’s entire band had mutinied, so he brought in Collins and his brother, guitarist Phelps “Catfish” Collins,...
- 7/23/2020
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Although many biopics are formulaic enterprises, hitting familiar beats as the subject rises and falls and falls in love and writes that really popular song, they’re a vital element of entertainment industry. Biopics allow filmmakers to humanize our myths, mythologize our contemporaries, re-evaluate history at a fundamentally human level, and catalogue our present so that future generations can understand what the hell we are going through. It’s been an entire decade full of great biopics, too many to fit in a conventional list, but when all is said and done, we have to call these the ten absolutely essential films in the genre from the 2010s.
Runners-Up: “127 Hours,” “Behind the Candelabra,” “A Dangerous Method,” “Dolemite is My Name,” “Jackie,” “Mr. Turner,” “Rocketman,” “Southside With You,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “The Wind Rises”
10. “Stan & Ollie” (2018)
Earnest, bittersweet and oh, so very funny, Jon S. Baird’s biopic about famed...
Runners-Up: “127 Hours,” “Behind the Candelabra,” “A Dangerous Method,” “Dolemite is My Name,” “Jackie,” “Mr. Turner,” “Rocketman,” “Southside With You,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “The Wind Rises”
10. “Stan & Ollie” (2018)
Earnest, bittersweet and oh, so very funny, Jon S. Baird’s biopic about famed...
- 12/12/2019
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Nelsan Ellis’ tragic, untimely death yesterday shocked the film industry, especially those who knew him. The 39-year-old “True Blood” star passed away at 39 from complications of heart failure, his manager Emily Gerson Saines confirmed, leaving behind a body of work that also included roles in “The Help,” “Get On Up” and “The Butler.” His friends and colleagues have taken to social media to express their shock, sadness and dismay.
Read More: Nelsan Ellis, Breakout Star of ‘True Blood,’ Dies at 39
It was an utter privilege to work with the phenomenally talented and deeply kind soul .@OfficialNelsan I’m devastated by his untimely death. pic.twitter.com/If17csduHz
— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) July 8, 2017
Nelsan Ellis was truly remarkable. A brilliant, charismatic, intelligent, soulful, wonderful dude. this is just completely tragic.
— Stephen Moyer (@smoyer) July 8, 2017
Dearest #NelsanEllis , may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest, you phenomenally talented genius…. pic.twitter.
Read More: Nelsan Ellis, Breakout Star of ‘True Blood,’ Dies at 39
It was an utter privilege to work with the phenomenally talented and deeply kind soul .@OfficialNelsan I’m devastated by his untimely death. pic.twitter.com/If17csduHz
— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) July 8, 2017
Nelsan Ellis was truly remarkable. A brilliant, charismatic, intelligent, soulful, wonderful dude. this is just completely tragic.
— Stephen Moyer (@smoyer) July 8, 2017
Dearest #NelsanEllis , may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest, you phenomenally talented genius…. pic.twitter.
- 7/9/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Nelsan Ellis, the actor who portrayed Lafayette on all seven seasons of the HBO horror-drama series True Blood, has died at the age of 39.
"Nelsan has passed away after complications with heart failure," the actor's manager Emily Gerson Saines, told the Hollywood Reporter. "He was a great talent, and his words and presence will be forever missed."
Days after Ellis' passing, the actor's family issued a statement about his long struggle with drugs and alcohol, per The Hollywood Reporter. "After many stints in rehab, Nelsan attempted to withdraw from alcohol on his own,...
"Nelsan has passed away after complications with heart failure," the actor's manager Emily Gerson Saines, told the Hollywood Reporter. "He was a great talent, and his words and presence will be forever missed."
Days after Ellis' passing, the actor's family issued a statement about his long struggle with drugs and alcohol, per The Hollywood Reporter. "After many stints in rehab, Nelsan attempted to withdraw from alcohol on his own,...
- 7/8/2017
- Rollingstone.com
This is the Pure Movies review of Get On Up, starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Ackroyd, Viola Davis, Craig Robinson, Jill Scott, Lennie James and directed by Tate Taylor. From Tate Taylor, director of The Help, Get on Up is a biopic of soul and funk legend, James Brown. Brown was born into poverty in 1933 to a 16-year-old mother and 22-year-old father. After his mom walked out, his father sent him to live with an aunt who ran a brothel. The young Brown busked on sidewalks and helped to direct soldiers to the house of ill repute, before falling foul of the law in his teens for stealing a suit. He was sent to jail, but was eventually rescued when a local gospel singer, Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis), secures his parole, on the condition that Brown (Chadwick Boseman) moves in with Byrd and his family.
- 11/24/2014
- by David Hudson
- Pure Movies
Watching James Brown biopic Get On Up has Mark pining for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story...
“James Brown needs to think about his entire life before he plays.”
That's not how Get On Up opens, but it's close enough to the first line from 2007's Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, a woefully under-appreciated comedy that should really be required viewing as a “What Not To Do” guide for anyone attempting a biopic of a musician. Alas, this film about Godfather of Soul James Brown walks into every cliché lampooned in the Apatow spoof one by one, although not necessarily in the right order.
It starts with that Cox-style pre-gig remembrance, with lines of dialogue we'll hear in the next two hours echoing around as Brown (Chadwick Boseman) walks down a long corridor to the stage. Then for mystifying reasons, we cut to 1989, to an utterly random and anecdotal...
“James Brown needs to think about his entire life before he plays.”
That's not how Get On Up opens, but it's close enough to the first line from 2007's Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, a woefully under-appreciated comedy that should really be required viewing as a “What Not To Do” guide for anyone attempting a biopic of a musician. Alas, this film about Godfather of Soul James Brown walks into every cliché lampooned in the Apatow spoof one by one, although not necessarily in the right order.
It starts with that Cox-style pre-gig remembrance, with lines of dialogue we'll hear in the next two hours echoing around as Brown (Chadwick Boseman) walks down a long corridor to the stage. Then for mystifying reasons, we cut to 1989, to an utterly random and anecdotal...
- 11/24/2014
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Chadwick Boseman is on the way to Hollywood's A-list after bagging the lead role in Marvel's Black Panther movie. But before we see him as the Wakanda hero, he's front-and-centre of Tate Taylor's James Brown biopic Get on Up.
Boseman delivers an electric performance as Brown, undergoing a total transformation to play the Godfather of Soul. He walks, talks and moves like the music icon in a turn worthy of an Oscar nomination. Digital Spy spoke to Boseman about how he became James Brown.
How he won the role...
"I went in for Tate and did a work session with him. The key thing that he wanted to focus on was the older James Brown, so we actually did the scene at the end of the movie when he gives the tickets to Bobby Byrd.
"Then we did the scene at the Apollo where he meets his mother again.
Boseman delivers an electric performance as Brown, undergoing a total transformation to play the Godfather of Soul. He walks, talks and moves like the music icon in a turn worthy of an Oscar nomination. Digital Spy spoke to Boseman about how he became James Brown.
How he won the role...
"I went in for Tate and did a work session with him. The key thing that he wanted to focus on was the older James Brown, so we actually did the scene at the end of the movie when he gives the tickets to Bobby Byrd.
"Then we did the scene at the Apollo where he meets his mother again.
- 11/17/2014
- Digital Spy
Director: Tate Taylor; Screenwriters: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth; Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Jill Scott; Running time: 139 mins; Certificate: 12A
Chadwick Boseman is absolutely electric as the centrepiece of Tate Taylor's James Brown biopic, a film that seems to tell you everything and nothing about the man responsible for funk hits 'I Feel Good', 'It's a Man's World' and countless others.
Get on Up unfolds like a whistle-stop tour of the Godfather of Soul's Wikipedia page, the life of a volatile musician playing on shuffle. Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth's script jumps through the years seemingly at random, showing us fragments of its subject – from being raised in the woods of South Carolina by an abusive father to joining The Famous Flames, solo superstardom and beyond.
The storytelling style is somewhat reminiscent of Bs Johnson's "book in a box" The Unfortunates,...
Chadwick Boseman is absolutely electric as the centrepiece of Tate Taylor's James Brown biopic, a film that seems to tell you everything and nothing about the man responsible for funk hits 'I Feel Good', 'It's a Man's World' and countless others.
Get on Up unfolds like a whistle-stop tour of the Godfather of Soul's Wikipedia page, the life of a volatile musician playing on shuffle. Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth's script jumps through the years seemingly at random, showing us fragments of its subject – from being raised in the woods of South Carolina by an abusive father to joining The Famous Flames, solo superstardom and beyond.
The storytelling style is somewhat reminiscent of Bs Johnson's "book in a box" The Unfortunates,...
- 11/17/2014
- Digital Spy
While James Brown fans already got the opportunity to see Chadwick Boseman as the Godfather of Soul in this summer's Get on Up, Alex Gibney (Finding Fela, Taxi to the Dark Side) tackled the real thing in HBO's Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown, a new documentary on the singer that premiered Monday night.
More hagiography than warts-and-all bio — the film omits Brown's arrests on weapons charges and only mentions one instance of many domestic abuse allegations in passing — the Mick Jagger-produced film still enlists many of Brown's former musicians,...
More hagiography than warts-and-all bio — the film omits Brown's arrests on weapons charges and only mentions one instance of many domestic abuse allegations in passing — the Mick Jagger-produced film still enlists many of Brown's former musicians,...
- 10/28/2014
- Rollingstone.com
The James Brown biopic starts off when a 55 year old James Brown (Chadwick Boseman) reacts negatively to a tragic event that just took place in his life and storms into an insurance meeting. It is not until the end of the film that you piece the timeline of events together to understand why and how he behaved the way he did.
Next the film turns back to 1968 with James Brown and his entourage on a military plane flying through a war zone trying to make it to a concert for the troops. Although it is dangerous, James feels that it is not yet his time to go.
Flash back to 1939, when you see him as a young boy being raised in the woods in Augusta, Ga. His father is abusive towards him and his mother and, eventually she leaves. The father goes off to war, leaving James alone in the center of town. He ventures into the community church where he looks up to the eccentric minister, who is twirling around, while preaching the gospel. It is obvious, this was one of his influences.
Skip ahead to 1949 where he steals a mans suit, and is about to be punished when a band member from a group called “The Starlighters” comes to his aide. James begins to sing with them.
From there you journey on his rise to fame, his wife and family, King Records signing him, the return of his mother, his relationship with his wife, his band, his good tried and true friend, Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis ), his manager, stage performances, the infamous concert at the Boston Garden, Mlk’s death, back taxes, his desire to stay on top, and finally back to the first scene in Augusta, Ga in 1988.
He died on Christmas Day 2006. He was 73.
"Get on Up" flipped back and forth on his lifespan more than I've ever seen any other film do, however, it is understandable and entertaining.
Next the film turns back to 1968 with James Brown and his entourage on a military plane flying through a war zone trying to make it to a concert for the troops. Although it is dangerous, James feels that it is not yet his time to go.
Flash back to 1939, when you see him as a young boy being raised in the woods in Augusta, Ga. His father is abusive towards him and his mother and, eventually she leaves. The father goes off to war, leaving James alone in the center of town. He ventures into the community church where he looks up to the eccentric minister, who is twirling around, while preaching the gospel. It is obvious, this was one of his influences.
Skip ahead to 1949 where he steals a mans suit, and is about to be punished when a band member from a group called “The Starlighters” comes to his aide. James begins to sing with them.
From there you journey on his rise to fame, his wife and family, King Records signing him, the return of his mother, his relationship with his wife, his band, his good tried and true friend, Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis ), his manager, stage performances, the infamous concert at the Boston Garden, Mlk’s death, back taxes, his desire to stay on top, and finally back to the first scene in Augusta, Ga in 1988.
He died on Christmas Day 2006. He was 73.
"Get on Up" flipped back and forth on his lifespan more than I've ever seen any other film do, however, it is understandable and entertaining.
- 8/14/2014
- by Sharon Abella
- Sydney's Buzz
The F in Funk: Brown’s Biopic Lodged in a White Man’s World
For all the preliminary grumbling about white actors portraying Egyptians in a certain upcoming Ridley Scott Bible farce, there’s been a disappointing lack of apprehensiveness as concerns the behind-the-scenes whitewashing of black character narratives in prolific, mainstream films. It’s a platform where many features are still filtered through and for a particular palette, calibrated to make unseemly material comfortable to please all tastes. At the modern forefront of these recuperations is Tate Taylor’s widely acclaimed 2011 film, The Help, a highly sanitized account of 1960’s black women adapted by a white, male director. Taylor is back with a highly anticipated follow-up, a biopic of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. Inarguably one of the most prolific and important musical artists of all time, Taylor’s studio financed production, penned by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth...
For all the preliminary grumbling about white actors portraying Egyptians in a certain upcoming Ridley Scott Bible farce, there’s been a disappointing lack of apprehensiveness as concerns the behind-the-scenes whitewashing of black character narratives in prolific, mainstream films. It’s a platform where many features are still filtered through and for a particular palette, calibrated to make unseemly material comfortable to please all tastes. At the modern forefront of these recuperations is Tate Taylor’s widely acclaimed 2011 film, The Help, a highly sanitized account of 1960’s black women adapted by a white, male director. Taylor is back with a highly anticipated follow-up, a biopic of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. Inarguably one of the most prolific and important musical artists of all time, Taylor’s studio financed production, penned by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth...
- 8/1/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Today, August 1st, director Tate Taylor's newest movie, "Get on Up," opens nationwide. A biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as James Brown, the movie is debuting nearly three years to the day after Taylor's previous directorial effort, "The Help," which opened on August 10, 2011. While the films are not the same by any stretch, there are undoubtedly similarities between the two – both take place the South, both take place during our recent history, and both feature Viola Davis & Octavia Spencer. The elements worked well for Taylor last time out, earning positive reviews and garnering several awards and nominations including an Academy Award for Spencer. The new movie is already receiving positive reviews for Boseman's performance. Taylor, sitting down with HitFix recently for an interview, said that he knew on the first day that Boseman's work would be something special. "We, as a producing team, to aide Chad, we kind of stacked...
- 8/1/2014
- by Josh Lasser
- Hitfix
Tate Taylor’s Get on Up starts off with a literal bang. We first meet James Brown (as portrayed by Chadwick Boseman) while he is wielding a shotgun and preaching about the best practices for using someone else’s bathroom. An idiosyncratic start to a film about the Godfather of Soul, sure, but it works to show how the mighty may have (temporarily) fallen. Brown is clearly a charming and charismatic man (two traits that are played to the hilt by Boseman), but after a rough childhood in the rural outskirts of Georgia and a meteoric rise to fame, it is clear Mr. Brown is struggling with some very real demons. Get on Up aims to show us why, but falters along the way. Growing up in a broken home where love and violence were often one and the same, Brown’s father (Lennie James) runs off his mother (Viola Davis) and then gives Brown to the...
- 8/1/2014
- by Allison Loring
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Although usually the domain of pre-Oscar, end of the year holiday season, the feature film biography, or “bio-pic”, will occasionally pop up amongst the big Summer blockbusters. A little over a year ago it was 42, the story of Jackie Robinson. Its late Spring release might also be seen as a response to 2011′s surprise Summer smash The Help which also explored American race relations, but used fictional characters. This weekend sees the release of Get On Up, the biopic of music superstar James Brown. And while most of Get takes place a decade after Robinson’s barrier-breaking entry into then all-white major league baseball, Brown shattered some similar barriers and became one of the first major black entertainers that captured fans of all races. And, wouldn’t you know it, the talented young actor who played Jackie Robinson last year, Chadwick Boseman, trades in his cleats for florescent platforms in...
- 8/1/2014
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I don't expect biopics to ever give me the full story or even an accurate story for that matter. In fact, many documentaries are only giving us one side of the argument and sometimes less than that when compared to films based on a true story. So when it comes to Tate Taylor's take on the life of the "Godfather of Soul", James Brown, Get On Up plays like a film that gives us a small taste of the darkness that was in Brown's soul after a rough upbringing and a life in which he felt he was always on his own. The result is entertaining and inspiring while also being a little bloated in the middle. One thing, however, is for certain, Chadwick Boseman continues to impress, following up his performance in 42 with another "out of the park" portrayal of an iconic, bigger-than-life star. The screenplay by Jez...
- 7/31/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Plot: The life and times of James Brown (Chadwick Boseman) – from his painful childhood to his rise to the top of the charts. Along the way, Brown has trouble with the law as well as his own band, all the while alienating his best friend and band-mate Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis). Review: When I heard that The Help’s Tate Taylor would be directing a big-studio, PG-13 James Brown biopic, I couldn’t help but be wary. I mean, James Brown, PG-13? How could they...
- 7/31/2014
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Chadwick Boseman does not look likes James Brown. He did not look like Jackie Robinson either before playing #42 in last year’s hit about the barrier-shattering athlete, but Boseman’s magnetism and charm made up for the actor’s leanness and lack of cosmetic similarity. Now, the young actor has mastered another legendary man of the 20th century, the groovy funkster whose howl on “I Got You (I Feel Good)” is still one of the most exhilarating moments in popular music.
As James Brown in Get On Up, Boseman wears a heavy jaw of make-up on his face, which could have been more distracting had the actor not nailed the slurred speech, the electric rasp, and the dazzling dancing feet of the pop music icon. It’s an performance that is as impressive as Jamie Foxx’s show-stopping turn as Ray Charles ten years ago. (Like Foxx, though, Boseman does...
As James Brown in Get On Up, Boseman wears a heavy jaw of make-up on his face, which could have been more distracting had the actor not nailed the slurred speech, the electric rasp, and the dazzling dancing feet of the pop music icon. It’s an performance that is as impressive as Jamie Foxx’s show-stopping turn as Ray Charles ten years ago. (Like Foxx, though, Boseman does...
- 7/29/2014
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
Warning: Spoilers abound in the following interview, up through “Lost Cause,” the July 20 episode of True Blood.It’s not a stretch to call Nelsan Ellis's Lafayette the heart of True Blood. He's the one Sookie and other Bon Temps residents continually go to for both the tough love and the laughs, the one who comforts them when they need it most and who won't let them mope when they need to celebrate life. So is it so wrong for him to get a little loving, too? Okay, granted, getting it on in the parking lot with Jessica's boyfriend, James, before they’ve actually broken up may not have been the best way to start fresh, but Lafayette has a point — he deserves some happiness, too. Coincidentally, it's the same point that Ellis's portrayal of Bobby Byrd has in Get On Up, the James Brown biopic, out August 1:...
- 7/21/2014
- by Jennifer Vineyard
- Vulture
Sometimes you've gotta start at the bottom to get on up.
The latest trailer for the upcoming James Brown biopic "Get on Up" gives us a better look at the musician's tough upbringing and troubled youth, and illustrates just how the legendary performer became the hardest working man in show biz. Viola Davis plays Susie Brown, the mother who abandoned James as a child and then reappears just as her son is about to take the stage at the legendary Apollo Theater. Chadwick Boseman ("42") stars as the adult James Brown in what looks like a very promising performance, both dramatically and musically. Other notable stars include Octavia Spencer as James's Aunt Honey, Dan Aykroyd as the musician's rep Ben Bart, Nelsan Ellis as musician Bobby Byrd, and the fabulous Jill Scott as James Brown's wife Deedee Jenkins.
"Get on Up" hits theaters August 1, which is just in time for the sort of dramatic,...
The latest trailer for the upcoming James Brown biopic "Get on Up" gives us a better look at the musician's tough upbringing and troubled youth, and illustrates just how the legendary performer became the hardest working man in show biz. Viola Davis plays Susie Brown, the mother who abandoned James as a child and then reappears just as her son is about to take the stage at the legendary Apollo Theater. Chadwick Boseman ("42") stars as the adult James Brown in what looks like a very promising performance, both dramatically and musically. Other notable stars include Octavia Spencer as James's Aunt Honey, Dan Aykroyd as the musician's rep Ben Bart, Nelsan Ellis as musician Bobby Byrd, and the fabulous Jill Scott as James Brown's wife Deedee Jenkins.
"Get on Up" hits theaters August 1, which is just in time for the sort of dramatic,...
- 5/28/2014
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
Natchez, Mississippi. If you greet biopics with a certain amount of trepidation, "Get On Up" director Tate Taylor is right there with you. "I’ve never been a big fan of biopics," the well-dressed helmer of "The Help" tells a pair of visiting reporters, pausing between shots in mid-December, more than eight months before the scheduled August 1, 2014 release date. "The last one I really loved was 'Coal Miner’s Daughter.' I loved that," Taylor continues. "Coal Miner's Daughter," which won an Oscar for Sissy Spacek, opened in 1980. "For me I think what makes them successful is I approached this as, 'This is a movie about an amazing man. And, oh yeah, he’s James Brown.' That’s how I approached this, is who he was and what made him the man he was," Taylor explains. "And what I honed in on, what I thought was special is you...
- 4/30/2014
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Universal has set the theatrical release date for its James Brown biopic, titled Get On Up, for Friday, October 17, 2014.Chadwick Boseman is playing Brown in the Tate Taylor-directed film.Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer will reunite with their The Help director, to take supporting roles in the film, playing Susie Brown, James Brown's mother, and his aunt, Anne Tunney, respectively.True Blood star, Nelsan Ellis most recently signed up to play Bobby Byrd, James Brown’s longtime friend and musical collaborator. Today brings news that Lennie James (currently starring on AMC's Low...
- 10/23/2013
- by Natasha Greeves
- ShadowAndAct
Nelsan Ellis has joined Tate Taylor's James Brown biopic "Get On Up" at Imagine Entertainment and Universal Pictures.
Ellis will play Bobby Byrd, Brown's longtime friend and musical collaborator. Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer also star.
Ellis is best know for his role as Lafayette in HBO's "True Blood," but has a large resume of films under his belt from "Lee Daniels' The Butler" and "The Help" to "Secretariat" and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist".
Brian Grazer, Mick Jagger, Victoria Pearman and Erica Huggins are producing. Filming begins in November in Mississippi.
Source: Deadline...
Ellis will play Bobby Byrd, Brown's longtime friend and musical collaborator. Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer also star.
Ellis is best know for his role as Lafayette in HBO's "True Blood," but has a large resume of films under his belt from "Lee Daniels' The Butler" and "The Help" to "Secretariat" and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist".
Brian Grazer, Mick Jagger, Victoria Pearman and Erica Huggins are producing. Filming begins in November in Mississippi.
Source: Deadline...
- 10/22/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
As "True Blood" star Nelsan Ellis prepares for the final season of the HBO supernatural series that's propelled his career, he's beginning to line up some big time film work.
Deadline reports on Monday (Oct. 21) that the actor is set to play Bobby Byrd, the longtime friend and musical collaborator of James Brown, in "Get On Up," the Tate Taylor-directed biopic centered on the Godfather of Soul. Ellis joins a cast that includes Chadwick Boseman, who'll portray Brown, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer.
Ellis was last seen on screen playing Martin Luther King Jr. in "Lee Daniels' The Butler." The seventh and final season of "True Blood" will premiere on HBO in Summer 2014.
Are you looking forward to seeing Ellis in "Get On Up"?...
Deadline reports on Monday (Oct. 21) that the actor is set to play Bobby Byrd, the longtime friend and musical collaborator of James Brown, in "Get On Up," the Tate Taylor-directed biopic centered on the Godfather of Soul. Ellis joins a cast that includes Chadwick Boseman, who'll portray Brown, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer.
Ellis was last seen on screen playing Martin Luther King Jr. in "Lee Daniels' The Butler." The seventh and final season of "True Blood" will premiere on HBO in Summer 2014.
Are you looking forward to seeing Ellis in "Get On Up"?...
- 10/22/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
• Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Guy Pearce (Prometheus) and Hugo Weaving (The Hobbit) will all star in the Australian thriller Strangerland, about a couple whose two teenage children go missing in the Australian desert. Kim Farrant will direct the film from a script by Fiona Seres and Michael Kinirons. [THR]
• Damian Lewis (Homeland) is close to a deal to star alongside Nicole Kidman in Queen of the Desert, directed by Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn). Lewis will play Lieutenant Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie, an English war hero in an unhappy marriage who exchanges love letters from 1913-1915 with Gertrude Bell (Kidman), the British...
• Damian Lewis (Homeland) is close to a deal to star alongside Nicole Kidman in Queen of the Desert, directed by Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn). Lewis will play Lieutenant Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie, an English war hero in an unhappy marriage who exchanges love letters from 1913-1915 with Gertrude Bell (Kidman), the British...
- 10/22/2013
- by Pamela Gocobachi
- EW - Inside Movies
• Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Guy Pearce (Prometheus) and Hugo Weaving (The Hobbit) will all star in the Australian thriller Strangerland, about a couple whose two teenage children go missing in the Australian desert. Kim Farrant will direct the film from a script by Fiona Seres and Michael Kinirons. [THR]
• Damian Lewis (Homeland) is close to a deal to star alongside Nicole Kidman in Queen of the Desert, directed by Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn). Lewis will play Lieutenant Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie, an English war hero in an unhappy marriage who exchanges love letters from 1913-1915 with Gertrude Bell (Kidman), the British...
• Damian Lewis (Homeland) is close to a deal to star alongside Nicole Kidman in Queen of the Desert, directed by Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn). Lewis will play Lieutenant Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie, an English war hero in an unhappy marriage who exchanges love letters from 1913-1915 with Gertrude Bell (Kidman), the British...
- 10/22/2013
- by Pamela Gocobachi
- EW - Inside Movies
True Blood star Nelsan Ellis has joined the upcoming James Brown biopic Get On Up.
The actor, who plays Lafayette on the HBO vampire series, will star as Brown's good friend and collaborator Bobby Byrd. Brown will be portrayed by Chadwick Boseman.
Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer will also appear in the Tate Taylor-directed movie, Deadline reports.
Ellis's movie credits include a role as Martin Luther King Jr. in Lee Daniels' The Butler.
The Jez and John-Henry Butterworth-scripted film is expected to focus on the early years of the 'Godfather of Soul's life, but may also spread into his later years which were troubled by accusations of domestic abuse and drug use.
Mick Jagger will serve as a producer, with the Rolling Stones being portrayed as part of the narrative.
Watch James Brown & Bobby Byrd featuring Bootsy Collins do 'Sex Machine & Soul Power' live below:...
The actor, who plays Lafayette on the HBO vampire series, will star as Brown's good friend and collaborator Bobby Byrd. Brown will be portrayed by Chadwick Boseman.
Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer will also appear in the Tate Taylor-directed movie, Deadline reports.
Ellis's movie credits include a role as Martin Luther King Jr. in Lee Daniels' The Butler.
The Jez and John-Henry Butterworth-scripted film is expected to focus on the early years of the 'Godfather of Soul's life, but may also spread into his later years which were troubled by accusations of domestic abuse and drug use.
Mick Jagger will serve as a producer, with the Rolling Stones being portrayed as part of the narrative.
Watch James Brown & Bobby Byrd featuring Bootsy Collins do 'Sex Machine & Soul Power' live below:...
- 10/22/2013
- Digital Spy
Birthday shoutouts go to Sasha Roiz (above) who is 40, Will Estes is 35, Aaron Tveit is 30, Kieron Richardson is 29, and Carrie Fisher is 57. And a big birthday shoutout to Tbl reader David.
In ratings news, Once Upon A Time and Revenge hit new lows, while The Walking Dead was down a bit from its record setting debut, but still ruled the night.
True Blood star Nelsan Ellis has landed the major role of musician Bobby Byrd in the James Brown biopic Get On Up.
Boys and Girls and Their Prince Charmings.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz explains “gay” to her son.
Here is Senator elect Cory Booker officiating his first same-sex wedding, and swatting away a heckler in the process.
Below you can see Jim Parsons and his partner Todd Spiewak accept the Glsen Inspiration Award
Here’s the cast of Days of Our Lives celebrating Spirit Day, including the new Will,...
In ratings news, Once Upon A Time and Revenge hit new lows, while The Walking Dead was down a bit from its record setting debut, but still ruled the night.
True Blood star Nelsan Ellis has landed the major role of musician Bobby Byrd in the James Brown biopic Get On Up.
Boys and Girls and Their Prince Charmings.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz explains “gay” to her son.
Here is Senator elect Cory Booker officiating his first same-sex wedding, and swatting away a heckler in the process.
Below you can see Jim Parsons and his partner Todd Spiewak accept the Glsen Inspiration Award
Here’s the cast of Days of Our Lives celebrating Spirit Day, including the new Will,...
- 10/21/2013
- by snicks
- The Backlot
Exclusive: Nelsan Ellis has been set to play Bobby Byrd, James Brown’s longtime friend and musical collaborator in the Tate Taylor-directed Get On Up for Imagine Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Imagine’s Brian Grazer is producing with Jagged Films’ Mick Jagger. It’s a big role in the film behind Brown, who’s being played by Chadwick Boseman. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer also star. Ellis is best known for playing Lafayette on the HBO vampire series True Blood. He was last seen on screen playing Martin Luther King Jr. in Lee Daniels’ The Butler and his screen credits include The Express, The Soloist, Secretariat, and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. He is repped by ICM Partners and Brookside Artist Management. Universal will start production November in Mississippi. The script is by Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth and Steven Baigelman, and Victoria Pearman and Erica Huggins are also producing.
- 10/21/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Nelsan Ellis, best known for playing Lafayette Reynolds on HBO's "True Blood," has joined the cast of the upcoming James Brown biopic, Get on Up . Deadline reports that he'll take on the role of Bobby Byrd, Brown's lifelong friend. In his follow-up to the four-time Academy Award-nominated blockbuster The Help , Tate Taylor is set to direct 42 's Chadwick Boseman as Brown. Based on the incredible life story of the Godfather of Soul, Get on Up will give a fearless look inside the music, moves and moods of Brown, taking audiences on the journey from his impoverished childhood to his evolution into one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Academy Award winner Brian Grazer ( A Beautiful Mind , 8 Mile ) and Erica Huggins ( Flightplan ) produce for...
- 10/21/2013
- Comingsoon.net
Hip Hop has always been a male led genre and it seems now more than ever. However that has not always been the way. Over the years numerous talented female emcees have reserved places in our memories; of course Roxanne Shante, on the more commercial side Salt N Pepa, Latifah, Monie Love, Jean Grae and maybe even Yo Yo for those Left Coast fans but one name that cannot go without a mention is of course Mc Lyte. Mc Lyte (Lana Michelle Moorer) burst onto the Hip-Hop scene at the tender age of eighteen in 1988 with the classic album “Lyte as a Rock”. This album featured the instant classic, “Paper Thin” and was mostly produced by her brothers Audio Two. Although it also features an early prince Paul production credit on “Mc Lyte Likes Swingin’”
Lyte followed up her debut almost a year to the day with “Eyes on This...
Lyte followed up her debut almost a year to the day with “Eyes on This...
- 2/11/2013
- by Scott Ronan
- Obsessed with Film
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