Mr. Brown, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Soul Brother Number One, Minister of Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please, Please, Please, The Godfather of Funk, while a man of many names, James Brown was undoubtedly one of the founding fathers of funk and major figure head in 20th century music, due to his awe inspiring career that spanned 6 decades until his death at age 73 in 2006.
Now imagine attempting to portray this character and real life persona in an enormous Hollywood biopic, well that’s what director Tate Taylor asked of Chadwick Boseman for “Get On Up.” Luckily, Boseman is no stranger to depicting icons, after portraying American baseball player and Civil Rights activist Jackie Robison in the successful biopic “42.”
But this undertaking was different and more difficult admits Boseman. “The role was a challenge, when I looked at it, I was scared of it. There was no part of the role that was straightforward and easy. I had never done any of these things before, even though I’m from South Carolina, James Brown is from the low country South Carolina, and it’s different, it is not the same thing.”
Boseman revealed to reporters that it was important to him to get the true feel of James Brown’s hometown; the actor traveled to Georgia and encountered Brown’s extended family. “We went down to Augusta to meet the family, and I stayed down there a little bit longer, drove around, saw family, and soaked up as much of Augusta and the Brown family that I could, before we started filming.” In addition to figuring out who James Brown, the man was, Boseman also had to embody James Brown, the performer.
The dancing, and overall preforming scenes in “Get On Up” were the moments that Boseman truly shines as James Brown. Although the actor admitted that the dancing was the most difficult to master, “sixty percent of my fear was from the dancing, 30 percent of my fear was about the caricatures that have been projected of James brown, and trying to get past what people think they know. I don’t think there was any easy part to “Get On Up.”
And while those who watch “Get On Up” will not see Boseman’s dedication to his role as James Brown but will feel it. The Mick Jagger produced biopic focuses heavily on what was so important to James Brown—the music. The audience is set to learn a lot from “Get On Up,” Boseman stated, affirming that he too learned more about Brown throughout the filming process. “James Brown wanted you to have that experience, of seeing him in all his glory,” he said. “It is definitely a connection you want to have with people. This is what I took away from doing this role.”
“Get On Up” premieres in theaters August 1, 2014.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
