Get on Up (film)

Get on Up uses a nonlinear narrative as James Brown's stream of consciousness, including asynchronous events and breaks in the fourth wall. It opens in 1993 with James walking through a hallway as an audience chants his name. He hears voices of people he knew throughout his life. The film cuts to 1988 in Augusta, Georgia; James learns his private bathroom in a strip mall he owns was used without consent. As James confronts and then forgives the trespasser, he accidentally fires a shotgun.

James and his band travel to Vietnam to support black troops and are well-received.

In 1939, James is raised in the woods by parents, Susie and Joe Brown, who endure financial struggles and physical abuse. Later, he performs in a gospel group, The Famous Flames, formed by Bobby Byrd, whose family sponsored his release from prison. In 1964, manager Ben Bart convinces them to let The Rolling Stones close The T.A.M.I. Show. The Flames upstage the Stones, and, exiting, James says, "Welcome to America".

In James' childhood, Susie leaves Joe; Joe threatens her with a gun and keeps James. Joe beats James until Joe joins the army. James is left living with and working for his Aunt, who runs a brothel, though he attends church and enjoys the choir.

At 17, James steals a suit and receives a 5-to-13-year sentence. In prison, James sees a group performing. His reaction incites a riot wherein both he and a singer, Bobby Byrd, are injured. Bobby invites James into his household. Their group perform after Little Richard. Later, James goes to the burger joint where Richard works. Richard rants about not wanting to make music for the "white devil". Another flashback from James's childhood shows him and other black boys forced into a battle royal boxing match while a band plays. Inspired by the band, James wins.

In the 1950s, James and Bobby meet Ralph Bass, an agent for King Records, with whom The Flames record their first single, "Please, Please, Please", on the Federal Records label. Executive Syd Nathan isn't interested but changes his mind when he hears James singing. Ben becomes James' manager, calling him the group's true voice. The records are labelled "James Brown and His Famous Flames", leading all except Bobby to quit. James and Bobby reform the band and perform successfully at the Apollo Theater.

Afterwards, Bobby tells James a lady claiming to be his mother is there. As a young child, James had seen Susie with a soldier, to whom she claimed she didn't know James. Aunt Honey consoled James, saying his mother was foolish and James would become rich.

James has a child, Teddy, with first wife Velma, later divorcing her and marrying Dee-Dee. After a Christmas event, James hits Dee-Dee for her revealing outfit. Reaching out to the community, James records "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" (1968). James convinces the Boston Garden's manager to continue a performance following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. People try to get on stage; security intercedes until James calms the audience.

As success grows, James's relationships turn sour. He treats bandmates like lackeys, doesn't allow their creative input, pays them late and makes them work days off. Eventually, they quit. Ben dies of a heart attack. Bobby considers becoming a lead singer: after Brown says he was not good enough, he also leaves.

Backtracking to the Apollo, Susie appears and expresses her love for James despite her reluctance to be a mother. After she leaves, Bobby enters, sees James breaking down, and heeds his request to care for Susie. In 1973, James learns Teddy dies in a car accident.

We return to the mall. Prior to this, James smokes a joint laced with angel dust. Following the accidental discharge, James is pursued by police, drives through a barricade, sees visions of his parents and is cornered and arrested.

In 1993, James meets Bobby for the first time since Teddy's funeral to give him show tickets. His performance of "Try Me (I Need You)" moves Bobby to tears. The audience cheers.

Imagine Entertainment listed a James Brown biopic in development in 2000, with a script titled Star Time written by Steven Baigelman.[21] Mick Jagger joined on as a producer, and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth were brought on to rewrite the script, titled Superbad. Spike Lee was set to direct but development[22] stalled in 2006 over music licensing[23] and finance issues.[24] It was revived in 2012[23] when Jagger read a recent draft by the Butterworth brothers.[25] John-Henry Butterworth was fascinated by the period concept of celebrity in preparing to write. “When James was becoming famous, you had to hide where you came from and be squeaky clean. Whereas if he were an artist launching his career now his upbringing and what happened to him would be right there in the press release. Everyone knows how many times 50 Cent has been shot.”[23] The script took some liberties and includes at least one scene involving fabricated incidents.[26] Lee vacated the directors position[27] and on October 22, 2012, it was announced that Tate Taylor (The Help) was set to direct the untitled biopic about James Brown, to be produced by Mick Jagger and Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer.[4] On August 29, 2013, Universal Pictures set October 17, 2014, as a release date for the film, previously untitled.[28] Later, on November 13, Universal shifted the release date of the biopic from October to August 1, 2014.[5]

On September 1, 2014, it was announced that the film would be the opening film of the 2014 Zurich Film Festival.[38]

• Get on Up on IMDb
• Get on Up at Box Office Mojo