Before James Brown’s newly lifeless body even had a chance to begin to experience rigor mortis, Brian Grazer and Spike Lee announced that they’ll be making a biopic about the revered R&B legend. To be fair to the newly attached at the hip duo, Grazer was involved in the project before Brown fell flailing to the floor one last time, and JB himself had been helping out with the research.
There’s a script by brothers Jezz and John Henry Butterworth (you may know their mother, Mrs. Honestly, John Henry Butterworth could be the funniest name in the history of unfortunate monikers. I keep singing “John Henry was a maple syrup-drivin’ man” to myself), which is going to be rewritten by Spike. The director has said that the film would get underway next year, but Variety expressed doubts, saying they think it’ll happen in 08.
Grazer and Lee have two other projects in front of them, barring the sudden deaths of any other black legends – Inside Man 2: The Man Inside Me and The LA Riots Extravaganza.