Despite winning plenty of critical acclaim for his Academy Award winning film The Help in 2011, director Tate Taylor hasn't really been cooking up much in the way of in-development projects. In April it was reported that he was in talks to helm an adaptation of the British miniseries The Jury, but we haven't heard anything about it since. Now, however, things are starting to get interesting for the filmmaker - as they do when one's name is mentioned in the same headline as Mick Jagger.
Deadline has gotten word that Taylor is now in talks with Imagine Entertainment to direct the long-awaited biopic about The Hardest Working Man in Show Business himself, legendary performer James Brown. What's more, Mick Jagger, very much a musical legend in his own right as the lead singer of The Rolling Stones, has made a deal to join Brian Grazer as a producer on the project. They already have a script written by Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, so the next step will be to find a studio to distribute the project and find the perfect actor to play James Brown.
The biopic will chart Brown's life in full, from his childhood living in "extreme poverty and violence" to become one of the most popular entertainers of all time. Brown died at the age of 73 in 2006, but was actively working with Grazer at the time to make the movie.
Obviously there's a lot to digest with this story. Do you think having Jagger attached will help add realism to the film? What do you think of having Taylor as the director? Who should be the star? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
