2014 film by Tate Taylor
Get On Up is a 2014 American biographical musical film directed by Tate Taylor and written by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. Produced by Brian Grazer, Mick Jagger, and Taylor and Victoria Pearman, the film stars an ensemble cast featuring Chadwick Boseman as singer James Brown, Nelsan Ellis as Bobby Byrd, Dan Aykroyd as Ben Bart, Viola Davis as Susie Brown, Craig Robinson as Maceo Parker, and Octavia Spencer as Aunt Honey. Using a nonlinear narrative, it follows James's stream of consciousness as he recalls events from his life in an asynchronous manner, occasionally breaking the fourth wall to address the audience. This is the third collaboration between Aunjanue Ellis and Nelsan Ellis after The Express: The Ernie Davis Story and The Help (also directed by Taylor).
The project was announced August 2013, along with Boseman, Davis, Spencer and Ellis' casting. Principal photography began that November and took place in Mississippi, where the entire film was shot on location in 49 days.
Get On Up was released on August 1, 2014, in the United States and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise directed at the performances of the cast (particularly those of Boseman and Ellis), and grossed $33 million worldwide at the box office.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.