Legendary performer James Brown bio “Get on Up” to open Zurich Fest

PanARMENIAN.Net - Get on Up, the biopic of legendary performer James Brown, will open this year's Zurich International Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter said.

The feature from The Help director Tate Taylor looks at Brown's rags-to-riches rise from extreme poverty to topping the music charts as a soul and funk superstar and proponent of black pride.

Chadwick Boseman, who played another African American legend, Jackie Robinson, in Brian Helgeland's 42, is the Godfather of Soul in Get on Up.

Boseman and Taylor will be in Zurich for the festival premiere on September 25.

Boseman is no stranger to Zurich. His Oscar-winning hit The Help was Zurich's closing night film in 2011 and the director made the trip to the Swiss fest with The Help star Octavia Spencer. Spencer plays James Brown's aunt in Get on Up.

The biopic also features The Help star Viola Davis together with Dan Aykroyd and Lennie James. The Universal Pictures feature has earned around $30 million so far since its August 1 domestic release.

Brian Grazer and Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger are credited producers on Get on Up. After its Zurich bow, the film opens in theaters in French-speaking Switzerland on September 26 ahead of its continental roll-out.