“Cougar Town” star Josh Hopkins has been cast as music producer Ralph Bass in Universal and Imagine’s James Brown biopic “Get On Up,” TheWrap has learned.
Chadwick Boseman stars as the Godfather of Soul alongside Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Dan Aykroyd, Nelsan Ellis, Lennie James, Jill Scott, Craig Robinson and Nick Eversman as Mick Jagger, who is a producer on the film.
“Get on Up” follows Brown’s rags-to-riches story and takes audiences on the journey from his impoverished childhood to his evolution into one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
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Bass was Brown’s loyal and supportive producer at Federal Records for years before he received an offer from another company that was too lucrative to pass up.
Tate Taylor (“The Help”) is directing the movie from a script by Jez & John-Henry Butterworth and Steven Baigelman. Imagine’s Brian Grazer and Jagged Films’ Mick Jagger are producing alongside Victoria Pearman and Erica Huggins. Taylor is also producing via his Wyolah Films, whose John Norris will executive produce.
Production is currently under way in Mississippi.
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Hopkins is a TV veteran who plays Courteney Cox’s love interest Grayson Ellis on TBS’ comedy “Cougar Town,” for which he recently segued behind the camera to direct an episode. During his summer hiatus, Hopkins co-starred in a pair of independent films — “Kelly & Cal” with Juliette Lewis and “A Bet’s a Bet” with Mena Suvari and Kristen Chenoweth. His other feature credits include Ridley Scott’s “G.I. Jane” and Wolfgang Petersen’s “The Perfect Storm.”
Hopkins is represented by the Gersh Agency and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.