It's been five years since Paramount Pictures first planned a biopic about James Brown, and while the film hasn't come any closer to the silver screen, the Godfather of Soul's daughter Dr. Yanna Brown is talking about which stars she feels are worthy of playing her famous father. In a perfect world, either Eddie Murphy or Usher would portray Brown in the still-untitled flick, but there is one surprising dark horse who might be cast: Chris Brown, who's coming off his most recent role of acting like an insane person at Good Morning America.
The Playlist reports that Murphy -- who was previously nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a Brown-inspired character in Dreamgirls -- has championed actor Wesley Snipes to play James Brown, but Snipes is currently in prison thanks to some Lil Wayne-esque problems with the IRS. Unless producers want to wait until Snipes' 2013 prison release, they'll have to look elsewhere, which brings Usher and Chris Brown into the equation. Neither singer has proved they have the acting chops, charisma, or bravado to step into Brown's Technicolor jumpsuits, but Yanna Brown admitted she was moved by Chris Brown's performance of "Night Train" at the 2007 Grammys, which helped introduce Chris Brown's name into the casting conversation.
Both Chris Brown and James Brown found themselves on the wrong side of the law and public opinion throughout their careers, so casting Chris, while controversial, does make sense in a "life imitating art imitating life" way. After already waiting five years already though, we'd prefer producers just hold out two more for Snipes' prison release.
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