Watch: How New Marvel Recruit Chadwick Boseman Channels James Brown in ‘Get On Up’ (Exclusive Video)

There’s no question that Boseman nails a challenging role. Based on the degree of difficulty in this performance, which the actor admits terrified him, from the dance moves and volatile real-life persona to the singing (they mix him with a remastered Brown), I initially thought that Boseman would easily land awards consideration from critics, SAG, Globes and the Academy acting branch. (Check out our flipcam interview below.)

But in order for that to happen, Universal’s August release needed to cross over to a wider audience. It opened with strong reviews (70% on Metacritic) to an OK $14 million and a 70% African-American audience that was also 90% over age 25. (Scribe Patrick Goldstein described being unable to persuade his son to go see the film.) 

It doesn’t help that within the African-American community there is a meme–spread on Twitter by well-followed @SpikeLee–that this is the white man’s version of the James Brown story. Folks assume (did they see the film?) that because “Get On Up” is produced, written and directed by white men, they must have soft-pedaled James Brown. In fact, Taylor and Boseman admitted at a PGA screening that they would have loved to release the R-rated version of the movie. Taylor tangled with the MPAA ratings board, and is unhappy with the edge that he lost. Producer Grazer explained that in order to persuade Universal to release the film, he had to agree contractually to a PG-13 rating. That’s really too bad.

So “Get On Up” topped out at $30 million domestic. Was August too early for a proper Oscar campaign? Arguably the film needed the room to build an audience, as “The Butler” did. But even with Harvey Weinstein behind a Lee Daniels film starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, that true story fared better at the summer box office ($116 million domestic) than the Oscars; it whiffed on nominations day.

“The Help” writer-director Tate Taylor, in his quest to not churn out the standard biopic, may have gone too far with an unconventional story structure, which predictably, got slammed by some top critics. The Los Angeles Times’ Ken Turan believes that it hurts the film’s narrative engagement. I was not put off by the disjointed narrative–I was riveted by the character and the music–which I grew up with and adore. And while the film makes disjunctive cuts, especially from a pivotal backstage encounter with Brown’s mother (the always-exemplary Viola Davis), when we do return to the scene, it delivers an emotional payoff. 

Academy voters have previously shown appreciation for acclaimed musical biopics. According to box office analyst Tom Brueggemann, “Get On Up” opened behind “Ray,” which opened in October 2004 to $20 million (which would be higher today) on its way to $75 million, and “42” opened in April 2013 to $27 million and ultimately $95 million. And similar music biopic “Walk the Line,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as Johnny Cash and June Carter, was released in November 2005 to $22 million, and rode the awards wave for months to reach $119 million. Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett earned Best Actor and Best Actress nominations respectively for 1993 Ike & Tina Turner biopic “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” which Disney opened in 58 theaters June 11; the film grossed $5.5 million when it went wide on June 25, and grossed a domestic total of $39 million. Clearly, “Ray,” “42” and “Walk the Line” boasted more initial appeal to wider audiences. 

Boseman’s performance is earning a reaction not dissimilar to those of Oscar-winners Foxx and Witherspoon. But both films nabbed slightly better reviews and an awards season boost from a Toronto Film Festival showcase. Universal chose to go in the less competitive August time frame. 

Luckily for Boseman, he just landed the coveted role of Black Panther in the Marvel superhero universe. Not only does this give the actor a huge career boost, but it makes Universal’s “Get On Up” DVD move up in awards voters’ screener piles. Now they are more likely to watch it and check out this performance, or attend Universal’s screenings and awards parties. And if they do, they will see how great this performance is.

I spoke to Boseman on the flip cam, below.