February 6, 2007 0:00

James Brown's death leaves documentary unfinished

Director Spike Lee changes his approach

Director Spike Lee has been hard at work on a biography about James Brown.

However, the Godfather Of Soul's untimely death on Christmas Day left the film unfinished and put a new spin on things, Lee said.

"Now that he's passed, it changes everything," the director told Rolling Stone.

In order to fill in some of the gaps left by Brown's passing, Lee and producer Brian Grazer have been consulting the singer's long-time friend, Reverend Al Sharpton, to help them accurately portray Brown and uncover more personal details about the iconic singer.

Lee has ramped up production on the film, which will chronicle Brown's life from his early childhood in Atlanta, Georgia to his incredible ascent to worldwide fame.

Unlike the Johnny Cash biopic, 'Walk The Line' in which actors Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (who portrayed June Carter) did their own singing, the singing voice of whoever portrays Brown will not be heard in the film.

"Whoever we have is going to be lip-syncing," Lee said. "We're not trying to impersonate (Brown) – we want to give the essence of the man and how he shaped the time."

--By our Los Angeles staff.
[url="/about"] Find out more about NME.[/url]