You know what happens when your second feature film goes on to score over $216 million worldwide and snag three Academy Award nominations and a win?  You get a lot of scripts coming to your door.  However, the funny thing is, Tate Taylor didn’t get his follow-up to The Help by accepting an offer, but rather by going after a project himself.

On Friday, August 1st, Get On Up is coming out and we got the chance to sit down with Taylor to talk about making the move from The Help to a James Brown biopic, shooting an ambitious film on a tight schedule, his interest in doing a big budget sci-fi film, what happened to his Joyland adaptation and much more. Hit the jump to check it all out.

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Tate Taylor:

  • 00:00 – On pursuing this project.
  • 00:44 – Getting tons of scripts after The Help; picking the right one.
  • 01:35 – His hope to do a sci-fi film and his interest in The Hulk.
  • 02:15 – How his Southern roots helped him make this film.
  • 03:14 – Taking the script over from Jez and John-Henry Butterworth.
  • 04:36 – On deciding to break the fourth wall.
  • 05:45 – Doing an ambitious project on a tight schedule.
  • 07:15 – Holding cast dinners.
  • 07:40 – How to direct actors during big concert scenes.
  • 08:37 – Finding the twins who play young James Brown.
  • 10:10 – On In the Event of a Moon Disaster, Tupperware and Peace Like a River.
  • 11:06 – On Stephen King’s Joyland.
  • 11:33 – On casting Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis in more films.

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