Jagger's New Swagger: Mick Moves to Movies, Blasts Idea of Memoir
On set in Mississippi as he
starts up a new career as a Hollywood producer, the icon shrugs off the
outcry over a white director for his James Brown biopic, reveals his
brushes with rejection and vows never to write a rock autobiography like
Keith Richards did: "If someone wants to know what I did in 1965, they
can look it up on Wikipedia."
This story first appeared in the Jan. 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
Mick Jagger is having a Hollywood moment … in Natchez, Miss., of all places. He's come here to be on the set of
Get on Up, the
James Brown biopic he is producing with his Jagged Films partner,
Victoria Pearman. It is Nov. 24, and
Jagger is well into his
first week on the set, just a few miles away from where the film's director,
Tate Taylor, lives. He slinks into the gilded ballroom of the former plantation-turned-historic
Dunleith Inn, settles his tiny frame into a plush velvet
couch
and slips on his glasses, notes in hand. He's ready to talk business,
or more specifically, how he has found himself, at age 70, juggling
production duties in several notable
film and television
projects. He is lithe, dressed in sneakers and a baby-blue cashmere
sweater, and radiates the kind of healthy glow that comes with
Jagger's all-organic sober lifestyle, something he has practiced since 2001.
PHOTOS: Mick Jagger Goes Hollywood
"Then," he says, "you get on with the creative part of it."
There's also time for fun. The night before, in this same room, Jagger hosted a dinner that morphed into a raucous
dance party for some 25 cast and crewmembers of
Get on Up. After the plates were cleared, Jagger's longtime partner, the
fashion designer L'Wren Scott, 47, slipped her iPod onto a dock and began dancing with the film's
executive producer John Norris.
Then, a circle formed, and everyone -- including Jagger -- took a turn
in the center, busting out their best moves. No one seems to remember
the songlist, as the alcohol was flowing fast and freely.
"It was a little intimidating," Taylor says. "I was keenly aware that a
rock star was watching, but I just said, 'What the hell?' "
It didn't take long, though, before Jagger began showing actor
Nelsan Ellis how his character, Brown's collaborator and producer
Bobby Byrd,
actually danced. This is the type of expertise that almost nobody else
has, based on first-hand experience: In 1964, Jagger and the Stones
performed at the concert captured on film as
The T.A.M.I. Show with Brown and Byrd.
But it's not just insight into dancing and music that Jagger intends
to bring to this $30 million undertaking from Universal Pictures. On
this project and the many others he has on tap -- including an
Elvis Presley biopic with Fox 2000, an untitled HBO rock 'n' roll series with
Martin Scorsese and
Terence Winter, and both a scripted drama series and a Broadway play based on
20 Feet From Stardom,
Morgan Neville's
Oscar-nominated documentary about backup singers (in which Jagger
appears) -- he wants to prove his ability to be more than a rock legend.
Last year, Jagger's tour with The Rolling Stones grossed an estimated
$126 million. On Feb. 21, the band kicks off another world tour with
stops in Australia, New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, Macau, China and
maybe Tel Aviv. He himself is estimated to be worth $305 million. In his
presence, multigenerational crowds flock to watch the infamous Jagger
swagger, something so familiar that even today's music stars like
Adam Levine
worship at his feet (Maroon 5's ode "Moves Like Jagger" was one of the
biggest hits of 2011). Mick Jagger, arguably the world's last great rock
star in a town where the term "rock star" is used loosely to define any
variety of people with success, is the real deal.
But in Hollywood, where Jagger's forays thus far have included the promising (2001's
Enigma as a producer) and the not-so-acclaimed (1992's
Freejack
as an actor), the elusive icon still is emerging. But this is where the
musician, whose band has sold 250 million albums (but amazingly has won
only two Grammys), now says he wants to devote much of his time.
Jagger today splits his time between London, a castle in France's
Loire Valley and a home on the Caribbean island of Mustique. He is
infinitely fascinated with the human psyche and a voracious reader,
tearing through three books a week on a wide range of subjects. A night
owl, he often rises at midday.
Boardwalk Empire,
Breaking Bad and
The Sopranos are among his all-time favorite TV shows.
With producing partner Pearman, a fellow Brit whom he met through his close friend
Arnon Milchan
when Pearman was an executive at Milchan's New Regency, Jagger will
discuss the latest Booker Prize winner or hot British playwright. And,
at least on this day, he seems outright uncomfortable talking about
music. Otherwise calm, if not slightly guarded, he is most at ease
talking about the more mundane, like meeting the local sheriff of
Natchez during a tour of the town. But he begins tugging his sweater and
fussing with his hair when the conversation shifts to The Rolling
Stones, whose last studio album, 2005's
A Bigger Bang, sold 2.4 million copies.
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He also appears disinterested at this moment in establishing his rock
legacy. When asked about the success many of his rock peers have had
with their books, notably his own bandmate
Keith Richards, whose 2010 best-seller,
Life,
included some uncharitable observations about Jagger, he scoffs: "I
think the rock 'n' roll memoir is a glutted market. I'd rather be doing
something new. I'd rather be making new films, making new music, be
touring. If someone wants to know what I did in 1965, they can look it
up on Wikipedia without even spending any money."
So Jagger, in this role, now is juggling an array of projects, from
his small shop, wielding the influence necessary to be a successful
producer. Most of the projects are being developed with and financed by
major studios or networks. "There's virtually nobody on the planet who's
not gonna take the call from Mick Jagger, which as a producer is an
incredible asset to have," says Neville, who also worked with Jagger on
2012's HBO documentary
Crossfire Hurricane. "It moves mountains, which is what a lot of producing is about."
Jagger, however, also has learned the hard rule of Hollywood
Rejection 101: People in the entertainment business are not too
star-struck to turn him down. "It's a bit like saying no in Japan," he
says. "They don't say no, directly. They say no indirectly."
The idea for the James Brown biopic, set to be released Aug. 1, was first hatched by producer
Brian Grazer more than a decade ago. Before Jagger came on board
, Spike Lee was attached to direct the project, which was written by Brit brothers
Jez and
John-Henry Butterworth, with
Wesley Snipes and later
Eddie Murphy as Brown. But he insisted on a $75 million budget.
"Spike could have made the movie years ago," says Grazer, whom Jagger
knew socially before bringing him to the project. "But he assigned such
a high number to make the movie for that no studio would do that."
When Brown died in 2006, his estate was in flux, and the project hit a dead end. Then
Peter Afterman, who runs the James Brown estate, approached Jagger about doing a documentary on the Godfather of Soul.
"I said, 'Let me think about it,' " Jagger recalls. "So I woke up in
the morning and said, 'I'll do the documentary. But would you like to do
a feature?' "
With the music rights secured thanks to Jagger's involvement,
suddenly the stalled project was revived. In late 2012, Jagger and
Grazer hired Taylor, whose star was rising in the wake of the box-office
and critical success of
The Help. The choice sparked
controversy, though, with some complaining that only a black director
should tackle James Brown's life story. Director
John Singleton expressed unease with the project in an essay last year for
THR
even as he praised Grazer's past work with African-American actors and
noted that Brits often have a greater appreciation for black culture
than some white Americans.
"Still, it gives one pause that someone is making a movie about the
icon who laid down the foundation of funk, hip-hop and black economic
self-reliance with no African-American involvement behind the scenes,"
Singleton wrote.
Jagger has no patience for such criticism. "By that logic, only
English people can play English people, only Americans can play
Americans," he says, a little fire showing in his eyes. "I mean, come
on. Look at [
Cate Blanchett's]
Elizabeth. That was a really great movie directed by an Indian [
Shekhar Kapur]. I don't care if you come from Timbuktu or Tonkin or, you know, London. It doesn't matter."
Casting the actor to play Brown was the final critical decision. Jagger and Grazer drafted
Chadwick Boseman, who already had stepped into the shoes of another trailblazer as
Jackie Robinson in 2013's
42.
Jagger says that casting Boseman was "such a key thing." He adds, "You
gotta get the guy right. You've got to get him perfect. Chad's really
worked very hard on [preparing]."
