You know what gets us through the endless remake, sequel and superhero news? Stories like this. As we reported at the start of the year, Focus Features have picked up the rights to Michael Veal’s book “Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon,” a biography of the great Nigerian musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Fela originated the Afrobeat genre, a mix of traditional African music, jazz and funk, a style which has, with its appropriation by bands like Vampire Weekend, gained new popularity in recent years.
He was also a political activist, discovering the Black Power movement while studying in London, and frequently aggravated the ruling Nigerian regime, culminating in an attack on his commune in 1977, during which Kuti’s mother was thrown from a window and killed. The musician’s response was to leave her coffin on the doorstep of the Nigerian leader’s residence. He was married frequently, with up to 27 wives at one time, and eventually died of an AIDS related illness in 1997.
It’s a great subject for a movie (in fact, a Broadway musical, entitled “Fela!” also opened a couple of weeks back, to pretty good reviews), and Focus appear to be going about it in exactly the right way, by appointing artist and “Hunger” director Steve McQueen to direct, and to co-write with playwright Biyi Bandele. Focus chief James Schamus told Variety “Steve and Biyi’s vision is very cinematic and distinctive. Fela was a revolutionary figure in world culture, and Steve is an artist who had a strong vision of politics and the world even before he made his first film. They are kindred spirits.”
McQueen couldn’t be a better choice for this – if the astonishing “Hunger” taught us anything, it’s that he couldn’t make a conventional biopic if he tried. And it’s good to see that a tough climate isn’t preventing Focus from taking risks – Schamus says “We all feel pressure to hit homers, but “A Serious Man,” a film that has no definable genre or business plan, is the solid double we hoped it would be, and “Coraline” got more Annie nominations than “Up.” Of course, I got my ass kicked on “Taking Woodstock.” That is going to happen, but you’ve got to keep making movies you believe in, at reasonable costs.” Which makes us love Schamus very deeply, and count the days until McQueen’s movie hits the screens. Kuti’s most famous song “Zombie” is embedded below.
