SPIKE LEE COURTS SNIPES FOR JAMES BROWN BIOPIC

Spike Lee is reportedly moving forward with plans to have Wesley Snipes star as James Brown in an upcoming biopic, even though the actor is awaiting appeal on a three-year prison sentence for tax evasion.

      “We’re doing it together, it’s going to happen,” Lee told MTV News at the Sundance Film Festival. The filmmaker first announced his determination to make the film the day after Brown’s death.

      Like the Ray Charles biopic “Ray,” the Brown film will feature the singer’s voice dubbed over Snipes’ vocals when the songs are played. “I want to hear James Brown’s voice. That’s just my personal taste,” explained Lee. “I know Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Walk the Line,’ he did some of the singing. I’m a purist.”

       Snipes, who signed on for the role in 2007, was sentenced to three years in prison in April 2008 following a conviction on federal income tax evasion.       

       Lee and Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to the Brown biopic shortly after the singer died in 2006 of heart failure. He will have to squeeze in the film before Snipes’ appeal. Lee’s 2009 slate already includes a planned “Inside Man” sequel and a Michael Jordan documentary.