James Brown Still Not Buried...WTF???

James Brown’s partner, his six adult children and trustees of his estate will meet in a South Carolina court on Friday to resolve disputes over his estate as the soul legend’s remains still await burial. Brown’s partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, and his children are upset with the three long-time associates he named as trustees. Lawyers will also argue whether Hynie, who claims she is Brown’s fourth wife, can get access to Brown’s Beech Island home. The singer’s embalmed body, meanwhile, remains in the same sealed, gold coffin seen at his funeral awaiting a decision on where to bury it, officials at the undertakers that handled Brown’s funeral say. Brown, 73, who died of heart failure on Christmas Day, left a will that calls for many of his personal possessions to be divided among his six adult children. The trust is separate from the will and contains most of the singer’s primary assets, including music rights and his home. Brown’s children sued last month, saying the trustees needed to be removed because the soul singer’s estate was mismanaged and some of his assets were in danger of being lost or stolen. The children also want a special administrator to oversee the estate. Buddy Dallas, Brown’s lawyer and trustee, said he was confident the court would "respect the wishes of Mr Brown", allowing the trustees to remain in charge.

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This is a very good example of greed!!!!!!! Shame on you people!!!!

Usher And Fergie Roles In James Brown Movie

R&B heartthrob Usher and The Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie are reportedly vying for roles in the upcoming James Brown biopic. Just days after the funk legend died of pneumonia on Christmas Day, producer Brian Grazer and director Spike Lee signed a deal to bring the singer's colorful life story to the big screen.

Website PageSix.com reports Usher is hoping to be cast in the role of Brown, while Fergie - real name Stacy Ferguson - hopes to play one of the star's wives.

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A Public Funeral

Soul singer James Brown, who died on Christmas Day, is to have a public funeral in Georgia this coming weekend.

The 73-year-old performer will lie in state in New York's Apollo Theatre today, before his body is taken to Augusta, Georgia.

The funeral will take place at the 8,500-seat arena bearing his name at 1pm local time and is expected to draw a number of significant figures from the entertainment industry.

Reverend Sharpton, who will conduct the service, said that he felt disbelief and sadness after seeing Brown's body at a funeral home.

He said, "I couldn't even begin to describe it, to walk round his house and he not be there."

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Biopic Already? WTF??? That Was Fast

Okay, James Brown is not even buried yet but leave it to some people to take advantage of it.

Spike Lee has signed on to direct a feature on the life of James Brown for Paramount and Imagine Entertainment, reports Variety. Brian Grazer is producing, and the film could be in production by late next year, though 2008 is more likely.

Lee will rewrite a draft recently turned in by Jezz and John Henry Butterworth. The script has been through several drafts since Steve Baigelman wrote the original.

Brown was an active part of the development of the biopic project. The singer met with Baigelman, and gave the Butterworth brothers access to his camp. Brown's longtime sideman Bobby Byrd also was interviewed for two days by the Butterworth duo. The rights package includes Brown's life rights, and also access to all his music rights.

"Like everybody, I was surprised and saddened that James Brown died," Grazer said Tuesday. "Having known him well, and after spending lots of time with him and researching his life, it's somehow not surprising that he died on Christmas Day. He was the ultimate showman, all the way to the end."

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Widow Evicted From Brown Home

The widow of late soul legend JAMES BROWN has been evicted from the couple's South Carolina home - with lawyers claiming the pair were never "legally married".

TOMI RAE HYNIE was denied entry to Brown's Beech Island mansion on Christmas day (25DEC06), just hours after the star's death. Locks had been changed and the security staff had been ordered by Brown's lawyers and accountants to keep former backing singer Hynie from the house.

Brown and Hynie married in 2001, however Hynie was already married to another man at the time - but insists her first marriage had been annulled before becoming Brown's fourth wife.
She says, "(My first husband) was from Pakistan. He wanted to enter the US. I was young and desperate.

"A judge told me I was never legally married." But legal representatives are alleging the Brown-Hynie marriage was not legal because of Hynie's previous nuptials - and have branded the 38-year-old merely "a houseguest of Mr Brown".

BUDDY DALLAS, Brown's lawyer, said, "It's not a reflection on her as an individual.

"I have not even been in the house nor will I until appropriate protocol is followed.

"I suppose it would mean she was, from time to time, a guest in Mr Brown's home." James Brown died on 25 December. He was 73.

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Godfather of Soul Dead

ATLANTA (Reuters) - James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," whose voice, showmanship and bold rhythms brought funk into the mainstream and influenced a generation of black music, died on Christmas morning at age 73.

Brown died of congestive heart failure at 1:45 a.m. (0645 GMT) on Monday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, his lawyer Joel Katz told a news conference.

Brown went to a dentist last week, who noticed him coughing and recommended he see a doctor. He was admitted on Saturday with severe pneumonia.

"He was having pain before, but then the pain went away and he told me 'I'm going away tonight,"' Charles Bobbit, Brown's personal manager and longtime friend, told reporters.

"I didn't believe him," he said, adding that Brown died quietly soon after.

Brown was one of America's great showmen and band leaders. He created a revolutionary sound that mixed funky rhythms and staccato horns behind his own often explosive vocals.

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