Hopefully we'll never again have to see Marlon Wayans' face on the body of a little person, or covered by a white-girl mask. If he and his brothers (Shawn and Keenan Ivory) want another franchise (they are still going with the Scary Movie series), they could possibly make one out of their next project. The Wayanses are turning their comic book Super Bad James Dynomite into a live-action feature film for Rogue Pictures with Marlon starring as the title role. Dynomite is a 1970s blaxploitation-era detective -- ala Shaft and Dolemite (which is apparently being remade) -- who has been in prison for the past 35 years, or so. When he's released in the present, he retains his 70s look, complete with exaggerated afro, and sets off to find the criminal who framed him.

The comic is full of adult material, so turning it into a franchise wouldn't be as easy as it has been for superhero titles. The Wayans brothers aren't reported as being interested in sequels, but I'm sure Rogue would love a franchise if the guys were down and if the first movie does good business. Of course, there are a few reasons why the movie might not be too successful. The most important of these reasons is that blaxploitation doesn't need another homage. Between the Shaft remake, Jackie Brown and the spy comedy Undercover Brother, we've seen enough tributes to and jokes on the genre recently to last us another 35 years. Plus, the Wayanses already covered the territory with the blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. The bottom line, though, is that the original films are just too enjoyable by themselves to require any kind of hindsight rehash. If Dynomite is only a single shot film, Rogue should be fine. The studio also just bought another script from Marlon and Shawn, which was co-written by Xavier Cook and Mitchell Marchand (The Wayans Bros. television series).

His main legacy is his music, sure, and few will be remembering him today for his contributions to cinema, but James Brown was a big part of the movies. And he will continue to be a big part of the movies for years to come despite his death from pneumonia early Christmas morning.

Aside from the two blaxploitation films he scored (Black Caesar and Slaughter's Big Rip-Off), there are over 100 movies that Brown's music has been heard in. Many of the songs used for these soundtracks seem in retrospect to have been created solely for the benefit of being licensed to Hollywood. How many movies can you think of that featured "I Got You (I Feel Good)" or "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"? I think one of the first CDs I ever owned as a kid was the soundtrack to Rocky IV, which featured "Living in America", so Brown's film legacy is something that I'm always conscious of.

The "Godfather of Soul" didn't only lend a song to Rocky IV, he even appeared in the movie, as himself. He also showed up in Doctor Detroit, The Tuxedo, The Hire: Beat the Devil (one of those BMW shorts/ads), Undercover Brother, Holy Man and Ski Party. And that isn't even including documentaries. As far as getting to play roles that aren't technically himself, there is of course his character Reverend Cleophus James in The Blues Brothers, which he reprised for Blues Brothers 2000.

A new documentary called Life on the Road with Mr. and Mrs. Brown, which is about James Brown and his fourth wife, singer Tommy Rae Brown, is currently in post-production and set for release next year.