Daniel Radcliffe Will Play Weird Al Yankovic In A Biopic
Ray. Bird. Selena. Amadeus. Weird? Hell yes! Of course, Weird Al Yankovic belongs among the pantheon of great artists with first name recognition deserving of a feature-length biopic. And who better to play him than recent Golden Globe winner Nicole Kidman? Nobody, that’s right. But Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is being developed to stream exclusively on The Roku Channel, so obviously they can’t afford her. That means Daniel Radcliffe will be the one to sport a tragic wig and endure months of cynical skepticism that he doesn’t have what it takes to bring Weird Al to life. Nobody is going to buy a magical wizard boy as a professional accordion player. He doesn’t have the range.
Deadline reports that Weird is a Funny or Die joint written by Al and Eric Appel, who will also direct. Eric directed a short version of the movie for FOD back in 2010 with Aaron Paul playing the titular weirdo.
The Yankovic biopic promises to hold nothing back and explore every facet of his life, from his childhood through his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like “Eat It” and “Like a Surgeon,” while touching on his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle. Yankovic is producing alongside Mike Farah, Joe Farrell and Whitney Hodack for Funny Or Die, and Tim Headington, Lia Buman and Max Silva for Tango. Appel is exec producing with Funny Or Die’s Henry Muñoz III and Tango’s Neil Shah.
Personally, I think it’s one of the biggest casting mistakes since Zoe Saldana played Nina Simone but I’ll reserve my judgment until I see the film. And considering I’m not even sure what a Roku is, that could be a very, very long time. But Daniel does have one thing Zoe didn’t have, and that’s the blessing of his subject. Weird Al must have seen his schlong in Equus and said “I’ll have what he’s having!” According to Deadline:
“When my last movie UHF came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork. I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule. And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film,” said Yankovic. “I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
Weird roles should be played by weird actors and despite his best attempts, Daniel just isn’t very weird. Yes, I saw Swiss Army Man. Didn’t buy it. So somebody please tell me why God’s green earth weird legend Tom Hardy wasn’t considered for this part!? Here’s the shortcut of Weird, which some might argue is the right cut of Weird.
See, Tom would have literally killed in this role. It would have been sad to see a beloved character actor squeezeboxed to death, but it would have been worth it. To me. #RIPGaryCole.
Pic: Wenn.com