There’s a Weird Al Yankovic biopic in the works and it has Daniel Radcliffe (the Harry Potter franchise) on board to star. Let that sink in a minute…Daniel Radcliffe as a five-time Grammy Award winner. Yankovic wrote WEIRD: The Weird Al Yankovic Story with Eric Appel and is all-in on the casting choice.
“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,” said Yankovic. “And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
Filming is expected to begin in February 2022 with Appel directing and executive producing. The biopic will air exclusively on The Roku Channel.
“When Weird Al first sat me down against my will and told me his life story, I didn’t believe any of it, but I knew that we had to make a movie about it,” said Appel.
The Funny Or Die and Tango production has Yankovic producing along with Funny Or Die’s Mike Farah, Joe Farrell, and Whitney Hodack. Tango’s Tim Headington, Lia Buman, and Max Silva also produce. Funny Or Die’s Henry Muñoz III and Tango’s Neil Shah are on board as executive producers.
“There clearly aren’t enough biopic movies about famous musicians and we were excited to shine a light on the incredibly true, unexaggerated story of Weird Al,” said Colin Davis, Roku’s Head of Original Scripted Programming. “This is sincerely the ultimate combination of talent, creativity, and friends, coming together to make something genuinely funny and we could not be prouder to call this film a Roku Original.”
“I am excited that my first project as the owner of Funny Or Die Studios is to help bring the story of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic to the screen. Weird Al is a comic genius and his impact on pop culture, his mastery of the music video, his award-winning music and his incredible life are a perfect fit for the talented producers at FOD,” stated Henry Muñoz III, Funny Or Die Chairman and executive producer. “We are honored to partner with Roku, Tango and our director Eric Appel on this important movie. WEIRD has brought together a weird and wonderful team of creative people, to tell the story of a man who has made people laugh and sing across the world.”
The Roku Channel released the following description of WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story:
“The Roku Original film will star Daniel Radcliffe in the titular role of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic. The biopic holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle. WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.”
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