Daniel Radcliffe To Star In “Weird Al” Yankovic Biopic For Roku
Daniel Radcliffe continues down the path of picking wonderfully weird projects, as Roku announces the former Harry Potter actor will play Grammy-winning musician and pop-cultural icon “Weird Al” Yankovic in ‘WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story’ for the streaming service.
The Roku Original film, produced by Funny Or Die, will star Daniel Radcliffe in the titular role of “Weird Al” Yankovic. According to the press release, 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.
“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.”
“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,” writer and director, Eric Appel, added.
‘WEIRD: The Weird Al Yankovic Story’ is written by Al Yankovic & Eric Appel. Eric Appel will also direct the film and is an executive producer.?The film is produced by Funny Or Die and Tango.?Al Yankovic produces, along with Mike Farah, Joe Farrell and Whitney Hodack for Funny Or Die, and Tim Headington, Lia Buman and Max Silva for Tango. Funny Or Die’s Henry Muñoz III and Tango’s Neil Shah are 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.”
“Weird Al” Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time. A five-time Grammy winner, his 2014 release Mandatory Fun was the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200. He is one of only three artists to have had their own top 40 hits in each of the last four decades (the other two being Michael Jackson and Madonna). On August 27, 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded Weird Al with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“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,” said Henry Muñoz III, Funny Or Die Chairman and executive producer. “We are honoured 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.”
For those of you unclear about where to find The Roku Channel, it’s available on Roku streaming players, TCL & Hisense TV models and NOW TV & Sky Q devices under the “apps” section. Along with more than 20,000 free movies and programs, it also has some great original content such as the beautiful and hilarious ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’, and all the great shows from the now-defunct streaming service Quibi. These include series such as ‘The Fugitive’ starring Boyd Holbrook & Kiefer Sutherland, and ‘Most Dangerous Game’ starring Liam Hemsworth & Christoph Waltz. The Roku Channel is completely free supported by ads.
‘WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story’ does not have a release date yet, but production on the biopic begins in Los Angeles in early February 2022, and will air worldwide on The Roku Channel.
