In a planned biopic on the five-time Grammy winner, Daniel Radcliffe will portray the hilarious comedy musician “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story will be produced by Funny or Die and Tango, according to Deadline, with production expected to begin in early February in Los Angeles. The film will chronicle the now-62-year-meteoric old’s climb to fame as a child prodigy and Grammy winner, as well as his turbulent celebrity relationships and post-famous lifestyle.
“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,” Yankovic said. “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. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
The screenplay was written by Yankovic and Eric Appel, with Appel also directing and executive producing. The film will only be accessible to watch on the Roku Channel. The business is delighted to “shed a light” on Weird Al’s narrative, according to Colin Davis, Roku’s head of original scripted content.
“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,” said Davis.
“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,” added Appel, who wrote and directed a Funny or Die video also titled Weird: The Al Yankovic Story starring Aaron Paul, Olivia Wilde, Patton Oswalt, Paul Scheer, and more in 2010.