Think about the most unlikely rock music legends of all-time and Weird Al Yankovic has to be top of the list. His hilarious rock parodies made him a star in the ’80s and, well, he’s just sorta been here ever since. And now with so many music biopics out there, Weird Al is about to get his own, with Daniel Radcliffe starring.
The Roku Channel has struck a deal with Yankovic, Funny or Die, and Tango for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a biopic on Yankovic’s life and career. Radcliffe will star as Yankovic, who released his first mock single in 1976 and broke into fame with 1982’s “I Love Rocky Road”, followed by “Eat It” in 1984. He’s gone on to sell more than 12 million albums worldwide and win 5 Grammy Awards.
The film will be directed by Funny or Die vet Eric Appel, who also directed the Aaron Paul-starring short that inspired the feature.
In 1989, Yankovic starred in one of my all-time favorite comedies as a kid, UHF, which featured the sketch “Conan the Librarian”, something I still reference with my buddies to this day.
“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.”
You can’t argue with the physical likeness between Radcliffe and Yankovic. But also Radcliffe has done some weird shit like Swiss Army Man and Guns Akimbo. This could be a nice fit.
No release date for this film yet but this could be the thing that makes me pay attention to Roku.
