Musical biopics have become quite a hot commodity lately. This year already saw the release of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, a highly stylized depiction of the life of the most famous name in music. And coming later this year, fans will be able to see the release of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, based on the life of the famed music parody artist. The newest trailer for the film has been released online today.
Weird was co-written by Yankovic along with director Eric Appel, who both had also written a short version of a Weird Al biopic as a parody trailer for FunnyOrDie back in 2010. That version would star Aaron Paul as Weird Al and co-starred the likes of Olivia Wilde, Mary Steenburgen, Gary Cole, and Patton Oswalt. This new feature-length version will be starring Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al and featuring the same list of characters with new actors filling in the roles, including Evan Rachel Wood and Rainn Wilson.
The film looks like it will be presented with more broad comedy than truth, as is the nature of Weird Al’s work. The last movie centered around the artist was 1989’s UHF, where he played the manager of a TV station and featured absurdist humor that mirrored his own style, including parodies of other movies and music videos from the time. Weird looks to have the same plucky humor and plays it straight as if it would be an Oscar contender. It will be screened at TIFF’s Midnight Madness this September.
Radcliffe recently told GMA how much fun he had making the film, “It was honestly one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever done. If you can’t have fun making the Weird Al movie, what are you doing with your life? I’m really excited for people to see it. He’s the best. I know everyone says this about him, but it’s so lovely to meet somebody that you look up to and you know as a hero to so many people, and to have them just be kind and fun and sweet. I can now go to my grave saying that I’ve had accordion lessons with Weird Al.”
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story will be available for streaming on The Roku Channel on November 4.
Are you excited? What’s your favorite Weird Al song?
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