Photo Credit: slgckgc / CC by 2.0Roku announced Daniel Radcliffe will star in its first original biopic about Weird Al Yankovic.
WEIRD: The Weird Al Yankovic Story will focus on the career of the Grammy-winning pop culture icon. The film is produced by Funny Or Die and Tango, with production slated to begin in Los Angeles in February. The film will be available to stream for free on the Roku Channel.
WEIRD: The Weird Al Yankovic Story is written by Al Yankovic & Eric Appel. Appel will also serve as the director for the film and as an executive producer. Yankovic is producing alongside Mike Farah, Joe Farrell, and Whitney Hodack for Funny Or Die, and Tim Headington, Lia Buman, and Max Silva for Tango.
“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,” Yankovic said in a statement about the upcoming biopic.
“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.”
‘Weird Al’ is a five-time Grammy-winning artist and the best-selling comedy recording artist, ever. He’s also one of only five recording artists to have top 40 hits in all of the last four decades. Only Kenny G, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and U2 also share that honor.
