From 'My Bologna' to 'The Hamilton Polka'—We're Finally Getting the Weird Al Yankovic Biopic We Deserve!
Beloved pop parodist and accomplished musician “Weird Al” Yankovic is finally getting the biopic treatment–sort of. As a full-length feature film releasing this fall on the Roku Channel, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story promises to be “the untold true story” of Yankovic’s career. In a January 2022 statement, Roku boasted that 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.” That last part should clue in Yankovic’s fans, who know that Yankovic lives a moderate, vice-free lifestyle. Weird promises to be, appropriately, a parody of the biopic genre, as Variety notes it feels more like “a scripted mockumentary, spoofing tropes that run rampant in self-important biopics.”
If any of this sounds familiar, that may be due to the fact that in 2010, Funny or Die produced a fake trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, featuring Aaron Paul as Yankovic with appearances by Gary Cole, Mary Steenburgen, Patton Oswalt and Olivia Wilde. Eric Appel—the co-writer and director of the upcoming biopic—also directed that trailer, and there are a handful of similarities between it and the current trailer—suggesting that, indeed, Weird is Funny or Die’s way of making good on the promise of 12 years ago.
The full-length movie, produced jointly by comedy video website Funny or Die and Tango, will take audiences on a journey from Yankovic’s childhood as a music prodigy through his rise to becoming the best-selling comedy artist of all time and a legendary pop star (and let’s be honest, that last part isn’t part of the parody. Weird Al is legitimately a legend). Here is everything we know so far about Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
Related: You Better Believe a Cher Biopic Is Happening Thanks to Mamma Mia! Producers
Is there a trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story?
Roku released the first trailer for Weird on May 3, and it’s also, appropriately, in parody form, posing as a Madonna biopic before a shirtless Radcliffe appears on stage, practically purring “Hope you guys are ready for this” before popping up with an accordion.
When will Weird: The Al Yankovic Story be released?
Weird will be released in Fall 2022, though no specific date has been given yet. Production on the film began in February 2022.
Who is in the cast of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story?
Daniel Radcliffe inhabit's Weird Al's iconic look—including the curly hair, mustache and aviator glasses—to play everyone's favorite funny hitmaker. Radcliffe’s role was announced back in January, with Yankovic’s full endorsement. “I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film," Yankovic said. "I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
Related: Why Daniel Radcliffe Has Never Seen Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Also appearing in Weird will be Rainn Wilson as Dr. Demento, a/k/a Barry Hansen, the radio broadcaster specializing in novelty songs, who was instrumental in Yankovic’s early rise to fame; Julianne Nicholson and Toby Huss as Yankovic’s parents, Mary and Nick; and Evan Rachel Wood as the one and only Madonna.
Will Aaron Paul be in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story?
Paul starred as Yankovic in the 2010 Funny or Die short, and he was meant to have a cameo in Weird, but tested positive for COVID the day he was due to show up on set, so was not able to participate. He does, however, remain super-enthused about the project overall, telling CinemaBlend, “It's so great. I loved doing that. I love Al [Yankovic], I love Eric Appel, who wrote the skit for Funny Or Die and directed it. And he wrote the film with Al, and he's directing the feature as well. I read that script years ago and it was just so over the top beautiful. It was just when they were kind of poking around seeing if they could get this thing made, and I was really excited to see it finally kind of come together, and obviously Daniel [Radcliffe] is amazing. And so I think he's absolutely going to crush it."
Who wrote Weird: The Al Yankovic Story?
Weird is co-written by Yankovic and Appel, who is also directing. Appel was formerly the head writer at Funny or Die and is a prolific television director who has worked on episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, Silicon Valley and more.
Where can I watch Weird: The Al YankovicStory?
Weird will be available exclusively on the Roku Channel, a free, ad-supported streaming service available to anyone with a Roku box or dongle, or a SmartTV that supports the channel.
Next, From The Harder They Fall to The Power of the Dog, Here's 15 Great Westerns to Watch on Netflix
