On January 18, Roku announced its “Weird AI” Yankovic biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe. The film is Roku’s first original biopic to stream on their platform and is co-produced by Funny Or Die and Tango.
As per Roku’s press release, the biopic of the Grammy-winning artist is set to begin production in February in Los Angeles. The streaming platform giant stated:
“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.”
The biopic is written by “Weird Al” Yankovic and Eric Appel, who is also set to direct the project. Appel and Yankovic also produced the project with Roku, Funny or Die, and Tango.
Daniel Radcliffe and “Weird Al” Yankovic height difference confuses the internet amid biopic casting
The 62-year-old famed parody artist “Weird Al” Yankovic is reportedly just over six feet tall. Meanwhile, 32-year-old Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is around five feet and five inches. This height difference caused many people to cast doubt on Radcliffe’s ability to portray Yankovic in his biopic. While a few stated that the filmmakers may use CGI and prosthetics to prop up the height of Radcliffe.
While few people are unable to look past the height difference, the news has also left the internet divided over Daniel’s casting as “Weird Al” Yankovic. Many fans claimed that the best person to play Yankovic is himself, while others hailed the decision as “perfect casting.” A few tweets humorously stated that Yankovic should play Daniel Radcliffe in the actor’s potential biopic.
In the official press release by Roku, Yankovic jokingly stated,
“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.”
How will the new biopic be different from the 2010 film of the same name?
In 2010, Funny or Die produced a comedy skit film starring Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul as Yankovic. The three-minute movie had the same title as the upcoming biopic and was also directed by Eric Appel. This short TV film parodied a trailer clip of a fictional musical biopic that lives up to its title of being “weird.”
Yankovic also starred in the parody film by Funny or Die, as a music producer who scoffs at Aaron Paul’s portrayal of the artist. Meanwhile, the upcoming project from Roku is slated to be a feature-length film which would be on “Weird AI” Yankovic’s life.
