We’re getting ever closer to the release of ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’, which has Daniel Radcliffe bringing the curly-locked comedy musician to screens for a biopic that only earns that title in the loosest of terms (on purpose).
Now here comes the full trailer, which pitches the movie along the lines of ‘Walk Hard’, injecting a lot of a parody feel into Al’s life.
There’s certainly a lot of material to draw from in the musician’s career to date: “Weird Al” Yankovic has enjoyed quite the career as the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time.
A five-time Grammy winner, his 2014 release ‘Mandatory Fun’ was the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200. He is one of only three artists to have had their own top 40 hits in each of the last four decades (the other two being, coincidentally, Michael Jackson and Madonna).
On August 27, 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded Weird Al with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also popped up in a host of movies, shorts, and TV series, either as himself or other characters, and might be best known for indie comedy movie ‘UHF’, which was released in 1989.
The Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
The new movie, which was spurred by Yankovic’s decision to chronicle his “depraved and scandalous” life (we’re still trying to figure out if he’s joking on that front) will chart his days spoofing the likes of the Madonna and Michael Jackson. He wrote the script alongside director Eric Appel, who has worked on projects such as ‘Silicon Valley’ and various Funny Or Die shorts (the comedy company is producing the movie alongside Tango).
Radcliffe certainly looked the part in the initial imagery, and the teaser showed him doing a fair approximation of Yankovic’s trademark voice and singing style. Plus, he’s clearly been learning his way around an accordion. And it certainly does its job, making you want to see more from the movie, which also features Rainn Wilson, Julianne Nicholson, Quinta Brunson and Toby Huss among its cast.
One of the highlights, though, would seem to be Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna, who ends up leading our hero astray in a torrid affair that sets him on a path to drugs and drink. Again, a lot of this is aiming to spoof the usual talent biopic.
But it also looks like a lot of fun, with a fully committed performance by its star and more accordion moments than anyone truly asked for. But it’s Weird Al, so that comes with the territory.
‘Weird’ will premiere as part of the Midnight Madness strand at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival before becoming available on the Roku Channel from November 4th.
Daniel Radcliffe is “Weird” Al Yankovic in the Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
mkB13ggnGjPAXiItKmXXH
On the heels of the first teaser for Andrew Dominik’s new movie, ‘Blonde’ comes the first full trailer. Though it really is just an extension of that initial look, probing a little deeper into the world of Marilyn Monroe.
Adapting Joyce Carol Oates’ novel, this is described as a “reimagining” of Norma Jean’s/Marilyn’s life. So don’t expect gospel truth, but then truth was never always at the forefront of Marilyn’s story. At least for the public. “Watched by all, seen by none” runs the telling tagline on the trailer.
From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, ‘Blonde’ blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves. Norma Jean is here brought to life by ‘Knives Out’ and ‘No Time to Die’ rising star Ana de Armas.
Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane Mortensen / Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s ‘Blonde.’
“Andrew’s ambitions were very clear from the start — to present a version of Marilyn Monroe’s life through her lens,” says de Armas. “He wanted the world to experience what it actually felt like to not only be Marilyn, but also Norma Jeane. I found that to be the most daring, unapologetic, and feminist take on her story that I had ever seen.”
“The film moves along with her feelings and her experiences,” de Armas adds. “There are moments when we are inside of her body and mind, and this will give the audience an opportunity to experience what it was like to be Norma and Marilyn at the same time.”
(L to R) Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller and Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane Mortensen / Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s ‘Blonde.’
This take on her experiences gave Dominik real scope to explore the private life of an icon. “She’s deeply traumatized, and that trauma necessitates a split between a public self and a private self, which is the story of everyone, but with a famous person, that often plays out publicly, in ways that may cause additional trauma,” he says. “The film’s very much concerned with the relationship with herself and with this other persona, Marilyn, which is both her armor and the thing that is threatening to consume her.”
Dominik has had to wrangle with plenty of opinions on the film and its subject as he’s pushed the passion project through production. Controversy arose over the film’s NC-17 rating and its gritty depiction of sex and addiction, which were part of Norma Jean’s life.
“I seem to get myself in these situations where people regard me as provocative, but it’s never what I’m trying to do,” the director argues. “I’m just trying to say it as clearly as I can. My ambition is to make you fall in love with Marilyn.”
‘Blonde’ will arrive on Netflix on September 23rd.
(L to R) Writer and director Andrew Dominik, Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio, and Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane Mortensen / Marilyn Monroe on the set of Netflix’s ‘Blonde.’(L to R) Bobby Cannavale as Joe DiMaggio and Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane Mortensen / Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s ‘Blonde.’Ana de Armas as Norma Jeane Mortensen / Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s ‘Blonde.’
pvmayTxvyC4TLuYUOg4T75
Daniel Radcliffe as ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic in The Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story.’
‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ has been rolling (and rocking… well… folking?) through the usual stages of movie promotion.
We’ve had the first look image of star Daniel Radcliffe in costume (and big curly wig) as “Weird Al” himself. That was quickly followed by a glimpse of Evan Rachel Wood, looking every inch the Madonna of the 1980s.
Now we’ve reached the point of the teaser trailer, which features concert footage of Radcliffe-as-Al on stage performing his Madonna-parodying hit ‘Like a Surgeon’ before flashing through other moments (a lot of Hawaiian shirts, as is fitting for Yankovic’s look), and a ripped, shirtless Radcliffe on stage swigging from a bottle.
There are also mentions of his many music awards and, for some reason, a fight scene. Can’t wait to see what that is all about.
There’s certainly a lot of material to draw from in the musician’s life to date: “Weird Al” Yankovic has enjoyed quite the career as the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time.
A five-time Grammy winner, his 2014 release ‘Mandatory’ Fun was the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200. He is one of only three artists to have had their own top 40 hits in each of the last four decades (the other two being, coincidentally, Michael Jackson and Madonna).
F7NlndKj
On August 27, 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded Weird Al with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also popped up in a host of movies, shorts, and TV series, either as himself or other characters, and might be best known for indie comedy movie ‘UHF’, which was released in 1989.
The new movie, which was spurred by Yankovic’s decision to chronicle his “depraved and scandalous” life (we’re still trying to figure out if he’s joking on that front) will chart his days spoofing the likes of the Madonna and Michael Jackson. He wrote the script alongside director Eric Appel, who has worked on projects such as ‘Silicon Valley’ and various Funny Or Die shorts (the comedy company is producing the movie alongside Tango).
Radcliffe certainly looked the part in the initial imagery, and the teaser shows him doing a fair approximation of Yankovic’s trademark voice and singing style. Plus, he’s clearly been learning his way around an accordion. And it certainly does its job, making you want to see more from the movie, which also features Rainn Wilson, Julianne Nicholson, and Toby Huss among its cast.
This movie will arrive via The Roku Channel, which recently hosted a “NewFront” presentation (essentially showing off the various shows, including a second season of Kevin Hart’s ‘Die Hart’, one of the series it acquired from the defunct Quibi, in order to attract advertising dollars.)
What we don’t yet know about the movie is exactly when it’ll premiere on Roku – a mention of fall at the end of the teaser is all we have to go on for now.
Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna in the Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
mkB13ggnGjPAXiItKmXXH
Emmy Rossum in Peacock’s ‘Angelyne.’ Photo: Isabella Vosmikova/Peacock.
Before the days when you could be Insta-famous (or celebrity sex tapes kickstarted/threatened careers), there was Angelyne.
A buxom blonde who appeared on billboards across Los Angeles in seductive poses with no other information save her striking name, she was seeking fame and fortune, and quickly became a viral sensation before there was even really a term for it. But what about the story behind the sensation?
That’s what new Peacock limited series ‘Angelyne’ is setting out to answer, and the show has a first trailer online.
Emmy Rossum stars as the title character, who was born in 1950 in Poland with the slightly less marketable name Ronia Tamar Goldberg. In 1978, she joined her then-boyfriend’s punk rock band Baby Blue, which performed in clubs around Los Angeles but never became financially successful. In 1982 she released her self-titled debut album, and her first posters began appearing as a part of the album’s promotion.
After the launch of a massive billboard campaign in February 1984, she began working on her second album. ‘Driven to Fantasy’ was released in 1986. Angelyne then appeared in small parts in films such as ‘Earth Girls Are Easy’, ‘Dangerous Love’ and ‘Homer and Eddie’. Requests for magazine interviews flooded in, and she was the focus of local news attention for a while.
Her trademark style item was her pink corvette, in which she could be seen driving the streets.
In later life, Angelyne was a candidate in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, finishing 29th in a field of 135 candidates (garnering 2,536 votes). Her slogan during the campaign was “We’ve had Gray, we’ve had Brown, now it’s time for some blond and pink.” Such was the mystery she built around her real personality that her name and family details didn’t come out until 2017.
The new limited series is a mockumentary style affair, with those either around Angelyne or influenced by her telling their side of the story, with overlapping and conflicting accounts.
‘Angelyne’ seeks to peek behind the billboards, but don’t go thinking that this is a documentary-level truthful dig into what happened with her. In an official statement, showrunner Allison Miller made it clear that the series isn’t supposed to be the “real” story of the 80s superstar. Rather, the idea of the show is to examine a person’s determination to follow their dreams, no matter what the cost. The show will also showcase celebrity in decades past and how the news and stories moved at a different pace back then.
George Clinton at the 2016 EXIT Festival. Photo Credit: YouTube.
Eddie Murphy scored a major success – and, in our opinion, was robbed of a worthy Oscar nomination – for playing a real-life person in Netflix’s ‘Dolemite is My Name’. He’s looking to re-enter the biopic world with a new movie, one about musical legend George Clinton.
Clinton is widely considered to be the Godfather of Funk, rivaling James Brown and Sly Stone as the foremost innovators in that musical genre. The film will tell the story of the iconic musician’s humble beginnings in North Carolina in the 1940s to the formation of groundbreaking bands and ultimately to becoming a major influence on artists of the hip-hop generation including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Outkast and Wu-Tang Clan, among many others.
In case the name is unfamiliar, his band Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American funk music collective of rotating musicians headed by Clinton, primarily consisting of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive funk style drew on psychedelic culture, outlandish fashion, science-fiction, and surreal humor; and, along with their influential status, helped pioneer Afrofuturism.
Murphy, according to Deadline, is passionate about this idea, so expect it to move quickly.
Eddie Murphy in ‘Mr. Church.’
Still, it’s very early days for this one; Murphy is aboard to both star and produce alongside with John Davis and Catherine Davis, who will work through their Davis Entertainment banner. The trio is busy making a deal with Clinton, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, for his life and musical rights.
Once that happens, they’ll look for writers who can bring his fascinating story to life – and we figure their best bet might be biopic experts Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who worked so well with Murphy on ‘Dolemite’ -but you never know who might get the gig.
When those pesky details are in place, the team can start to shop the project around various studios and streamers, and there’s a chance that it could land at Amazon, where Murphy has a deal following the success of ‘Coming 2 America.’ Yet ‘Dolemite’ – which also had the Davis Entertainment duo as producers, was made for Netflix, so don’t count out their big rivals.
As an actor, Murphy has Kenya Barris comedy ‘You People’ – in which he stars opposite Jonah Hill – making its way through post-production at Netflix and keeps talking up the idea of returning to the role of Axel Foley for a fourth ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ movie.
Music biopics are a popular subject right now, with Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ due in theaters on June 24, ‘Once’ director John Carney just attached to the long-gestating Bee Gees film and Naomi Ackie playing Whitney Houston in ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’, which is set for release on December 21st.
Eddie Murphy at the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special.
Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna in the Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
Already shaping up to be one of the more fun movies on the way, ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ set its stall out early, casting former ‘Harry Potter’ star Daniel Radcliffe as the mop-topped musician best known for his parody songs.
“Weird Al” Yankovic has enjoyed quite the career is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time. A five-time Grammy winner, his 2014 release ‘Mandatory’ Fun was the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200. He is one of only three artists to have had their own top 40 hits in each of the last four decades (the other two being, coincidentally, Michael Jackson and Madonna).
On August 27, 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded Weird Al with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also popped up in a host of movies, shorts, and TV series, either as himself or other characters, and might be best known for indie comedy movie ‘UHF’, which was released in 1989.
The new movie, which was spurred by Yankovic’s decision to chronicle his “depraved and scandalous” life (Radcliffe’s words, not ours), will chart his days spoofing the likes of the Material Girl and the King of Pop. He wrote the script alongside director Eric Appel, who has worked on projects such as ‘Silicon Valley’ and various Funny Or Die shorts (the comedy company is producing the movie alongside Tango).
Wood here plays Madonna, and we’ve got to admit she’s a good fit for the music icon, seen here in her “Like A Virgin” career stage. She gave permission for Yankovic to parody that early song, and the result was medically themed comedy record “Like A Surgeon.”
Daniel Radcliffe as ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic in The Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story.’
Wood, an actor, writer, and director, is famous for the likes of ‘Thirteen’ ‘The Wrestler’ and ‘Across The Universe’, and on TV screens as revolution-minded artificial lifeform Dolores on ‘Westworld.’
As for Wilson, he’s taking on the role of Dr. Demento, the famed music DJ and champion of novelty records. Real name Barret Eugene “Barry” Hansen, Demento rose to cult status as a broadcaster who loved the crazier side of music, and he was hugely responsible for bringing Yankovic’s talents to a much wider audience.
The actor might still be best known for TV sitcom ‘The Office’, though he’s been seen in movies including ‘The Meg’ and ‘The Rocker’.
Nicholson and Huss are aboard to be Yankovic’s parents, Mary and Nick. Will they be supportive? Or shake their heads at their son’s musical ambitions? We’ll have to wait and see. Also unknown? Who else we can expect to show up in this one…
The movie is now shooting in Los Angeles, and the result will debut exclusively on the Roku channel on a yet-to-be-announced date.
On the heels of the latest casting news comes a first look at the movie – or at least the man playing the title character – Cillian Murphy is seen here sporting a hat and cigarette as Robert Oppenheimer, one of the scientists behind the bomb.
Nolan here is adapting the Pulitzer Prize-winning book ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’ by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. It chronicles how he was part of the infamous Manhattan Project and played a key role in the creation of atomic weapons, yet later came to have complicated feelings about their deadly power. He lobbied for international control of nuclear power and opposed the creation of the even more destructive hydrogen bomb.
Emily Blunt is playing his wife, biologist, and botanist Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, with Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves Jr., director of the Manhattan Project and Robert Downey, Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Florence Pugh will portray psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, who turns out to have a hidden agenda, while Benny Safdie plays theoretical physicist Edward Teller. Michael Angarano is physicist Robert Serber and Josh Hartnett plays pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.
Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in ‘Death on the Nile.’ Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
We also don’t know who Branagh will be playing, but this marks his third time working with the director, after ‘Dunkirk’ and ‘Tenet’. Still, the award for Most Frequent Collaborator surely goes to Murphy, who appears in ‘Batman Begins’, ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Inception’ and ‘Dunkirk’.
‘Oppenheimer’ sees Nolan tackling a historical subject again, and one that surely offers the opportunity for plenty of his terse dialogue and large-canvas visions. It won’t surprise you to learn that it’ll be shot and released on 65mm IMAX and large-format film. Providing the beautiful footage is another repeat Nolan colleague, director of photography Hoyte Van Hoytema, while composer Ludwig Göransson returns after scoring ‘Tenet’. A pulse-pounding thriller with high stakes certainly feels like it could work well for Nolan.
For the first time in several movies, this won’t be released by Warner Bros. Following the less-than gigantic (partly because of its slot during the pandemic) box office for ‘Tenet’, Nolan and producing partner Emma Thomas opened this one up to rival studios, with Universal winning the rights to distribute, handing down a July 21, 2023 theatrical release date.
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis.’ Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.
It’s been nine years since writer/director Baz Lurhmann had a film in theaters. Not to say he’s been sitting around doing nothing; he oversaw Netflix series ‘The Get Down’ and worked on several commercials. It’s good to see, though, that he’s headed back to the big screen with ‘Elvis’, which has its first full trailer out in the world.
As you might predict from the title, the film charts the life of the musical icon, who burst on to the scene in the 1950s and became one of the most famous people in the world.
Austin Butler, who has appeared in movies such as ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, here plays Elvis Presley, and the film explores his life and music seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).
Elvis is not the only iconic musician to show up here, either, as in his life and career, he crossed paths with a swathe of others. Singer/songwriter Yola plays Sister Rosetta Tharpe, model Alton Mason takes on the role of Little Richard, while Gary Clark Jr. is Arthur Crudup, and artist Shonka Dukureh plays Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton. Luhrmann wrote the movie with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner.
Elvis Presley is a tricky subject to bring to life; he’s one of the most recognizable people in the world, even to an audience that didn’t grow up listening to his music, and his story has a tragic ending. There are also all the political and world-changing events to encompass while finding a way into the complex relationship between Parker and his star client. Of course, it helps to have Tom Hanks in the cast, and he’s throwing his all into the role.
Luhrmann’s film has taken longer than anticipated to arrive, partly because of the huge undertaking, but also because it was one of the movies seriously affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, forced to shut down when Hanks and others contracted the virus.
It’ll finally head to theaters on June 24.
If you want to know more about the movie, Luhrmann and his leading man participated in a video Q&A on twitter to help launch the trailer, and you can find that below.
Opening in theaters and on digital beginning February 18th is the new biopic ‘Ted K,’ which is based on the life of Ted Kaczynksi, better known as The Unabomber.
Directed by documentary filmmaker Tony Stone (‘Peter and the Farm’), the movie stars ‘District 9’ actor Sharlto Copley as the title character, while the film explores Kaczynksi’s life leading up to his time as The Unabomber.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with both Sharlto Copley and Tony Stone about their work on ‘Ted K.’ The actor and filmmaker discussed the new movie, why they wanted to make a film about Kaczynksi, Sharlto’s approach to the role, and the movie’s use of Alice in Chains’ “Rooster.”
7VXTklNf
You can read the full transcript of our interview below, or watch a video of the interviews in the player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, Tony, what fascinated you about the life of Ted Kaczynksi and what did you want to say about him with this movie?
Tony Stone: I just was always fascinated with the tale of the Unabomber since I was in high school. He was arrested, covered in dirt and was living with no running water or electricity. The fact that he had this bombing campaign that paralyzed the country and shut down airports. He was able to pull this off with basically a letter-writing campaign.
After 9/11, I was just interested in him a little more, just looking at American terrorism and what an American terrorist is. But also, the complexities of Ted, that he was, in a way, a serial killer, but he was a serial killer with a belief system and killed out of that.
So, the more I dived into the story, the more complicated it got. The Manifesto that he wrote has become way more relevant than it was when he had written it. So, I just wanted to get into his mind, tell the story, and also let the audience decide how they feel about him.
So, I didn’t want it to be a morality tale that a lot of films these days can be. I just wanted to leave it open for interpretation, and how you feel about him. There are moments you’re with him, moments you can’t believe the way he is acting and then realize, these violent actions, how heinous they are.
So, I just wanted to create this spectrum of the person, but also just humanity in general, where we are saturated by simplistic vilification narratives. I really just wanted to show some of the complexities of the human condition, in a way.
MF: Sharlto, can you talk about your preparation for this role, and what did you learn about Kaczynksi that you did not previously know?
Sharlto Copley: I knew very little about him. I grew up in South Africa and it was on the news there. But when the project came around, I thought this is just another serial killer. I don’t want to do it. But then I looked him up. I read the Manifesto. That changed my mind, completely. So, whatever was in the press about him, now I was looking retrospectively. What had been written about him, this mad man that was put in jail. I was like, wait. That doesn’t quite add up. This is intriguing.
The man was incredibly self-aware. He was brutally honest about himself, about the people around him, and had a genius IQ. So, it became something that was very interesting to me. There’s only one recording of him speaking from jail. When I looked at some of the other adaptations and actors that had played him, I was like, nobody’s done his voice. Nobody’s done his energy level. This is not the creepy weird guy that you wouldn’t be able to talk to. When you listen to him in jail, it’s like, I could talk to this guy.
So, that was some of the background. Then, getting into it, it was really just seeing that there was a real human being there. He’s like a shrink on himself in his diaries. You see his loneliness, you see his desperation for female company, his frustration of what technology’s doing and how it’s making people so miserable.
When you look at our suicide rate today, people are seriously miserable. Our suicide rate is monstrously higher than the number of people that died in war and violent crimes combined. It’s higher now, in terms of people killing themselves, which is staggering to me. So, it became a very interesting tale.
Sharlto Copley as Ted Kaczynksi in ‘Ted K’
MF: I want to ask both of you if you had any concerns at all that perhaps you were making Ted Kaczynksi too sympathetic a character in this film?
SC: There was no concern about that for me, because my job is to just portray him as much of a human being as I can. I see that as the function of the acting. With a producer hat, I feel quite strongly as an anti-violence person in my own in life, but I feel like there’s an enormous amount of hypocrisy in our society.
I think if we were talking about like, “Don’t glorify this villain.” I’m like, “Well, look at every single television show and movie that we are making.” We are unquestionably glorifying violence. Whether or not that is affecting kids or not, we can have that debate. That’s a three-hour conversation. But to say, of all the violent roles that I’ve played, I was the most comfortable with this one because it was at least honest.
It was at least looking at, why do people do this? We are a violent animals, the males of the species in particular. From my father’s generation, back, in my view, there was at least a 50% chance that if you were male, you were killing or defending with your life. That was normal male existence for thousands of years.
Really, it’s only since the World War II that we’re going, “Violence? We don’t do that.” It’s like, no, no. We do!” It’s deep in our genetics. We’re already seeing it in our societies now. It’s bubbling just under the surface. So, at least we’re dealing with violence in a way that is like, let’s get under the hood in a little bit more of an honest way. It’s like, look at every movie that’s made. ‘Game of Thrones’ is the biggest show in the world, and you’re complaining about humans being so tribal and violent. You don’t see any connection?
TS: We did approach the film from the documentary perspective. So, I just felt, doing all the research, understanding Ted, as well as you could, that we just would strike a balance. I don’t think anybody goes to see this film and wants to repeat what he’s done. It’s in the traditional anti-hero characters in cinema, and cinema is this escapist media. That’s why I like it.
So, I think it was just to create an experience of what this villain is like and add some humanity to it. So, there’s humanity. There’re moments of empathy, of course. It’s like as if you were Ted Kaczynski’s family member and you were watching this film. You’d have disappointments in his actions, but also understand that this person is a human being.
MF: Tony, there is a pivotal moment in the movie when you use for the music, Alice in Chains’ “Rooster.” I thought it was a perfect marriage of that song and that particular moment in the film. Can you talk about choosing that song for that scene?
TS: Glad you asked. Thank you. That almost happened by accident. That was not pre-planned. It just aligned, so well. It comes in a moment where Ted has reached his high point, and he’s paralyzed the nation with his mail bombing campaign. Then, obviously, it’s so specific to the period.
Weirdly, the lyrics align with Ted Kaczynski at that moment. I think there’s absurdism to it, too. But also, really putting you in the time and place. Obviously, it’s a song that Ted Kaczynski would’ve despised. He was obviously more Baroque focused, which we use a lot of in the film.
Sharlto Copley as Ted Kaczynksi in ‘Ted K’
MF: Sharlto, was it difficult for you as an actor to get Ted Kaczynksi out of your head when you were done making the movie?
SC: No. What was difficult was to live that experience and see how right he was about what’s happened to society. So, when I come back, and I look at my phone, and just look at my screen time every week, every day, or whatever, it haunts me. The experience of living and spending the time we did, because we went back for all the seasons.
So, we spent a lot of time out there, lived in that environment, and filmed on his actual land. So, that’s been difficult to shake, the idea that we really are in a tough spot as a society. It’s like, what do I do? I can’t do anything. I’m just a domesticated cow. Just in the system. That bugs me, for sure.
MF: Finally, Tony, what do you hope audiences take away from this movie about the life of Ted Kaczynksi?
TS: I don’t know if I can answer that. That’s where I want to let the film speak for itself, and people to come to their own conclusions. So, we leave the film as an open book for the audience members to feel what they want and connect with some of the ideas, or not. I just wanted to leave it open ended for them to interpret.
Tom Harper, who last made ‘The Aeronauts’ for Amazon, is in the director’s chair for the espionage thriller, which is filming now. The script comes from ‘The Old Guard’s Greg Rucker and Allison Schroeder, who wrote films including ‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘Frozen II’.
Fittingly, given that it’s a spy movie, the plot hasn’t been announced, so feel free to guess what happens or how something called heart of stone factors in. Could they mean a jewel? Some lethal item that people are searching for? Perhaps Gadot’s character is a steely agent with little time for feelings.
Whatever it turns out to be, the movie is looking to be a female-led take on films such as ‘Mission: Impossible’, which could be fun.
Gadot needs little introduction thanks to her role as the DC superhero, but she’s also been widely seen recently in Netflix‘s ‘Red Notice’, which has two sequels already in the works.
Dornan has long since shrugged off the, er, chains of the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ franchise and has been working steadily on a variety of movies and TV shows.
In addition to Kenneth Branagh’s awards-buzzed coming-of-age story, he’s been seen in ‘Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar’ and as a voice in ‘Trolls World Tour’. He’ll next be seen on TV screens in upcoming drama ‘The Tourist’, arriving on HBO Max on March 3rd.
Gal Gadot in ‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’
Groucho, of course, was the leading light of iconic comedy trio the Marx Brothers, who brought their trademark blend of zingers and slapstick to stages and screens between 1905 and 1949. They made some classic comedy movies, including ‘Duck Soup’ and ‘A Night at the Opera’.
‘Raised Eyebrows’, though, won’t chronicle that heyday. Instead, it’s set between 1973-1977 and follows Steve (Plummer) as he enters Groucho Marx’s house for his dream job of working for the aging, frail comedian, under the watchful eye of Erin Fleming (Miller), who had taken over the Marx brother’s personal and professional life.
Marx and Fleming had a controversial relationship in his twilight years, and she was his devoted girlfriend-turned-manager. The power struggles result in a comedy of horrors in which obsession, love, celebrity, mental illness, family, and Hollywood are taken to task and brought to a boil in an anarchic way that could only be described as “Grouchian.”
Oren Moverman, who has made movies including ‘The Messenger’ and HBO’s ‘Bad Education’ will direct from a script he co-wrote with Steve Stoliar, whose memoir ‘Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House’ is the basis for the film.
“It’s a pleasure and an honor and a responsibility and probably something else to work with this amazing cast on a story I hope will reintroduce the genius of Groucho Marx in a new, provocative, entertaining way all these years later,” Moverman tells Deadline. “Steve Stoliar has given the world incredible insight into a bygone era. Done right, we will screw it up royally.”
Rush, of course, is no stranger to playing real people – he won an Oscar for his role as troubled, genius pianist David Helfgott in 1996’s ‘Shine’ and was nominated as Best Supporting actor for 2010’s ‘The King’s Speech’. With luck, he could be back on nomination lists for Groucho.
Geoffrey Rush in 1996’s ‘Shine’
jufmDxuCp9RPvVkB7h7507
