Deon Cole hosts the 57th NAACP Image Awards on February 28th. Photo: Paramount+.
Preview:
‘Sinners’ took home the big prizes at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards.
‘Paradise’ and Cynthia Erivo were also among the winners.
The event took place Saturday night at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Following the difficult, insulting moments of this year’s BAFTA Awards, the NAACP Image Awards, hosted by Deon Cole, which took place Saturday night at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, were a chance to balance things out.
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And Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ proved to be the big winner, going home with 13 awards following a nomination count of 18. Star Michael B. Jordan himself won both a Best Actor award and was honored with Entertainer of the Year.
The ceremony also paid tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, with NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson honoring the late civil rights activist, whose family was in attendance at the ceremony.
Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry are ending editing work on their movie ‘Golden.’
Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey and Da’Vine Joy Randolph were among the stars.
The film is unlikely to ever see the light of day.
It’s a hard, old truth in Hollywood and beyond that movies can hit roadblocks at any stage in the process. Some are lost forever in the deep wells of development hell. Others reach production, but money issues curtail shooting, or problems arise.
And then there are the unusual stories of movies that make it all the way through the shoot, only to fall apart at the final hurdle.
In the last couple of years, we’ve seen the frustrating behavior of Warner Bros., overseen by money-grubbing CEO David Zaslav, who has decreed that movies he and his accountants aren’t sure will be financially viable should be locked away or deleted forever, the studio instead taking a tax hit: ‘Batgirl’ and ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’ are the two that we know about.
But ‘Golden,’ the movie formerly known as ‘Atlantis,’ a collaboration between musician Pharrell Williams and visual stylist/filmmaker Michel Gondry, is a different case altogether.
According to Variety, they’ve been editing the new movie, and have decided it simply doesn’t work. And that’s despite Universal assigning a release date for May.
‘Golden’ came about following Universal’s collaboration with Pharrell on ‘Piece by Piece.’ Distributed by the company’s Focus Features arm, the unusual biopic told his life story through the medium of LEGO animation.
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‘Piece by Piece’ was not exactly a success for the company –– it actually lost money, taking in $10 million worldwide on a $16 million budget –– but given the musician’s long connection to the studio (he’s provided hit music for the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise among others), it was seemingly happy to keep working with him.
Described as a musical expedition set in the summer of 1977 in Virginia Beach, it was to have told more of a coming-of-age story than anything directly influenced by Williams’ story (aside from the setting).
Here’s what he told Empire about the movie and how it differs from his previous project:
“ ‘Piece By Piece’ is about my life, whereas ‘Golden’ is about a neighborhood that I grew up in. It’s a coming-of-age story about self-discovery and pursuing your dreams, but it’s so much more magical than that. It’s a celebration of Black life, Black culture, and most importantly, Black joy.”
And while it was originally named ‘Atlantis’ after the building from Williams’ early life, he also explained the title change:
“It just speaks to the narrative, the area, the energy and literally everything about the film, which is this analysis of what being ‘golden’ is. Children and grown-ups with inner children within them can connect to it and realise that there’s a golden aspect to them too, whether it’s realised or latent.”
Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams serves as music consultant for the 84th Academy Awards, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer. Credit/Provider: Jam Sutton.
Unfortunately for those anticipating the new movie, it has now been shut down after unanimous agreement from producers and Gondry that the film did not live up to its developed conceit.
Gil Netter (‘The Blind Side’) was serving as producer alongside Williams and his creative partner Mimi Valdes.
Here’s what the main duo told Variety about the decision to halt work:
“When all of us got into the editing room we collectively decided there wasn’t a path forward to tell the version of this story that we originally envisioned. We appreciate all the hard work of the talented cast and crew. While we’re disappointed we can’t deliver this film, we have incredible partners at Universal and will collaborate in a different capacity again soon.”
And in case you’re wondering whether it’ll find release in some other venue, the disappointing news is that it’ll apparently never see the light of day. So your visions of Gondry and Williams somehow whipping up a hand puppet version of the story are unlikely to come to fruition.
What else are Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry working on?
Kerry Washington in ‘The Six Triple Eight’. Photo: Netflix.
It’s not the pair doesn’t have plenty of other projects to keep them busy.
Pharrell is currently serving as the men’s creative director at fashion house Louis Vuitton.
His next project is the animated ‘Maya, Give Me A Title,’ about his relationship with his daughter. It will screen at this month’s Berlin Film Festival.
Bill Hader on ‘Barry.’ Photograph by Merrick Morton/HBO.
Preview:
Bill Hader is leading the voices in a new ‘Cat in the Hat’ movie.
Quinta Brunson and Matt Berry are almost among the cast.
The movie is due in theaters in March 2026.
Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Cat in the Hat’ has something of a checkered history in movies. While the 1957 book has been successfully adapted in animated form for TV, the last time it was seen in theaters was the disastrous 2003 live-action version starring Mike Myers as the title character.
That is probably best forgotten, but Warner Bros. Animation and the Seuss Enterprises company are hoping to change the feline’s filmic reputation via a new animated movie, which has Bill Hader leading the cast as the Cat.
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What’s the story of ‘The Cat in the Hat’?
2003’s ‘The Cat in the Hat.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Seuss’ tome sees two kids who are left home alone by their mother who are surprised to have The Cat barge into their house. Far from screaming about Stranger Danger, they agree to his playful schemes, only for the family fish to put up a fight and order him to leave.
But The Cat still has plenty of fun, including unleashing two identical “Things” upon the house and chaos ensues –– but once ordered to leave, he returns with a machine to clean the place up.
Is this the first attempt at a new ‘The Cat in the Hat’ movie?
2003’s ‘The Cat in the Hat.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
This is not the first time an animated movie based on the Cat’s chaos was considered. In 2012, following the financial success of ‘The Lorax’, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment announced plans to produce a CGI adaptation. Rob Lieber was set to write the script, but it never came to fruition.
Warner Bros. picked up the rights to produce a ‘Cat’ animated adventure, and Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja are writing and directing the movie. Jeff Sneider at The InSneider first reported the news of Hader’s casting.
Here’s what Bill Damaschke, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation said about the new plan:
“We are overjoyed to partner with our friends at Dr. Seuss to take audiences of all ages on an adventure into the beloved world of ‘The Cat in the Hat.’ With this incredible voice cast led by Bill Hader as the fun-loving, agent of chaos himself and our filmmakers Alessandro and Erica at the helm, we look forward to sharing this Seussian cinematic spectacle with audiences everywhere in 2026.”
When will the new ‘The Cat in the Hat’ movie arrive in theaters?
The movie will be released on March 6th, 2026.
Mike Myer’s in 2003’s ‘The Cat in the Hat.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
More in line with parodies of the genre such as ‘Walk Hard’, ‘Weird’ takes the concept of the music star biopic and absolutely goes for broke in a style that recalls the ‘Naked Gun’ movies or the ‘Airplane!’ films of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrams and David Zucker’s time.
Yankovic, let’s not forget, made cameos in all three ‘Naked Gun’ films.
Directed by Eric Appel, a veteran of the ‘Funny or Die’ site (and loosely based on short online trailer version hosted there, which stars ‘Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as Yankovic), the film, co-written by Yankovic and Appel, chronicles a large swathe of Yankovic’s early life and career.
Except, this is a far from factual account, which seems fitting for a man who has made a career out of funny parody songs, big hair and a talent for the accordion.
His successful career – he’s the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time, with five Grammys under his belt, a 2014 release in ‘Mandatory Fun’ that became the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 and being one of only three artists to have had their own top 40 hits in each of the last four decades – is certainly material for a solid movie. But it’s much more entertaining that the musician and Appel have liberally invented milestones in his life.
Daniel Radcliffe as ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic in The Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story.’
After an in media res opening with Yankovic being rushed into surgery, we’re introduced to young “Alfie” as a kid (played by Richard Aaron Anderson) who lives with his sensitive, understanding mother Mary (Julianne Nicholson) and his no-nonsense, god-fearing father Nick (Toby Huss), who expounds on his work at a local factory and how if Al would only agree to let him “put a word in”, the job would make a man out of him. Never mind that it has a higher fatality rate than ‘Spinal Tap’s drummers.
Fate intervenes when a door-to-door accordion salesman (Thomas Lennon) stops by, and while he’s roundly assaulted by Nick for tempting the young Yankovic with the “demonic” instrument, Al’s mother quietly buys it for him in secret.
That leads to a brief, even funnier section in which teenage Al (David Bloom) is introduced to the concept of polka parties where his skills make him a big hit – at least until the police raid the home of one of his friends.
Soon, we’re catching up with college-age Al (now Daniel Radcliffe, who commits completely to the role, even if he doesn’t totally nail Yankovic’s voice), who in a memorable sequence, invents his first big parody song with ‘My Bologna’ after hearing The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’ on the radio while making sandwiches for his encouraging roommates.
Making fun of movies such as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, where famous songs are generated seemingly out of nowhere for dramatic effect, the tone here is purely one of fun.
(L to R) Quinta Brunson as Oprah Winfrey, and Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird Al” Yankovic in The Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
With an assist from radio DJ Dr. Demento (Rainn Wilson) and a performance at a punk club that goes surprisingly well, Al is on his way, even if he has yet to impress snobby music executives (played amusingly by Will Forte and the real Yankovic, who has a blast demeaning and critiquing his avatar).
Things snowball from there, with Yankovic becoming hugely famous, attracting the attention of Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood), who becomes his tempestuous lover and Pablo Escobar (Arturo Castro), his biggest fan – who will later cause problems for him.
It’s a wild and wooly ride, going for broke at every moment and squeezing as much humor as possible out of Yankovic’s life with a hilariously fake history. Yet somehow, if often comes across as less preposterous as some real-life biopics.
Radcliffe, who in his post-‘Harry Potter’ career has proved one of the most game and adaptable young actors, here shows comedy chops, slapping on a curly wig and fake Moustache to bring Al to life (with a little help from the real-life version when it comes to the songs).
He’s vanity-free, nimble and funny, and matched in the leading stakes by Wood, who brings ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’-era Madonna to life with verve and an endless supply of chewing gum.
Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna in the Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
The result, like the ‘My Bologna’ scene, is the spontaneous birth of ‘Another One Rides the Bus’, sending Deacon off embarrassed.
‘Weird’s entertainment value dips a little towards the end, where the tone becomes ever zanier and the joke can’t quite sustain a full-length film, but before that happens, it has easily earned its place among great spoofs.
Yankovic’s descent into the typical drink, drugs and sex scene of some hard partying rockers is even funnier when you know that in his real life, he’s a clean-living vegetarian whose late parents were incredibly supportive.
This is an artist getting the chance to live out their fantasy of how their career might have turned out, were it not for the fact that they were successful on their own terms and never fell into such clichéd ways.
We’re grateful he found a way to do it, though, as it makes for an even funnier story than some of his songs.
‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ receives 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
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Monday evening was what the ceremony always describes as “television’s biggest night” – when the industry hands out the Emmy Awards to a select few from the hundreds of eligible shows and performers.
The ceremony itself ran relatively smoothly, with ‘Saturday Night Live’ veteran Kenan Thompson hosting, kicking off the evening with a medley of re-imagined classic TV theme tunes. There was the usual stilted banter between presenters (though a few, such as Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ elevated theirs), celebrations of TV genres such as police and medical dramas and the In Memoriam segment.
But what everyone was there for were the awards themselves. And while there were several repeat winners (‘Succession’, ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Hacks’ Jean Smart), there remained room for fresh faces and welcome surprises.
Quinta Brunson’s ‘Abbott Elementary’ took home Best Writing for a Comedy Series, while cast member Sheryl Lee Ralph won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Ralph’s speech in particular, a blend of surprise, joy and encouragement for others, was a highlight of the show.
Quinta Brunson on ABC’s ‘Abbott Elementary.’ Photo Courtesy of ABC’s YouTube Channel.
Mike White’s ‘The White Lotus’ dominated the limited series category (though given that season 2 arrives next month with an almost totally new cast, it more closely fits into the anthology part of its category), winning overall show and both writing and directing for White. Actors Murray Bartlett and Jennifer Coolidge went home with well-deserved trophies.
And ‘Squid Game’ made history for Asian creators and performers, as lead Lee Jung-jae won Best Actor in the drama category, while show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk saw his decade-long effort to get it made rewarded with Best Director, drama.
Though everyone thought ‘Ted Lasso’ might sweep even more than it did given its haul of nominations, it still won plenty of awards, including Brett Goldstein becoming the first back to back winner in the Supporting Actor, comedy category since 2007.
Of those who missed out on awards, there was disappointment for the ‘Better Call Saul’ team, which has its last chance to turn its many nominations into awards next year. Will the power of a great show’s legacy make voters think kindly of it? And when a show as superbly written and performed as ‘Only Murders in the Building’, which balances comedy and mystery adeptly can’t get any love, you’ve got to wonder at the choices.
(L to R) Charles (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Oliver (Martin Short) on Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’. Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.
‘Ted Lasso’ – Winner
‘Abbott Elementary’
‘Barry’
‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
‘Hacks’
‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’
‘Only Murders in the Building’
‘What We Do in the Shadows’
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jean Smart (‘Hacks’) – Winner Rachel Brosnahan (‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’)
Quinta Brunson (‘Abbott Elementary’) Kaley Cuoco (‘The Flight Attendant’) Elle Fanning (‘The Great’) Issa Rae (‘Insecure’)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jason Sudeikis (‘Ted Lasso’) – Winner Donald Glover (‘Atlanta’) Bill Hader (‘Barry’) Nicholas Hoult (‘The Great’)
Steve Martin (‘Only Murders in the Building’)
Martin Short (‘Only Murders in the Building’)
‘Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’ – Winner
‘The Daily Show With Trevor Noah’
‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
‘Late Night With Seth Meyers’
‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’
BEST VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
‘Saturday Night Live’ – Winner
‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’
BEST COMPETITION PROGRAM
‘Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls’ – Winner
‘The Amazing Race’
‘Nailed It!’
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’
‘Top Chef’
‘The Voice’
BEST DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Hwang Dong-hyuk (‘Squid Game’) – Winner
Jason Bateman (‘Ozark’) Ben Stiller (‘Severance’) Mark Mylod (‘Succession’)
Cathy Yan (‘Succession’) Lorene Scafaria (‘Succession’) Karyn Kusama (‘Yellowjackets’)
BEST DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
MJ Delaney (‘Ted Lasso’) – Winner
Hiro Murai (‘Atlanta’)
Bill Hader (‘Barry’)
Lucia Aniello (‘Hacks’)
Mary Lou Belli (‘The Ms. Pat Show’) Jamie Babbit (‘Only Murders in the Building’) Cherien Dabis (‘Only Murders in the Building’)
BEST WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Quinta Brunson (‘Abbott Elementary’) – Winner
Duffy Boudreau (‘Barry’) Alec Berg, Bill Hader (‘Barry’)
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky (‘Hacks’)
Steve Martin, John Hoffman (‘Only Murders in the Building’) Jane Becker (‘Ted Lasso’)
Sarah Naftalis (‘What We Do in the Shadows’)
Stefani Robinson (‘What We Do in the Shadows’)
BEST WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Jesse Armstrong (‘Succession’) – Winner Thomas Schnauz (‘Better Call Saul’) Chris Mundy (‘Ozark’) Dan Erickson (‘Severance’)
Hwang Dong-hyuk (‘Squid Game’)
Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson (‘’Yellowjackets)
Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson (‘Yellowjackets’)
BEST WRITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Mike White (‘The White Lotus’) – Winner
Danny Strong (‘Dopesick’) Elizabeth Meriwether (‘The Dropout’)
Sarah Burgess (‘Impeachment: American Crime Story’)
Molly Smith Metzler (‘Maid’)
Patrick Somerville (‘Station Eleven’)
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.’
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Quinta Brunson on ABC’s ‘Abbott Elementary.’ Photo Courtesy of ABC’s YouTube Channel.
On August 20th, the African American Film Critics Association held their 4th Annual AAFCA TV Honors at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles.
It was previously announced that ‘Abbott Elementary’ would win for Best TV Comedy, and the show’s creator and star, Quinta Brunson also won for Breakout Star. Netflix’s ‘Ozark’ took home Best TV Drama, while Peacock’s ‘Bel-Air’ won for Best New Show.
HBO’s ‘Black and Missing’ took home Best Documentary, and ABC’s ‘Women of the Movement’ won for Best Limited Series/Special, while Apple’s ‘Pachinko’ won for Best International Production.
In the Best Ensemble category there was a tie between Apple’s ‘Swagger’ and HBO’s ‘Winning Time: the rise of the Lakers dynasty.’ Robin Thede won Best Writing for HBO’s ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show,’ and Salli Richardson won Best Directing for ‘The Gilded Age.’
Courtney B. Vance on AMC’s ’61st Street.’ Photo courtesy of AMC’s YouTube Channel.
Best TV Acting, Male went to veteran actor Courtney B. Vance for his work on ’61st Street,’ while Patina Miller won Best TV Acting, Female for her work on ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan,’ HBO’s ‘Insecure’ was also honored with the prestigious Impact Award.
Also, previously announced, the AAFCA gave special achievement honors to Universal Studio Group Chairman Pearlena Igbokwe, who received the Ashley Boone Award. Alex Kurtzman (‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’) received AAFCA’s Ally Award, while AAFCA’s Inclusion Award went to the Warner Bros. Television Group.
The AAFCA was established in 2003 and is the premier body of Black film critics in the world, actively reviewing film and television, with a particular emphasis on entertainment highlighting the Black experience in the US and throughout the rest of the African Diaspora. For more information on AAFCA and its programs please visit the website here.
Wayne Brady and Courtney B. Vance at the 2022 AAFCA TV Honors. Copyright 2022 Sheri Determan.
You can read a full list of the winners below:
2022 AAFCA TV Honors Award Recipients:
Best TV Comedy – ‘Abbott Elementary’ (ABC) Best TV Drama – ‘Ozark’ (Netflix) Best New Show – ‘Bel-Air’ (Peacock) Best Documentary – ‘Black and Missing’ (HBO) Best Limited Series/Special – ‘Women of the Movement’ (ABC) Best International Production – ‘Pachinko’ (Apple TV+) Breakout Star – Quinta Brunson Best Ensemble – ‘Swagger’ (Apple TV+) & ‘Winning Time: the rise of the Lakers dynasty’ (HBO) Best Writing – ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ (HBO) Best TV Directing – Salli Richardson, ‘The Gilded Age’ (HBO) Best TV Acting (Female) – Patina Miller, ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ (Starz) Best TV Acting (Male) – Courtney B. Vance, ’61st Street’ (AMC) Impact Award – ‘Insecure’ (HBO)
Wayne Brady at the 2022 AAFCA TV Honors. Copyright 2022 Sheri Determan.Kim Coles at the 2022 AAFCA TV Honors. Copyright 2022 Sheri Determan.The 2022 AAFCA TV Honors. Copyright 2022 Sheri Determan.
(L to R) Quinta Brunson as Oprah Winfrey, and Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird Al” Yankovic in The Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
The casting reveals continue to arrive for ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’. According to a new picture, ‘Abbott Elementary’ creator, writer and actor Quinta Brunson is aboard the film, playing entertainment icon Oprah Winfrey.
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 Michael Jackson and Madonna, both of whom Al has parodied in his time).
Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna in the Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.’
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.
Oprah certainly has her own story – wrangling her way into a career as a TV talk show host, she’s long since built a global empire in addition to winning awards as an actor and producer. According to the latest update from the movie, Brunson’s role is more of a cameo.
The movie, which was spurred by Yankovic’s decision to chronicle his “depraved and scandalous” life (he’s probably joking on that front) will chart his days spoofing his fellow musicians. 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 looks the part, 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 Evan Rachel Wood (as Madonna) Rainn Wilson (as radio personality Dr. Demento), plus Julianne Nicholson and Toby Huss (as Al’s parents) among its ensemble.
And, according to the latest release, “an A-list cast of thousands their agents won’t let us reveal.”
Brunson has been celebrating some awards history recently, becoming the first Black woman to earn three Emmy nominations in the comedy categories in the same year for ‘Abbott Elementary’. The high-school-based comedy has also seen high ratings and a quick second-season renewal from network ABC.
She also has credits including ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ and ‘Miracle Workers’, which stars Radcliffe.
‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ will be on the Roku Channel this fall, though there’s no strict date for its release yet.
Daniel Radcliffe as ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic in The Roku Channel’s ‘Weird: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story.’
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