Entertainment
Weird Al and Daniel Radcliffe Discuss Making of ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’
The recent film was the outcome of a comedic brainstorming session.
Last week marked the debut of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story on The Roku Channel, a satirical biopic portraying an exaggerated version of the life of the adored musician and parody artist, Weird Al Yankovic. Starring Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role, the film has been well-received for capturing all the key elements of a typical biopic while maintaining a tongue-in-cheek tone throughout.
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In a conversation with Polygon, Yankovic, Radcliffe, and the film’s director, Eric Appel, shared insights into the film’s creation and the challenges of a humor-driven project.
“In the context of this movie, for the comedy to be amusing, [we had] to infuse it with drama: Embrace the dramatic elements, allowing the comedy to arise from the absurdity of treating something unconventional in a completely serious manner,” expressed Appel.
“I can’t pinpoint what makes comedy humorous. However, in this particular scenario, as Eric mentioned, the humor arises from surprise, rooted in portraying something very authentic and genuine, yet steering it in unexpected directions,” Yankovic concurred.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story stands out among music biopics, offering an engaging and comical journey. Packed with enjoyable cameos, a stellar portrayal by Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al, and the usual exciting music. A genuinely entertaining experience. pic.twitter.com/HTBGlsHMZK
— Jerome! (@JeromeM94Movies) November 11, 2022
The discussion honed in on a specific scene in the film, where several renowned actors portrayed 80s-era celebrities in a pool party reminiscent of Boogie Nights.
“I scanned through my contacts and compiled a list of friends I thought might be interested, and just shot out some emails,” shared Yankovic. “Fortunately, we were filming in LA – initially, the plan was Atlanta due to tax incentives, I believe. But Roku increased the budget slightly, allowing us to shoot in LA, which meant many of my friends could drive in from the Valley and join this wild pool party.”
“Regarding those references – I only learned during this press tour that the pool-party scene was inspired by Boogie Nights,” added Radcliffe. “So there have definitely been some references that have now clicked for me.”
