UPDATE: Although Deadline had previously reported that Warner Bros had snatched up the rights for Josh Gad’s Chris Farley biopic, THR is now claiming that it’s actually New Line who will be distributing the film.
EARLIER: Deadline is hearing that a Chris Farley biopic is being shopped around with Paul Walter Hauser attached to play the late comic actor.
Josh Gad will direct, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (“500 Days of Summer,” “The Disaster Artist”) penned the script which is based on the biography by Farley’s brother, Tom Farley Jr, and Tanner Colby. The Farley family have given their blessing to the project.
Farley was known for his wild physical comedy, delivering iconic SNL sketches like his “Van Down by the River” as motivational speaker Matt Foley or how about the “Chippendales” dancer skit? Farley would go on to venture in movies, starring in ’90s comedies such as “Tommy Boy”, “Black Sheep” and “Beverly Hills Ninja”. He very sadly died at a very young age, 33, from an overdose in 1997.
I’m skeptical about this entire project, especially with Gad directing, it’s his debut. The task for Hauser will be immense, Farley had this larger-than-life persona that cannot be easily replicated. However, he’s proven to be quite the actor with notable turns in “I, Tonya,” “Richard Jewell” and his Emmy-winning work in Apple’s “Black Bird.”
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.