The filmmaking team known as Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) are teaming up with Paul Giamatti for a biopic about the late Art Bell.
Best known as the founder and original host of Coast to Coast AM, Bell was a radio DJ who would take unscreened calls from eccentrics nationwide; every night you’d get stories from callers claiming alien abduction, conspiracy theories, ghosts, and really, just about the craziest things.
A bidding war is currently happening on the project, several studios, including Universal, Amazon, and Warner Bros, are on the hunt to nab Radio Silence’s Art Bell project. Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves (“Unfriended”) wrote the script.
What’s most striking about this project is just how different it is when compared to the rest of Radio Silence’s horror-heavy filmography which includes “Ready or Not,” “Abigail,” “Scream” (2022) and “Scream IV.” Although Bell tackled the supernatural on his radio show, his life was anything but — four marriages, multiple retirements, a stint in Vietnam and even a stalker who terrorized him and his family.
Giamatti playing Bell could turn out to be an inspired bit of casting. The 57-year-old actor was last seen on screen in “The Holdovers” which landed him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. He will next be seen in the upcoming “Downton Abbey 3,” and was recently cast in Jesse Eisenberg’s next directorial effort alongside Julianne Moore.
Meanwhile, as they watch — no doubt with glee — studios attempting to outbid each other for their Art Bell project, Radio Silence will next be shooting a “Ready or Not” sequel in the spring. The film is scheduled for release in 2026.
NOTE: Giamatti’s casting was originally reported by The InSneider