Paul Walter Hauser will play comedian Chris Farley in a so-far untitled biopic. Here’s what we know at present:
A biopic based on the biography The Chris Farley Show: A Biography In Three Acts by the late comedian’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colb is in the works.
With full endorsement from Farley’s family, Richard Jewell star Paul Walter Hauser will play him in the film. It will be the directorial debut of Frozen star Josh Gad, with Scott Neustadter and Michael H Weber writing the screenplay according to Deadline. They previously adapted the surreal true story of Tommy Wiseau’s experience making cult film The Room into 2017 film The Disaster Artist.
A feature film examining the origins of Saturday Night Live is also in production. Jason Reitman is directIng SNL 1975 from a script he wrote with Gil Keenan. It will star Gabriel LaBelle as series creator Lorne Michaels, Cooper Hoffman as former NBC exec Dick Ebersol and Rachel Sennott as Michaels’ ex-wife and former SNL writer Rosie Shuster.
Starring as the SNL cast will be Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Matt Wood as John Belushi, Nicholas Braun as Jim Henson, Tommy Dewey as Michael O’Donoghue and Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal.
Chris Farley is perhaps best remembered for his high energy comic acting on Saturday Night Live, in an era that also included Adam Sandler, David Spade, Rob Schneider and the much missed Phil Hartman. Memorable sketches include a Chip N Dale’s audition dance with Patrick Swayze and Man Down By The River, in which he played a motivational speaker hired by parents to warn children about the effects of drugs.
He headlined a string of comedy films in the 90s, including Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja and Almost Heroes. He was also the original actor cast to voice Shrek, and had even begun recording dialogue before he passed away in 1997.
More on both of these projects as we hear it.
