The Roku Channel has released a new poster for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. The image sees Daniel Radcliffe as the titular musician in red denim and jacket, with an accordion in hand standing in front of the Hollywood sign. With this biographical comedy, Radcliffe’s commitment to unusual yet interesting acting work continues as he dons curly hair and a mustache to become Weird Al.
The movie will tell the “unexaggerated true story” of Al Yankovic portraying his “excessive lifestyle” and rise to fame via tracks like Eat It and Like a Surgeon. The singer is well known for his comedic songs and parodies and has co-written the script with Eric Appel, who has also directed the movie. Along with Radcliffe, the movie stars Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna, Quinta Brunson as Oprah Winfrey, Toby Huss, and Julianne Nicholson as Yankovic’s parents along with Rainn Wilson as radio broadcaster Dr. Demento among others.
Yankovic is a five-time Grammy winner and the best-selling comedy recording artist of all time. His 2014 album "Mandatory Fun" became the first comedy album in history to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. Speaking of his involvement in the movie Radcliffe recalled on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show that Yankovic first saw him singing The Elements by Tom Lehrer which covers the entire periodic table of elements on The Graham Norton Show, bagging him the titular role. Radcliffe told Fallon:
"I sang ‘The Elements’ next to Colin Farrell and a very bemused Rihanna. I guess Al saw that and was like, ‘This guy maybe gets it.’ And so he picked me. So I’m very, very lucky, and now I’ve gotten to have accordion lessons with Al.”
Along with Yankovic, the movie is produced by Mike Farah, Joe Farrell, Whitney Hodack, Tim Headington, Lia Buman, and Max Silva.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story drops on Roku on November 4, meanwhile, check out the new poster and official synopsis below:
Daniel Radcliffe is “Weird” Al Yankovic in the unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician of our time. From a conventional upbringing where playing the accordion was a sin, Al rebelled and made his dream of changing the words to world-renowned songs come true. An instant success and sex symbol, Al lives an excessive lifestyle and pursues an infamous romance that nearly destroys him. With Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, and an A-list cast of thousands their agents won't let us reveal.