SNL’s Chris Farley To Get Biopic Starring Cobra Kai Actor & Directed By Josh Gad

Summary

• Paul Walter Hauser will play Chris Farley in a new biopic based on the late comedian’s biography.
• The movie has the support of Farley’s family and is based on a book co-written by Farley’s brother.
• Josh Gad will the helm the biopic in his directorial debut and it will be produced by
  Saturday Night Live
  ‘s Lorne Michaels.

The late Saturday Night Live comedian and actor Chris Farley is set to be the subject of a new biopic starring Cobra Kai’s Paul Walter Hauser. Appearing on NBC’s iconic sketch comedy show between 1990 and 1995, Farley would also branch out into movies beginning with a small role in the 1992 Mike Myers comedy Wayne’s World. Following his eventual departure from SNL in 1995, he would come to headline his own movies Tommy Boy and Black Sheep alongside his friend and colleague David Spade. Sadly, Farley passed away from a drug overdose in December 1997, aged 33 years.

Per a new report from IndieWire, Hauser has been tapped to play Farley in a new biopic helmed by Frozen star Josh Gad in his directorial debut. Long-term SNL producer Lorne Michaels is set to produce the movie under his Broadway Video production banner, though at this stage the project is only being presented to prospective buyers and no studio is currently attached. The as-yet-untitled project is also said to be based on the late comedian’s 2008 biography, The Chris Farley Show: A Biography In Three Acts and will be penned by Oscar and Emmy nominees Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber.

Chris Farley’s Biopic Has The Blessing Of His Family

This new Farley movie not only appears to be moving forward with the blessing of his loved ones, but it is even based on the book co-written by his own brother, Tom Farley Jr.

Throughout his career, Farley’s boisterous comedic stylings often drew several comparisons to another famous SNL comedian, the late John Belushi. These comparisons only served to intensify following Farley’s own death, given that not only did they die under similar circumstances, but also at the shared age of 33 years. And, much like Farley’s legacy is now, Belushi would also serve as the focus for a biography that would later be turned into its own biopic.

Unfortunately, attempts at bringing Belushi’s story to life encountered far more backlash than what Gad’s movie is ever likely to face. The 1989 Belushi biopic Wired, starring The Shield’s Michael Chiklis, was not only a commercial and critical failure, but it also drew the condemnation of many of Belushi’s closest friends and loved ones. By comparison, however, this new Farley movie not only appears to be moving forward with the blessing of his loved ones, but it is even based on the book co-written by his own brother, Tom Farley Jr.

Chiklis would later apologize to Belushi’s brother Jim for his role in
Wired
and any hurt he may have caused his family due to his portrayal.

Coincidentally, the biography serving as the basis for this retelling of Farley’s life was also penned by best-selling author Tanner Colby, who also wrote the 2005 book Belushi: A Biography alongside Belushi’s widow Judith. Hopefully, with this latest biopic drawing its inspiration from a far more respectful source, Hauser will have a more successful time bringing Saturday Night Live’sChris Farley to life than Chiklis ever did in his role as John Belushi.

Source: IndieWire