Daniel Radcliffe, wig and all, explains the origin of his popular song parody and polka career in the official trailer for the upcoming biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
“All I wanted was to make up new words to a song that already exists,” Yankovic says at one point to explain his artistic drive. So, by taking on the stage name of Weird Al Yankovic, the entertainer began coming up with parody songs using his accordion and back-up band.
The Toronto Film Festival’s Midnight Madness sidebar will open with Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, with Daniel Radcliffe playing the prolific musician. The trailer explores episodes of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like “Eat It” and “Like a Surgeon” to his celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.
The official trailer explains what drove Yankovic to create a string of parody songs like “My Bologna,” “Another One Rides the Bus” and “I Love Rocky Road.”
“Be as weird as you want to be,” Yankovic says at another point in the trailer, which underpins the concept for the Roku biopic as fans of the entertainer are encouraged to be “who they are.”
The biopic is written by Eric Appel and Yankovic, while Appel also serves as the director and executive producer. The film will premiere this fall exclusively on The Roku Channel.