Hollywood typically has a “no stone left unturned” approach when it comes to biopics, so it was only a matter of time before they got around to Chris Farley. According to Deadline, the Saturday Night Live star will be portrayed by Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser in a new film from Josh Gad in his directorial debut. The film will be produced by SNL boss Lorne Michaels.
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Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (500 Days Of Summer, The Spectacular Now) are set to pen the screenplay, which is reportedly based on The Chris Farley Show: A Biography In Three Acts written by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby. The book chronicles the comic’s early years through the start of his career at Second City in Chicago, joining the cast of SNL, and swiftly rising to fame with movies like Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and Beverly Hills Ninja. Throughout, struggled with addiction and was in and out of rehab before his untimely death of an overdose at the age of 33.
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Insiders for Deadline claimed the project has the blessing of Farley’s family (makes sense, if it’s based on his brother’s book), but this will no doubt be a tricky biopic in terms of how beloved Farley is. Not only is he remembered with extreme fondness by fans, but his legacy has been carefully protected and promoted by his friends and loved ones. The Chris Farley Show featured contributions from many of those friends, as did the 2015 documentary I Am Chris Farley, in which folks like Michaels, Bob Odenkirk, Jay Mohr, Mike Myers, Bob Saget, Dan Aykroyd, Tom Arnold, and more lauded the actor as one of the funniest stars of his generation. In particular, his memory has been preserved by his SNL officemates and close friends Chris Rock, David Spade, and Adam Sandler; Sandler wrote and released a tribute song to Farley as part of his 2018 Netflix special.
In other words, it’s a daunting task for Gad as a first-time director, and Hauser has some big shoes to fill. If anyone’s going to do it, though, Hauser is a strong choice: he’s an Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated actor with a strong comedic background (with credits like The Afterparty, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Reno 911!). No release date is on the books yet for this one, as Deadline reports the project is still being shopped to studios.