171 Bad Jokes That You Can’t Help But Laugh At

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Daniel Radcliffe Swaps Magic Wand For Accordion To Play Weird Al Yankovic In New Movie

HOLLYWOOD -- "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" is not the kind of musical bio-pic we've come accustomed to seeing. The movie is not a play by play of events in Yankovic's life, but a comedy that makes fun of the way a classic biography has been done. The parody movie about Weird Al's life stars Daniel Radcliffe in the title role.

"It was kind of just going, 'Oh. What else could Weird Al's biopic have been except a parody of biopics?' Like, I didn't know what to expect when I read it," said Radcliffe. "And then I started reading and I was like, 'Oh, right, of course it's this'. And it's perfect."

"The first third or so the movie you can kind of think, well, maybe this happened. Maybe this is real," said Yankovic. "And then about halfway through, you're going like, wait a minute! Come on!"

Eric Appel wrote and directed the film.

"We wanted to satirize the biopic genre," said Appel. "I mean everything from rock biopics, you know, 'The Doors' and 'Rocket Man' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' all the way to a fictional biopic like 'Forrest Gump' and 'Boogie Nights' and, and create, you know, our own kind of crazy original story."

Evan Rachel Wood co-stars as Madonna, in a concept that is original, fun and completely, well, weird.

"She is going to love it. I know. I know!" said Wood. "I hold Madonna in such a high regard. But I hope she laughs about it. She clearly has a sense of humor because, you know, he covered 'Like a Surgeon' and I'm sure she's heard it and I'm sure she loves it. And so it's a funny homage to her and to that time."

The film pays tribute to Weird Al's talent over the years... One of the music world's top musical comedians. But as for his thoughts on his own legacy?

"I'd just like to be remembered 100 years from now as somebody that wore really nice shoes. That's my main thing," said Yankovic.

"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" will be available to stream on The Roku Channel starting Friday, Nov. 4.

Daniel Radcliffe Playing Weird Al Yankovic In New Biopic

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<a href="">AP Newsroom</a>

The man who brought "The Boy Who Lived" to life is taking on another legendary figure from pop culture.

Daniel Radcliffe, the actor known to a generation of fans as Harry Potter in the flesh, will play Weird Al Yankovic, the award-winning musician known for his clever musical parodies of chart-topping hits. Yankovic, who has written and performed funny hits like "Eat It," "Amish Paradise" and "Word Crimes," announced the upcoming movie in a tweet on Jan. 18.

"So … I'm making a movie," the 62-year-old performer casually began his Twitter thread. And, in case people thought the musical comic was joking, he offered published proof of his seriousness in his next tweet, linking to a Deadline story about the project.

The movie, which is being produced by Funny or Die for The Roku Channel, is called "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" and will tell the story of the man who translated his gift for parody into multiple Grammy wins and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"The biopic holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic's life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like 'Eat It' and 'Like a Surgeon' to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle," according to the tongue-in-cheek movie synopsis, posted by Variety. "'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story' takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic's life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time."

Yankovic co-wrote the script with Eric Appel, who wrote a comedic short film based on Yankovic's life back in 2010 for Funny or Die. This time, Appel will also direct the full-length version, which is scheduled to start filming in Los Angeles next month, according to Deadline.

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

This won't be the singer's first foray into filmmaking. In 1989, Yankovic released his first movie, "UHF," which tanked at the box office but eventually became a cult classic as the singer's popularity grew. In a statement to the press, Yankovic joked he knew his fans have been eagerly awaiting his next film.

"When my last movie, 'UHF,' came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork," said Yankovic in a statement shared by Entertainment Weekly. "I'm very happy to say we're on schedule."

Yankovic joked that the role will be a career-defining role for the English actor.

"And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film," Yankovic said, according to Entertainment Weekly. "I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for."

AP Photo/Charles Sykes

Radcliffe, 32, has kept busy with roles vastly different from Harry Potter since ending his run as the famous wizard in 2011. He's stepped onto the Broadway stage and accepted offbeat roles in smaller-budget films, as well as a starring role in TBS's "Miracle Workers."

"I've actually found it's an incredibly liberating thing, to do the biggest thing you're ever gonna do really f—ing early," Radcliffe said in an interview with Empire Magazine, referring to his work in the Wizarding World. "The financial success thing, that's done. So just do things that make you happy."

This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.

What Are The Chances That 'Weird Al' Yankovic Will Show Up In The New 'Naked Gun'?

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways

Judging from the trailers, the upcoming Naked Gun reboot is seemingly going to be chock-full of references to the original movie trilogy, up to and including a brief, photographic cameo from late accused murderer/prank show auteur O.J. Simpson.

But will the new movie include an appearance from the one living celebrity who's been in every other installment of the Naked Gun series and wasn't married to Elvis?

As you may remember, early in 1988's The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, Frank returns from his jurisdictionally-questionable trip to Beirut and discovers a crowd of reporters and fans waiting for him at the airport. But after addressing the spectators, Frank is informed that they're actually there to greet his fellow passenger: "Weird Al" Yankovic.

The cameo came about because Yankovic was a huge fan of Police Squad!. "I still consider that my favorite TV series of all time, because there wasn't anything else like that on TV," the "Eat It" singer once revealed in an interview.

After working with the canceled show's producer, Robert K. Weiss, on music videos such as "Like a Surgeon," Al begged for a role in any potential big screen follow-ups. "I said, 'Hey, if these guys ever do a movie based on the TV show, you just have to get me involved somehow, I don't care if I'm in the crowd scene, or whatever – please see what you can do,'" Yankovic recalled. "And as it turned out, they wrote me into the script."

While the scene may have been very brief, it was a big deal for Al's dating life at the time. He reportedly used to take dates to see The Naked Gun, not telling them he was in it. He would even wear the same Hawaiian shirt he sported in the film.

When it came time to make The Naked Gun 2½, the filmmakers once again hired Weird Al. This time he played a random thug holding cops at gunpoint in the station, until Frank inadvertently takes him out by simply opening a door. The scene required "over 20" takes, and only after his leg turned "a nice shade of purple" did the stunt coordinator ask if he'd like to "wear some padding."

Then, in The Naked Gun 33⅓, Weird Al once again played the part of "Weird Al" during the climactic scene at the Oscars. Sadly, the real "Weird Al" Yankovic has yet to be honored by the Academy. We're pretty sure he never dated Vanna White, either (despite having written a whole song about her).

So will the new Naked Gun keep this tradition alive?

Nothing has been officially confirmed, but Al himself has apparently been pretty active in trying to land a role. During a 2024 interview with Spin, Yankovic acknowledged that he reached out to the film's director, Akiva Schaffer, as soon as he heard about the project. "Thirty minutes after The Naked Gun 4 got greenlit and I read it on Deadline, I emailed Akiva and said: 'You know it's not really a Naked Gun movie unless there's a 'Weird Al' cameo,'" the UHF star explained. "And he went: 'Yeah, okay. Okay. Okay.' So, well, we'll see."

Schaffer and his Lonely Island bandmates are obviously big fans of Al's, as evidenced by the time they all appeared on Carpool Karaoke together, mercifully without James Corden.

And Schaffer cameoed in the biopic parody Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, playing the role of Alice Cooper.

Given all of this, it would be pretty shocking if Al doesn't show up at some point in the new movie. At the very least, they could show a photo of him, like with O.J.

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