Josh Gad Will Play Roger Ebert In ‘Russ & Roger’ [Updated]
Update:Josh Gadis now finally confirmed to playRoger Ebertin the filmRuss & RogeroppositeWill Ferrellas film producer and directorRuss Meyer. (The film was formerly referred to asRuss & Roger Go Beyond.)Michael Winterbottomwill direct the movie, which follows the creation of Ebert and Meyer’s filmBeyond the Valley of the Dolls. This picture is described byTHRas “a debaucherous comedy centering on two outsiders who defied the Hollywood establishment and made one of the first X-rated films ever released by a major movie studio.”
Original story follows.
Josh Gadis best known for playing roles inFrozenandThe Book of Mormon, but he has dabbled with portraying real figures, too. He played Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak inJobs, and now he’s in line to play the late film criticRoger EbertinRuss & Roger.
The film already hasWill Ferrelllined up to play filmmaker Russ Meyer, who with Ebert created the filmBeyond the Valley of the Dolls. This film plans to explore their friendship and working relationship, and the origin of that film. And if we see Josh Gad as Roger Ebert opposite Ferrell as Meyer, we have to assume it is meant to be quite the comedy as well.
The news of Gad being in line for the role came fromHollywood Elsewhere, andThe Wrapadds that the actor does not have a deal at this point, but that he’s the top choice for the gig. The news came straight from the film’s producerDavid Permut. The script is byChristopher Cluessof SNL.
The story says the film begins in the late ’60s just as the New Hollywood movement was really kicking off, and Fox was struggling in the wake of a series of flops. Richard Zanuck gave Meyer the Beyond the Valley of the Dolls directing gig in the hopes that Meyer’s drive-in success and cheap working methods could create a film that would make money for Fox. Meyer hired Ebert, and the two got on surprisingly well.
That pegs the film as a potentially fun romp through the heady days of “anything goes” Hollywood as new voices briefly triumphed over old establishment types. And of course there’s the easy attention-getting ploy of casting women to play the various large-busted actresses with whom Meyer always associated, even if BVD featured a less superheroically-proportioned cast than his other films.
