This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
If you saw Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, you know that a central scene in the parody biopic is a pool party in which Al (Daniel Radcliffe) proves himself in front of a small army of celebrities. If you read Leah Schnelbach’s review of the film, you know this scene—and one specific bit of cameo casting—almost led to their death by Twinkie.
And now, Variety would like to show you how the whole thing came together.
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In the video above, director Eric Appel, Weird Al himself, and costume designer Wendy Benbrook detail the process of creating this scene: deciding which elements of a celeb’s appearance were most vital (no one cares about Pee Wee Herman’s shoes!); who they reached out to for cameo roles and who couldn’t make it; and which big star they were not allowed to reference. There’s a reason, it turns out, why David Dastmalchian is playing another guy from Queen, and not the one played by Rami Malek in a certain big biopic.
The pool was cold. Conan O’Brien had only an hour to film his moments as Andy Warhol. Jorma Taccone was very nervous about stepping into Pee Wee’s shoes, whatever they looked like. And Weird Al knows everyone. These are just a few of the takeaways from this behind-the-scenes look, which is pretty entertaining even if you haven’t seen the film yet.
The movie has been nominated for eight (8) Emmys (ed note: VINDICATION FOR UHF AT LAST!!!), including nods for Outstanding Television Movie, Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics (of course), a nomination for Daniel Radcliffe for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie, and, the reason this fun behind-the-scenes video exists, Outstanding Casting For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story continues to stream on the Roku Channel.
