“Weird Al” Yankovic has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie for his 2022 musical parody biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. The film, produced by Funny Or Die and Tango for Roku, stars Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe and was released on Nov. 4, 2022. As Yankovic accurately noted on his Facebook and Instagram pages, “Halfway to EGOT, baby!!!”, referring to the rare, career achievement whose acronym stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. The musician has earned five Grammy Awards in his career, dating back to 1984. The film had its world premiere on Sept. 8, 2022, as part of the Toronto International Film Festival’s “Midnight Madness” schedule.
By earning the Emmy, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story topped Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas, Fire Island, Hocus Pocus 2, and Prey.
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In its favorable review, the New York Post wrote, “What Yankovic and director/co-writer Eric Appel have done, brilliantly in spots, is parody Yankovic’s own life while sending up the whole biopic genre. In a messed-up way, the maneuver is kinda poetic. And so very funny.”
The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “A funny, welcome reminder of a time before the internet and Marvel made being a nerd so ordinary.”
Actress Evan Rachel Wood appears in the film as Madonna. Rainn Wilson (The Office) portrays Dr. Demento. Stream the movie here. Alternatively, you can order it here.
More from the original announcement: The Roku Original film 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. 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.
Watch the original teaser trailer
“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. I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule,” said Yankovic. “And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
“There clearly aren’t enough biopic movies about famous musicians and we were excited to shine a light on the incredibly true, unexaggerated story of Weird Al,” said Colin Davis, Roku’s Head of Original Scripted Programming. “This is sincerely the ultimate combination of talent, creativity, and friends, coming together to make something genuinely funny and we could not be prouder to call this film a Roku Original.”
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story was written by Yankovic and Eric Appel. Appel directed the film.
Watch the official trailer
“When Weird Al first sat me down against my will and told me his life story, I didn’t believe any of it, but I knew that we had to make a movie about it,” Appel said.
Listen to his 1979 parody of “My Sharona”
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“Weird Al” Yankovic, born Oct. 23, 1959, is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time. A five-time Grammy winner, his 2014 release Mandatory Fun was the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200. He is one of only three artists to have had their own top 40 hits in each of the last four decades (the other two being Michael Jackson and Madonna). On August 27, 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded “Weird Al” with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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“Dare to Be Stupid” is the ne plus ultra of parodies. I still have my promo copy of “My Bologna”/”School Cafeteria”. The radio station I worked at wouldn’t play it. Yours for $27.