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Thirty years after it debuted in theaters, fans of arguably Chris Farley’s greatest movie seem to be hungry for nostalgia. Released in 1995 and co-starring David Spade and Brian Dennehy), Tommy Boy is one of Farley’s most quotable and memorable movies. Now,it’s achieving success on streaming three decades after its theatrical premiere.

Tommy Boy, directed by Peter Segal and written by Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner, is currently the No. 9 movie on Paramount+, per FlixPatrol. It edged out Sonic the Hedgehog 3,which is No. 10, for ninth place in the top 10 in the U.S. on the streamer.

Tommy Boy Sits at No. 9 Currently Image via FlixPatrol Audiences Love Tommy Boy

The movie stars Farley as Tommy Callahan and Spade as Richard Hayden. After Tommy’s dad, Big Tom (Dennehy), dies suddenly, Tommy and Richard hit the road to save the Sandusky, Ohio-based family business, Callahan Auto Parts.

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Chris Farley was only 33 years old when he died of an overdose on December 18, 1997, and it all felt horribly inevitable. He'd been in and out of rehab so many times that being an incorrigible addict had become part of his comedic persona. When he returned in the fall of 1997 to host "Saturday Night Live," the series that launched him as a comedic dynamo earlier in the decade, the entire cold open made a joke out of his ability to do the show. At the time, I couldn't believe what I was watching. He was clearly unhealthy and sounded like he'd been gargling razor blades, as though his body itself was trying to reject him.

If you know Farley's story, you're aware that the people in his orbit did everything they could to get him sober. Alas, he kept finding his way back to the party.

The much-anticipated biopic chronicling the life of late Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley has taken a substantial step forward, according to recent statements from actor Paul Walter Hauser, who is set to portray Farley. Hauser, renowned for his roles in I, Tonya and Richard Jewell, shared that the project has bagged support from New Line Cinema, and the scripting is at an advanced stage.

Josh Gad will make his directorial debut with this project, which is based on "The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts" by Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby. The screenplay for the biopic is crafted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, both acclaimed for their work on 500 Days of Summer and The Fault in Our Stars. Whilst speaking on Jake's Takes about his new film The Luckiest Man in America, Hauser shared a positive update on the Farley project, saying:

"We're...

Fans of the 1995 cult classic movieTommy Boy are going to “likey” when the movie finally gets the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray treatment this year. Per Geek Vibes Nation, Paramount Home Entertainment will be releasing Tommy Boy on 4K Uhd Blu-ray on March 25 - nearly 30 years to the day that the film was released in theaters on March 31, 1995.

Arguably one of the best road trip buddy comedies, Tommy Boystars Saturday Night Live alums Chris Farley as Tommy Callahan and David Spade as Richard. The two are complete opposites who are forced to road trip across the country to sell brake pads after Farley’s Tommy’s father, owner of Callahan Auto Parts, (played by Brian Dennehy) dies unexpectedly. The film is an audience favorite on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with a 90% Popcornmeter score.

Bo Derek also appears in the film as “Big Tom’s” widow, Beverly, and Rob Lowe, in an uncredited scene-stealing appearance,...

Paul Walter Hauser has drawn some very high acclaim for his film and TV roles. He may be taking on his biggest role yet as the star of an upcoming Chris Farley biopic, but the actor feels this is a part he's spent his life preparing for.

In an interview with Variety, Hauser addressed his role in the untitled biopic. As a longtime fan of the late Saturday Night Live star, Hauser noted that he's "been practicing to play Chris Farley my entire life." With that noted, the Richard Jewell star admitted that it will still be difficult to turn in a well-received performance, given how people may be much more judgmental with someone playing such a beloved celebrity as opposed to another original character.

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Thanks to the skills developed on such a high-pressure show as Saturday Night Live, some cast members...

Paul Walter Hauser is one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, and one of his many (and I mean many) upcoming projects is a Chris Farley biopic. Stepping into the shoes of the iconic comedian is no small task, but Hauser told Variety that he’s been “practicing to play Chris Farley my entire life.“

Hauser has played a handful of real-life people throughout his career, including Shawn Eckhardt in I, Tonya, Richard Jewell in Richard Jewell, and Larry Hall in Black Bird, but Farley is by far the most well-known, which makes Hauser’s task more difficult.

“Everybody’s going to judge the crap out of the movie and have very passionate, hard-line opinions. I’m not worried about playing Chris because I know I’m going to approach it with a lot of love and effort,” Hauser said. “At the end of the day, all you can do...

The planned biopic chronicling the life and career of beloved Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley gets a positive development update. A new report confirms the upcoming film has officially gotten a studio home.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, New Line Cinema outbid the competition to land the Chris Farley biopic, with the Josh Gad-directed film moving ahead at the studio. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber are the co-writers for the feature-length project, based on Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby's acclaimed biography, The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels is one of the film's producers.

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Cobra Kai and The Afterparty star Paul Walter Hauser will star as Farley in the upcoming biopic.

Update: The Chris Farley Show, a film adaptation of the book by the late SNL star’s brother Tom, is a go. Deadline is reporting that New Line Cinema has acquired the rights and is full steam ahead on what could be a potential Oscar-play for the studio.

Original Story: Cruella and Cobra Kai actor Paul Walter Hauser is going from voicing Embarrassment in Pixar’s upcoming sequel Inside Out 2 to living in a van down by the river for the lead role in Josh Gad’s Chris Farley biopic. Hauser is stuffing himself into a little coat to play the legendary comedian, Saturday Night Live alum, and star of comedies like Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and Beverly Hills Ninja. Josh Gad directs the Chris Farley biopic, with Lorne Michaels producing through his Broadway video studio.

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber will pen the script based on the...

New Line Cinema has landed the Chris Farley biopic starring Paul Walter Hauser, in what Variety is told was a highly competitive situation.

The film, which has the blessing of the Farley family, will mark actor Josh Gad’s directorial debut, with Lorne Michaels and Erin David producing via Broadway Video.

Oscar and Emmy nominees Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber will write the screenplay based on the New York Times best-selling biography “The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts” by Tom Farley Jr. (Chris Farley’s brother) and Tanner Colby.

Hauser, an Emmy, Critics’ Choice, and Golden Globe Award-winning actor for his role in “Black Bird,” will next be seen in Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” as the voice of Embarrassment. He will then appear opposite Matt Damon in Apple Original Films’ “The Instigators,” helmed by Doug Liman. He’s also set to lead Tony Tost...

After Deadline broke the news last week that New Line was in pole position to land the package A Chris Farley Story, the studio made it official today, having acquired the biopic starring Paul Walter Hauser as the legendary comedian. Josh Gad directs, with Lorne Michaels and Erin David producing via Broadway Video.

The pitch is based on the book by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby and will be adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. This marks the second major package Warner Bros. has landed this week with the main studio acquiring Avengelyne which is being developed as a star vehicle for Margot Robbie.

The film would tell the story of one of the great comic actors of his generation. Getting his start in the second heyday of Saturday Night Live, where Farley would join an ensemble of all-time SNL greats including Adam Sandler,...

New Line Cinema proved to be more highly motivated than the rest of its competition in landing the forthcoming Chris Farley biopic that is set to star Paul Walter Hauser as the late comedy legend.

The company has landed director Josh Gad’s film following a highly competitive situation. Hauser, a recent Emmy winner for his work in Apple TV+’s Black Bird, will star as Farley, the Saturday Night Live standout and star of such films as Tommy Boy who died of a drug overdose in 1997 at age 33.

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (The Disaster Artist, Daisy Jones & The Six) are writing the screenplay based on Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby’s best-selling biography, The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts. The project has the blessing of the Farley family, with SNL creator Lorne Michaels and Erin David serving as producers for Broadway Video.

Farley...

Exclusive: No decision has been made official, but sources tell Deadline that New Line is the favorite to land the package that is based on the biography The Chris Farley Show with Paul Walter Hauser attached to play the legendary comedian. The pitch is based on the book by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby and will be adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber with Josh Gad directing. Lorne Michaels, who found and cast Farley in Saturday Night Live in the ’90s, is producing through his Broadway Video.

Insiders say the family has given their blessing to the project. The studio had no comment.

The film would tell the story of one of the great comic actors of his generation. Getting his start in the second heyday of Saturday Night Live, where Farley would join an ensemble of all-time SNL greats including Adam Sandler, David Spade,...

Werner Herzog has revealed he’s part of the voice cast of Bong Joon Ho’s forthcoming animated feature, according to Variety. The fully CGI animation is a deep-sea adventure, featuring creatures and humans, specifically following an invertebrate deep-sea fish who believes he’s suffering from spinal disk herniation. One can learn more here about the project.

Peter Greenaway has begun shooting his untitled new feature in Lucca, Italy, with Dustin Hoffman, Helen Hunt, and Sofia Boutella leading the story “of an intelligent man whose final big adventure is intended to be his death. He wants to make it elegant and sensible. Tidy, with as few loose ends as possible,” Deadline reports.

Following up Last Night in Soho, Edgar Wright has set his next feature with the long-in-development Paramount remake of The Running Man, with Glen Powell set to star, Deadline notes, reportedly beating out the likes of Ryan Gosling,...

Though the tide of late has turned more towards a Bohemian Rhapsody-powered focus on biopics of musicians, there is always room for other entertainers with particularly compelling stories. One such example is Saturday Night Live staple-turned-film comedy actor Chris Farley, whose star burned bright before it was snuffed out decades too early by excess and addiction. Paul Walter Hauser is now attached to star as Farley in the film to be directed by actor/producer and now filmmaker Josh Gad.

Farley, who initially had seemed destined to join his father in the oil business, was lured away by the thrill of performing, eventually ending up at Chicago's Second City improv troupe (which he joined the same day as fellow future comedy icon Stephen Colbert) and from there was recruited by Lorne Michaels for SNL.

A successful run on the show translated, as it often does, to film roles, and...

A movie based on the life of the late Chris Farley is in the works!

On Friday (April 12), it was reported that a biopic about the legendary comedian and Saturday Night Live star is being directed by Josh Gad with Emmy-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser attached to star. The movie would mark Josh‘s directorial debut.

Keep reading to find out more…Entertainment Weekly reports that SNL boss Lorne Michaels will produce the project based on the New York Times bestselling biography The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, which was written by Chris‘ brothers Tom Farley and Tanner Colby.

The biopic, which is said to have the Farley family’s blessing, is being written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and is currently being shopped around.

Chris rose to fame as a key player on SNL, appearing on five seasons between 1990 and 1995. He sadly died of...

Saturday Night Live fans may soon have another reason to go to the movies, as a Chris Farley biopic is currently being shopped to studios by SNL creator Lorne Michaels.

It probably won’t take long for the project to find a home, as the biopic has already attracted an A-list team of players both in front of and behind the camera.

In addition to Michaels, Emmy-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser is attached to star as Farley. It’s truly a dream role for the Black Bird and Cobra Kai actor; back in 2021, Hauser told THR about how he’d once approached the Farley family about collaborating on a film about the late comedian, but that it ultimately didn’t work out.

The untitled project already has the Farley family’s blessing, as it will be adapted from The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, the bestselling 2007 biography...

Paul Walter Hauser will slip into the life and mind of late comedian Chris Farley in a forthcoming biopic. The film, set to be directed by Josh Gad, is currently in development. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber will provide the screenplay based on the book The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, published by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby in 2008.

The Chris Farley Show takes its name from a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live. Before his untimely death at the age of...

Chris Farley is coming back to the big screen via a biopic about the late comedian’s life and career, our sister site Deadline reports.

Paul Walter Hauser, whose work on Apple TV+’s Blackbird earned him a Primetime Emmy Award, is set to play Farley in the movie, which is being directed by Josh Gad. Lorne Michaels, credited for discovering Farley and giving him his big break on Saturday Night Live, will produce through Broadway Video.

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A biopic about the life of the late “Saturday Night Live” star Chris Farley is in the works, IndieWire has confirmed.

Emmy-winner Paul Walter Hauser is attached to star as Farley, and Josh Gad would direct the project. “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels is producing the feature biopic via his Broadway Video production banner. Gad, the Broadway star and “Frozen” actor, would make his feature directorial debut on the film.

Right now the project is just at the package stage and being presented to interested buyers looking to make it, but it surely will be an in-demand package that could go quickly and make this movie a reality sooner rather than later. It also helps that the Farley family has given its blessing to the project.

The currently untitled film is based on “The Chris Farley Show: A Biography In Three Acts” written by Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby that...

“Saturday Night Live” legend Chris Farley’s funny, sad, tragically brief life is getting the biopic treatment from producer Lorne Michaels and director Josh Gad, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning “Black Bird” star Paul Walter Hauser has been tapped to play Farley. The script is by “Daisy Jones & the Six” creators Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and based on the bestselling book “The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts” by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby. “SNL” boss Michaels will produce through his Broadway Video banner. The project, which is being shopped to studios now, has the blessing of the Farley family.

Gad, who is best known for his performances in the Disney films “Frozen” and “Beauty and the Beast” and the Broadway shows “The Book of Mormon” and “Gutenberg! The Musical,” will be making his feature directorial debut with the biopic.

Here's a lesson for the kids out there: speak your dreams into existence and maybe, just maybe, they'll actually come true. Tragically, those who follow the comedy scene closely know that it's littered with high-profile examples of beloved talent who ended up burning out and leaving us far too soon. This one, however, might end up circling back to the best of silver linings.

Today's news has to do with Chris Farley, the late, great "Saturday Night Live" actor and comedian who passed away at the age of 33 back in 1997. He may not be as well-known a quantity among younger generations, but their older siblings and parents can certainly fill them in on the prolific, scene-stealing theatrics of the man who rose to prominence through "SNL" and subsequently made audiences cry with laughter in movies such as "Wayne's World" and its sequel, "Coneheads," "Airheads," and even an uncredited role in Adam Sandler's "Billy Madison.

A Chris Farley biopic is in the works, with Josh Gad set to direct.

In the hot package being shopped around town, Emmy, Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe Award winner Paul Walter Hauser is attached to star as the legendary comedian. There’s no word yet on where the project will land, but it’s sure to attract a slew of bidders.

The film will adapt best-selling biography “The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts” by Tom Farley Jr. (Chris Farley’s brother) and Tanner Colby. Lorne Michaels, who cast Farley on “Saturday Night Live,” is producing via Broadway Video.

Oscar and Emmy nominees Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber will write the screenplay.

Before his tragic death in 1997 of a drug overdose, Farley rose to fame during his five-season stretch on “Saturday Night Live.” During that time, he starred in beloved sketches including “Lunch Lady Land” with Adam Sandler,...

Legendary comedy Chris Farley will have his life story told in an upcoming biopic. It's also been revealed who will be portraying the one-of-a-kind entertainer, which is sure to be a challenge for any actor to take on.

Per Deadline, it's been reported that Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai) is attached to star in a biopic for Farley. Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the film is dubbed The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts. Josh Gad is also on board to direct, while Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels will be producing via his Broadway Video banner. The project is currently getting shopped and doesn't yet have a distributor.

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The biopic will be...

Now here is a package coming together that is sure to set the town and market on fire. Deadline is hearing that a script based on The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts is being shopped with Paul Walter Hauser attached to play the iconic late comic and actor.

Josh Gad will direct with Lorne Michaels, who found and cast Farley in Saturday Night Live in the ’90s, producing through his Broadway Video. The package will be sold as a pitch based on the book with Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber penning the script.

Based on the biography by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby — insiders say the family has given their blessing to the project — the film would tell the story of one of the great comic actors of his generation. Getting his start in the heyday of Saturday Night Live, where Farley...

Chris Farley — the legendary comedy actor behind Tommy Boy and countless Saturday Night Live performances — is getting the biopic treatment.

Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser will star in the project that has actor-filmmaker Josh Gad attached to direct. Saturday Night Live patriarch Lorne Michaels will produce via his Broadway video banner.

The screenplay will be written by sought after duo Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber based on the New York Times best-selling biography The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts by Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby.

The project, which is currently being pitched around town, has the blessing of the Farley family.

Farley rose to fame as a player on Saturday Night Live alongside castmembers Adam Sandler and David Spade, known for his energetic and physical performances. Famous for sketches that saw him play Bill Swerski’s Superfans (“da Bears!”), an overzealous motivational speaker (“living in...

On a recent episode of the "Fly on the Wall" podcast, comedian Chris Rock talked about watching the Safdie brothers' film "Uncut Gems" and being incredibly impressed by Adam Sandler's performance. Rock was also made incredibly melancholy, however, as he immediately began to think of the later actor/comedian Chris Farley. Rock felt that, had Farley survived, he would have eventually had the opportunity to reveal his own dramatic acting chops, something Farley was never able to display in his film career prior. Rock and Farley both began performing on "Saturday Night Live" in 1990, and they both rose to fame rapidly. Farley, however, wrestled with addiction and health problems for many years, and died of an overdose in 1997. He was 33.

Farley's death hit the world of comedy hard, and many of his friends and co-workers have come out over the years to say what a kind, shy, decent guy Farley was.

Oftentimes it wasn't what Chris Farley did that made him so funny, but rather how he did it. Such is the case for a one-off "Saturday Night Live" skit that never made it past the dress rehearsal of a 1994 episode. In the skit, "Weekend Update" correspondent Jerry Sozio offers an editorial about something that occurred "in the supermarket the other day."

The audience never finds out exactly what happened to Sozio in the supermarket because he laughs so hard about it, he just keeps repeating himself over and over, trying to get it out. If the bit feels like something Farley might have done himself, that's because it was. According to one of Farley's "SNL" co-stars, the entire bit was inspired by a classic Farley backstage gag that he'd break out all the time.

Although it never made it to air, it is not uncommon for axed sketches from the...

One of Chris Farley's best-known "Saturday Night Live" comedy sketches is "Chippendales Audition," which pits Farley against guest host Patrick Swayze in a dance-off for the ages. Farley plays "Barney" and Swayze plays "Adrian," two male striptease performers who appear before a panel of judges onstage at a Chippendales nightclub, which only has the budget for one dancer.

Farley was new to "SNL" when he appeared in "Chippendales Audition;" it was only his fourth episode, and it helped the late comedian make a name for himself early in his stint on the NBC show. However, in recent years, the famous 1990 sketch, written by Jim Downey, has come under fire for essentially fat-shaming Farley. The humor of the sketch is largely predicated on the idea that a heavyset performer like Farley would be evenly matched in a Chippendales audition against the "lean, muscular, healthy" dancer played by Swayze (who had...

Penelope Spheeris' 1996 comedy film "Black Sheep" was the second film to feature David Spade and Chris Farley playing opposite each other as a traditional comedy duo. Their first was Peter Segal's 1995 film "Tommy Boy." The two had also previously appeared in Steve Barron's alien comedy "Coneheads," although they had no scenes together. "Black Sheep" was about Mike (Farley), the slovenly brother of a gubernatorial candidate named Al (Tim Matheson) who needs to run his campaign without his clumsy sibling getting in the way. To clear his path, Al hires Steve (Spade) to take Mike out of town for a few days while the campaign finishes. Spade and Farley take to the highways. Wacky road trip shenanigans ensue.

Spade and Farley made a good pairing as their comedy styles were immensely different. Farley was a broad, physical comedian who frequently played loud, clumsy characters unaware of their awkwardness. Spade,...

The world became a little less funny on March 5, 1982 when the brilliant comic actor/singer John Belushi died of a lethal injection of heroin and cocaine. He was just 33. The wild and crazy Belushi came to international fame in 1975 as one of the original seven Not Ready for Primetime Players on “Saturday Night Live” bringing to life such character as Samurai Futuba and Pete the Olympia diner counterman who only served “cheesebugga, cheesebugga.”

Movie audiences fell in love with him as the gross, insanely funny frat-house animal “Bluto” Blutarsky in 1978’s “Animal House” and as “Joliet” Jake Blues, front man for the Blues Brothers, and brother of Elwood Blues (Dan Ackroyd). And even before “SNL,” Belushi was the anchor for Chicago’s esteemed Second City improv, the irreverent “The National Lampoon Radio Hour” and Lampoon’s off-Broadway hit “Lemmings.”

He is now the subject of the documentary “Belushi,” which premieres Nov.

The world got to know John Belushi’s eyebrows before we got to know the man. They projected his innermost confusion, telegraphed his thought processes, and misdirected his most sincere intentions. Showtime’s heartfelt and intimate documentary, Belushi, opens with clips from the comic icon’s screen test for Saturday Night Live. Armed with just his face, he lets those eyebrows steal the scene. They cajole, caress, and careen across the bottom of his brow, culminating in a series of aerobic stretches with a gymnast’s flair. Belushi didn’t have to crack a joke, he barely had to say a word, and yet showed a world of possibilities within a few inches of cranial space. Belushi really was a lot like his decathlon character in the Little Chocolate Donuts skit. All he needed was some sugar to keep him going. The documentary shows Belushi really was born that way,...

You’ve probably seen John Belushi’s screen test for Saturday Night Live. It’s been floating around the internet for a while, and shows up on the occasional SNL original-cast docs. Part of the four-minute clip opens R.J. Cutler’s Belushi, his portrait of the comedian premiering on Showtime (starting November 22nd). By the time he got to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the Chicago-born, Albanian-American 26-year-old had already become the Tasmanian devil of Second City’s stage shows, the standout’s of National Lampoon’s off-off-Broadway satire Lemmings and Michael O’Donoghue...

R.J. Cutler’s “Belushi” charts the rise and fall of “Animal House” star John Belushi without dwelling on the particulars of his tragic death of a drug overdose at 33.

“Drugs and his overdose have become the thing that many people focus on in John’s story, but that’s not what I was interested in,” said Cutler. “I wasn’t interested in his death. I was interested in his life.”

Instead, the documentary is a celebration of Belushi’s anarchic spirit — the way he could commander an “SNL” skit with the cock of an eyebrow and send it spinning off in fresh and revolutionary directions. Chevy Chase may have been the late night show’s first breakout star, but it was Belushi who provided the sketch comedy program with its rebel yell.

Cutler relies heavily on footage of Belushi’s “SNL” tenure and work in films like “The Blues Brothers...

While my first day of the 56th Chicago International Film Festival brought four scripted movies, day two had a bit more variety on that front. Yes, Thursday threw two documentaries into the mix. If there’s one thing that sticks out about a virtual festival compared to a traditional one, it’s the lack of a clear schedule. Screeners reign just as much as chaos does. God knows what I’ll end up with, and I thrive on that. Well, I do if what I end up seeing is more of a smörgåsbord than a game of Russian roulette. Luckily, it was the former, and it was bizarrely consistent.

Does that mean it was all happy? Absolutely not. First for the day was R.J. Cutler’s Belushi (Grade: B-), which held its world premiere at the festival Wednesday night. For a look at the life of John Belushi, it’s a fittingly brisk one.

Tanner Colby’s 2012 tome “Belushi: A Biography” united dozens of voices for an exhaustive oral history of John Belushi’s life, and it might seem like the last word on the subject, but R.J. Cutler’s documentary adaptation reignites the appeal by letting you hear them. Both book and movie cover everything from the comedic legend’s goofball antics in an immigrant household to his meteoric “SNL” rise all the way through his tragic death at 33. Cutler’s condenses the material while giving it new life, building on extensive recordings from Colby’s book to resurrect Belushi’s charm alongside all the archival materials necessary to commune with his irascible spirit — and why it was destined to self-destruct.

A kind of book-on-tape with visual guides, the movie gathers a wide range of Belushi’s inner circle from virtually every stage of his life, though nobody cuts through the myth-making to...

At the beginning of the documentary “Belushi,” author Tanner Colby is heard in a telephone conversation explaining to an interview subject that he’s talking to people about John Belushi because “No one’s ever done a real biography of John as a performer … I just want to give a full portrait of him as a human being.”

Those interviews from Colby, which were used for a 2005 book about the comedian and actor, are now at the heart of R.J. Cutler’s nonfiction film “Belushi,” which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival on Wednesday and will also play at the AFI Fest before heading to Showtime on Nov. 22. And while you could say that the movie gets in the neighborhood of being a full portrait of the human being, it would be a stretch to call it a biography of John Belushi the performer – because at a certain point,...

A wickedly industrious joke-machine intellect attached

to a pneumatic pair of eyebrows, John Belushi was the king of American

comedy in the mid-to-late 1970s. At the peak of his career, he could boast a

sinecure at “Saturday Night Live,” blockbuster movies, a hit band, and the

best Toshiro Mifune imitation ever to hit American TV. Nevertheless, as

related in R.J. Cutler’s tragic documentary “Belushi,” he

destroyed everything he had with the same abandon that John Landis wrecked

police cruisers in their movie “The Blues Brothers.”

Using heretofore-unheard interviews from an oral history project by Tanner Colby, “Belushi” can be seen as something of a riposte to Bob Woodward’s 1984 biography “Wired.” The book is seen by people in Belushi’s circle as a cold, scathing, and exploitative take on their friend’s drug-related death in 1982 that ignores his talent and warmth.

Continue reading ‘Belushi’: A Loving Look At...

The Hollywood Reporter says that Steven Conrad ( The Pursuit of Happyness ) will write and Todd Phillips ( The Hangover , upcoming Due Date ) will produce a biopic about comedian John Belushi, who died of a drug overdose in 1982 at age 33. Alexandra Milchan and Bonnie Timmerman are also producing. Warner Bros. recently acquired the rights from Belushi's estate. Belushi's widow, Judith, who published "Belushi" in 2005 with Tanner Colby, will be an executive producer on the project, as Judith Belushi Pisano (she's since remarried). "Belushi" is described as follows: On the day he turned thirty, John starred in America's number-one movie (Animal House), starred in the number-one late-night show (Saturday Night Live) and had recorded the number-one album...

Chris Farley's celebrity friends Chevy Chase and David Spade tried desperately to save the actor from his drug addiction before he died of an overdose, a new book reveals.

Actor pals Chase and Spade reveal the tactics they used to shock Farley into kicking his out-of-control habit in The Last Days of Chris Farley - written by the tragic star's brother Tom Farley and Tanner Colby.

Chase says, "(I told him) look, you're not John Belushi. And when you overdose or kill yourself, you will not have the same acclaim that John did. You'll be a blip in the New York Times obituary page, and that'll be it. Is that what you want?"

And Spade claims he was blamed for his Tommy Boy co-star's death: "I got a lot of s**t at the end about, 'Why weren't you there for him?' But being that close, I dealt with it all the time. And in that situation, before the guy's dead, he's just kind of an asshole. Truth is, you get a junkie who's wasted all the time and moody and angry and trying to knock you around, you say, 'Ok, you go do that and I'll be over here.'"

Farley died from an overdose in 1997 at the age of 33.