This sounds like an excellent choice!
Frozen‘s star Josh Gad is rumored to be in line to play Roger Ebert in a new indie movie about the film critic’s life, titled Russ & Roger Go Beyond.
If casted, Gad will play opposite Will Ferrell, who signed on last August, which could be a HIGHlarious pairing! Also, the actors have both worked together recently, along with Kevin Hart, in Get Hard and The Wedding Ringer. Jonah Hill was originally up for the job, but those talks didn’t go far.
[ Related: Wedding Ringer Stars Kevin Hart & Josh Gad Become Actual Wedding Crashers! ]
The rumor started when producer David Permut let the casting decision slip in Palm Springs over the weekend, and other sources have said that Gad is the producers’ top choice for the role.
There’s no director yet and Saturday Night Live‘s Christopher Cluess wrote the script, so we’re guessing this indie film is going to be magic!
As for the plot, the story follows Roger and filmmaker Russ Meyer‘s journey into making Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Russ hired Roger as the screenwriter after Russ read a positive review Roger wrote about one of his films.
Proving that flattery will get you everywhere! LOLz!
It follows their journey to make the film, as well as to fight the film’s X-rating. When Meyer died in 2004, they were still good friends. Ebert passed away in 2013.
Sounds like it’s going to be awesome! Hopefully this casting rumor is the real deal!
[Image via WENN.]