Written by Abby Chadwick. Photos by Ally Abruscato.
The film “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” began with the line, “Life is like a parody of your favorite song; just when you think you know all the words…PSYCH! You don’t know anything.” That quote pretty much summed up the entirety of this film. Not a single part of my being could have predicted any aspect of the plot, and it made for one of the most interesting films I’ve seen, as well as one of the most exciting theater experiences I’ve had since “Spider-man: No Way Home.”
Since Weird Al is known for his mock parodies, it, of course, made sense for the movie recounting his life to be made in a mock-biopic style. The tone of the film is sarcastic, dramatic and surprisingly, very violent, and if I had to sum it up in four words, they would be “committed to the bit.” The “bit” was the sincere and heartfelt performance by the actors, especially star Daniel Radcliffe, even when the plot involved him doing things like writing a song about bologna. However, Radcliffe wasn’t the only one committed to the bit. The film featured a sheer number of celebrity cameos (including Rainn Wilson, Josh Groban and Quinta Brunson, just to name a few.)
In the interview that followed the screening with director, writer and producer Eric Appel, he shared that Al Yankovic was responsible for acquiring most of these guest stars, explaining they would write a scene and Weird Al would give him his “Christmas card mailing list” for celebrities they both felt fit those scenes.
Appel also shared that the original concept for the movie was initially made as a spoof movie trailer on the popular YouTube channel Funny Or Die.
“[Weird Al] was showing the trailer at his concerts for ten years during the costume change in the middle of the show,” said Appel. “So people would come up to him after shows and ask either ‘Can you please make this movie real?’ or ‘I’ve looked all over for this movie, and I can’t find it anywhere, can you tell me how I can find it?”
Appel and Al essentially had to reverse-engineer the film from the trailer until it eventually “took on a life of its own.”
To finish off his interview, Appel shared a piece of advice to SCAD students: “Find your voice. Be weird. Do your own thing and just stick with it. Keep putting yourself out there, and eventually, you’re going to find your audience and your people. Just keep making things.”
Abby Chadwick is District’s Chief Social Media Strategist and an interior design major at SCAD. She has been involved with District since her freshman year, with this year being her third as an editor. Apart from her role at District, Abby can be seen around SCAD walking to and from Clark Hall and enjoying the Savannah coffee scene. (Her go to is an espresso tonic, if you were wondering!)
