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 (Briefcase Full of Blues). All from a guy who was never supposed to make it out from behind the cash register of his family’s Chicago diner.
How did this Albanian immigrant’s son capture a nation’s imagination and come to embody all the glory and tragedy of the American dream? It was one high-price, high-speed, short-lived wild ride.
BELUSHI is a whirlwind of a book, filled with never-before-seen photos and provocative, intensely personal testimonials by just about every major comedic figure of the last half century. Here is the remarkable and raucous story of a larger-than-life figure who danced out at the precipice of American fame.
Belushi’s other feature credits include The Blues Brothers, Continental Divide and Neighbors.
Who do you think should play Belushi?
