Josh Gad’s Chris Farley Biopic Starring Paul Walter Hauser Lands at New Line

Katcy Stephan

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.

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Oscar and Emmy nominees Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (“The Disaster Artist,” “Daisy Jones & the Six”) 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’s directorial debut “Americana” opposite Sydney Sweeney, which was recently acquired by Lionsgate. His previous credits include “Richard Jewell,” “I, Tonya,” “Cruella” and “Cobra Kai.”

Before his death in 1997 of a drug overdose, Farley rose to fame during his five seasons as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” Farley brought that his charisma to big-screen comedies like “Tommy Boy,” “Black Sheep” and “Beverly Hills Ninja.”

Hauser is represented by CAA, Artists First, The Lede Company, and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham LLP. Gad is represented by CAA, Sugar 23, ImPRint, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole LLP.
Farley and Colby are represented by Verve. Broadway Video is represented by CAA. Neustadter & Weber are represented by UTA, Kaplan/Perrone, and Marks Law Group.

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