A feature film based on the life of groundbreaking comedian Sam Kinison has been in the works for a long time, beginning as an HBO film to directed by Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty) and starring Dan Fogler back when he was still a rising star. Then titled Brother Sam, the film never materialized but has now gained new life as Kinison, with Borat director Larry Charles at the helm and Book of Mormon star Josh Gad as the famous stand-up comic.
Written by Rich Wilkes (XXX) and based on the book Brother Sam: The Short, Spectacular Life of Sam Kinison by Bill Kinison and Steve Delsohn, the story will chronicle Kinison's unexpected transition from Pentecostal preacher to comedian in the 1980s, known for his primal screaming tirades. Drugs and alcohol dominated Kinison's life during his rise to fame, but he overcame his personal demons only to be killed by a drunk driver in 1992 at the age of 38. It was during a Rodney Dangerfield special that Kinison really took off, and Dangerfield would continue to help his career, casting him for a hilarious role in Back to School.
It's a story that will be familiar to Charles, who was on the stand-up circuit around the same time as Kinison. For Gad, this is the sort of role that actors wait their entire careers for. It's interesting that he's just coming off playing Apple founder Steve Wozniak in Jobs to portraying Kinison, as the two couldn't be more different. [Deadline]
