Josh Gad to Play Roger Ebert in Russ & Roger
Josh Glad, who is best known to mainstream audiences as Olaf from Frozen, has been cast as film critic Roger Ebert in Russ & Roger according to Entertainment Weekly. The film will also star Will Ferrell as filmmaker Russ Meyer and be directed by Michael Winterbottom. Russ & Roger will chronicle the making of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a risque 1970 comedy/musical that was directed by Meyer and written by Ebert.
Before passing away in 2013, Roger Ebert said that he’d like to be played by Philip Seymour Hoffman in a movie. Sadly, that can never happen since Hoffman also passed away in 2014. One can’t help but wonder if Ebert would’ve given the casting of Gad a thumbs up. In any case, this likely won’t be the last movie centered around Roger Ebert’s life since he was such an immortal figure. Imagine how great it would be to see a biographical movie about Siskel & Ebert someday.
Before Russ & Roger comes out in 2016, also be sure to check out Life Itself, Steve James’ extraordinary documentary that reminds us why Roger was the greatest film critic who ever lived.