Between lending his voice to Olaf in Frozen and singing on the Broadway stage in The Book of Mormon, actor Josh Gad already made a name for himself, but may soon be taking one of his biggest roles yet. Recent rumors suggest Gad may play the late film critic Roger Ebert in the upcoming biopic Russ & Roger Go Beyond, also starring Will Ferrell.
When speaking to Hollywood Elsewhere, producer David Permut said Gad is their top choice to play the titular film critic. While there was talk earlier to have Jonah Hill play Ebert, it appears that didn't pan out. Later, The Wrap also reported on the news, but also added no offer has been made to Gad.
When asked about the casting rumors while promoting his upcoming movie The Wedding Ringer with Kevin Hart, Gad told Collider "we'll see" when it comes to the project, stating he's reading several scripts at the moment and is considering his next move.
Here is the video of Gad talking with Collider on the matter:
Russ & Roger Go Beyond will recount the making of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, directed by Russ Meyer and written by none other than Ebert himself, which remains his one-and-only produced screenplay. Ferrell has been casted as Meyer.
Whether or not Gad joins the movie, he will be seen in the aforementioned The Wedding Ringer on the 16th. He also stars opposite of Adam Sandler and Peter Dinklage in Pixels on July 24, and in the new Billy Crystal FX series The Comedians. He is also signed on to write the Twins sequel Triplets, as well as a new adaptation of Gilligan's Island.
Meanwhile, there's already a great movie about Ebert out there right now called Life Itself worth a watch, which does — if briefly — talk about his involvement with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
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