Daniel Radcliffe gets laughs and wild applause at Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Toronto premiere
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Things definitely got rowdy at the late-night premiere of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story on the opening night of the Toronto Film Festival — and that was before the movie even started.
Gathered at the Royal Alexandra Theatre for the first in-person, full-scale Midnight Madness screening since 2019, the audience (many sporting Weird Al signature Hawaiian shirts) was ready to get their polka on: The cheers and hoots started with a pre-movie Bulgari ad starring Anne Hathaway and Zendaya, deepened with a PSA on TIFF volunteers, and came to a crescendo at the first glimpse of star Daniel Radcliffe as the titular Al.
And the love never really stopped. The very manic, very fictionalized biopic of the '80s parody king, based on director Eric Appel's Funny or Die short from 2010, got a rapturous response from the crowd who, like their film fest counterparts in Venice, gave a standing ovation at the end of it to show their appreciation. (But unlike their European cohorts, they brandished homemade Weird Al puppets!)
Roku Weird Al Yankvoic (Daniel Radcliffe) and Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood) star in 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.'
Stars Radcliffe and Evan Rachel Wood (who plays Madonna) joined Appel and Yankovic himself for the post screening Q&A. "It's Forrest Gump, it's Boogie Nights," said Appel. "It's not even tropes that are just limited to music biopics. We're trying to tell the most epic biopic story of all time."
And, according to Radcliffe, that involved some pretty epic accordion lessons, including emailed video tutorials from Yankovic.
"I did what I could," Radcliffe said in mock resignation. "It's a very hard instrument."
Quipped Wood: "And I got to be in the trailer next to him while he practiced."
The actors also talked about their research process for the roles. "I have been a fan for a while, so I was already quite steeped in the songs, so I had a head start on that," said Radcliffe. "And then being around [Yankovic] and trying to absorb what is relevant, and then playing a version that does its own dance."
Wood's method for Madonna goes back even further. "There's home movie footage of me in bunny ears and tutus when I was 4 dancing around to 'Material Girl,' so I've been in training for some time," she said. "I knew it was a heightened version, and a sociopathic version of Madonna, but I still wanted it to be good."
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story premieres Nov. 4 on Roku.
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