Variety is reporting that Josh Gad (Frozen) has signed on to play celebrated film critic Roger Ebert in Michael Winterbottom’s upcoming comedy Russ & Roger, which has Will Ferrell attached as sexploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer.
The film is described as “a debauched comedy” that will provide “an outrageous look at two no-holds-barred outsiders who defied the Hollywood establishment to make one of the first X-rated films ever released by a major movie studio (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) — having the party of a lifetime in the process.”
Production on Russ & Roger is set to get underway later this year, with Winterbottom directing from a script by Christopher Cluess (MADtv), which has been polished by Neil and Rob Gibbons (Veep).
