I’ve always thought of Allen Ginsberg as an interesting figure. Interesting enough for two separate biopics, I don’t know, but that’s what’s going on. First we’ve got Howl, which will focus on Ginsberg’s poem of the same name, which led to an obsenity trial over the poem’s contents. Then the more recently announced Kill Your Darlings, which will look at the poet as part of the creation of the Beat Generation.
With two rival movies, each one is trying to up the stakes in casting announcements. Howl clearly has the edge here, with a cast that includes James Franco, Paul Rudd, Jeff Daniels, and David Straithairn. If rumors are to be believed, they’re talking about adding Eric Roberts to the cast as well, turning this into quite the eclectic cast.
Bad Taste sent us word today that Roberts was in talks to join the production as Luthor Nichols. Here’s the thing though - Nichols is reportedly Paul Rudd’s character, which makes it sound like two different actors will be playing the role, presumably at different parts of his life. Roberts has the filming schedule of The Expendables to work around, but if the action flick doesn’t conflict with the schedule of Howl, it’s assumed he’ll sign on.
I’m taking this one with a grain of salt. It seems really strange to double cast one part without any hint that any other part would be cast. Rudd and Roberts didn’t initially strike me as similar enough to play the same role at different phases of life, although side by side (see pic) I guess I can see it. We’ll see if Roberts signs on, or if this is just another Internet rumor.
