In addition to being a hilarious comedian, Sam Kinison was a fascinating character. A former Pentecostal preacher, his loud, abusive style was unmatched, not to mention his trademark scream. Now Tom Shadyac wants to bring the Kinison experience to the big screen. Variety reports that the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective director, in conjunction with HBO Films, has begun developing a biopic about the late stand-up. Screenwriter Rich Wilkes (Airheads, xXx) has been hired to write the script, which will be based on the memoir Brother Sam: The Short Spectacular Life of Sam Kinison by Bill Kinison, Sam's brother, and Steve Delson. Shadyac has been trying to get the project made for the past ten years, first having the film set up at Universal before moving to HBO where it was going to be made as a TV movie.
The big question is, of course, who they get to play Kinison. Back when the project was going to be on television, Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury) did a screen test that leaked online and absolutely blew everyone away (you can check out the video below). While many have written of Fogler as a Jack Black-wanabee, the truth is that is actually a great actor and a Tony Award winner to boot. As you'll see in his screen test, he absolutely nails all of Kinison's mannerisms. Let's hope he's still interested in the project.
