Been wondering what Weird Al’s been up to lately? It seems he’s got a deal with Cartoon Network in the works and though he’s been ironing out the details for a while now, he was finally allowed to announce the project he’ll be doing for the network.
It seems he’s been busy over the last couple of years trying to work out a production deal with Cartoon Network. Below is an excerpt from the blog entry he posted today:
“I’ve just signed a production deal with Cartoon Network.When I say that I’ve “just” signed, that means that I actually signed several months ago, but this is the first time I’ve been allowed to openly talk about it.Without going into too much detail, the good folks at Cartoon Network decided that they liked me and wanted me to provide some content for them – series, features, animation, live-action… they were open to anything. So after a couple years (yes, really) of the lawyers going back and forth, we finalized a deal – now all I have to do is start making stuff!The first thing I’m on track to do for them is, in fact, a live-action feature film.
Yankovic went on to say that he’s on the third draft of the script. It won’t be a sequel to UHF, nor will it be a documentary about Winston Churchill. He also said he won’t be starring in it but plans to make an appearance in the film, which will most likely center on a teenager, and that he’ll be directing.
Weird Al Yankovic starred in the comedy film UHF back in 1989 and while he’s known for that, I think many of us associate him more with the many musical parodies he’s done over the years. Any true child of the ‘80’s surely sang along to songs like “Fat” and “Eat It” (sung to the tunes of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” and “Beat It.”) Later on it was “Amish Paradise” (a spoof of Coolio’s “Gangstas Paradise”) and one of my own personal favorites, “The Saga Begins,” wherein he turned Don McLean’s “American Pie” into a recap of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
He’s done other stuff since then but I’m pretty sure the last time I’ve seen Weird Al in anything was a production video for Ben Folds’ song “Time.” Al sang backup in that song.
It’ll be interesting to see what comes of the film he’s doing for Cartoon Network.
In the meantime, here's the video for "The Saga Begins." I don't know about anyone else but I'm pretty sure Al's version of Episode I's better than the actual movie.
And here's Amish Paradise. Go ahead and party like it's 1699:
