29 Oct – "Into the Wild", "Milk" and "Speed Racer" actor Emile Hirsch has been reported to play John Belushi in a new film about the late "Saturday Night Live" star's life. The film will explore his rise to fame in the late '70s as an original cast-member on "Saturday Night Live" and star of films like "The Blues Brothers" and "Animal House", through to his shocking fatal drug overdose at 33-years-old in Los Angeles. Steve Conrad, who wrote "The Pursuit of Happyness", "The Weather Man", and Ben Stiller's upcoming "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", signed on to both write and direct the still untitled biopic. Dan Aykroyd, one of Belushi's best friends and frequent collaborator, is set to produce.
Besides Hirsch who is set to star, Conrad also required someone to play the younger Dan Aykroyd, and "Veep" actor Nelson Franklin is among those who have taken meetings for the part. But this role isn't going to be Hirsch's first real life character portrayal! In Sean Penn's "Into the Wild", Hirsch brought Christopher McCandless to life based on Jon Krakauer's account, and then in 2008 in Gus Van Sant's "Milk", Hirsch played AIDS activist Cleve Jones. Still, Belushi is easily the highest-profile figure he's ever taken on. Zach Galifianakis, Jack Black, Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen were reportedly to be considered for the role of Belushi before Hirsch took it on for himself. Hirsch will also be starring as Clyde Barrow in tele-movie "Bonnie & Clyde", and he also makes up part of the big-name ensemble cast of "Lone Survivor", which also includes Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch and Ben Foster.