The story of the rise and fall of National Lampoon, the legendary comedy magazine that ran from 1970 to 1998, will be immortalized in A Futile and Stupid Gesture. Based on Josh Karp’s book of the same name, the Netflix original movie stars Will Forte as Doug Kenney, who co-founded the publication with Henry Beard (played by Domhnall Gleeson) and Robert Hoffman. The rest of the film, directed by Wet Hot American Summer‘s David Wain and produced by Peter Principato and Jonathan Stern, has a stacked cast with contemporary actors playing iconic comedians: Thomas Lennon as Michael O’Donoghue, Joel McHale as Chevy Chase, John Gemberling as John Belushi, Jon Daly as Bill Murray, Seth Green as Christopher Guest, Paul Scheer as Paul Shaffer, Armen Weitzman as Lorne Michaels, and Jackie Tohn as Gilda Radner.
“You could argue that Doug was the spark plug of [the ’70s comedy revolution],” Wain told Entertainment Weekly. “He was a real inventor of something that has had deep and wide lasting value for anybody who enjoys or makes comedy.” The Stella member also commented on McHale playing his former Community cast member. “I was upfront with Joel: ‘You don’t remind me of Chevy Chase in any way.’ But I just figured if he knows Chevy Chase well and if he feels like he can do this, then I want to see it happen. Then he came on set and he channeled Chevy’s essence in a way that was just amazing. He would walk in the room and just the way he stood and his eyes, that’s the Chevy Chase that I know.”
Hopefully it’s not this Chevy Chase. A Futile and Stupid Gesture premieres on January 26, 2018.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
