TV & Film News

Russell Crowe to helm Bill Hicks biopic, presumably on best behavior

By Eric Schneider July 24, 2012

For his feature directorial debut, Russell Crowe is set to film a biopic of the late comedian Bill Hicks. The Australian-bred actor has apparently been working on a script with his writing partner, Mark Staufer, but given that Hicks was only 32 when he died of cancer, a younger performer will portray the caustic funnyman, who was already the subject of the documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story. 

Speculation has already arisen around who might play Hicks, with a requirement of the job being someone who can handle being directed by the infamously mercurial Crowe, who's been known to let fists and phones fly when not on screen. Of course, possibly boding well is the actor's notorious pickiness in selecting projects, and while this hasn't always resulted in amazing cinema, even some of his less heralded movies are solid films, including 3:10 to Yuma, State of Play, and The Next Three Days.

While we're waiting for casting news to develop, let's take a look at one of Hicks' scathingly hilarious stand-up routines, which make it pretty clear why he's a compelling film subject.

TAGS: actor, biography, biopic, comedian, directorial debut, stand-up comedy,

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