Ellen Page in Talks to Join Emile Hirsch in John Belushi Biopic

It's already been a busy 2014 for Ellen Page, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down in the least. Her personal life was splashed all over the tabloids last month, which drew attention to the gay rights drama Freeheld she's been developing. This summer sees her returning as Kitty Pryde in X-men: Days of Future Past, and she's got another comic book adaptation in Queen & Country on the way. And now she may be adding one more project, possibly joining Steve Conrad's upcoming John Belushi biopic.

According to The Wrap, Page is in talks to join Emile Hirsch in the biopic based on the late comedian's life. She would play Judith Jacklin, Belushi's high school girlfriend and eventual wife who was left a widow after his sudden death in 1982 of a drug overdose. She counts as a producer on the film, along with Belushi's long-time friend Dan Akroyd who will also have a role. Conrad is adapting the screenplay himself, based on the book Belushi written by his ex-wife and Tanner Colby.

Page is a fantastic actress and her addition to this film gives it a big boost, but the best part is Hollywood's willingness to cast her as a heterosexual romantic lead. I was worried they'd only see her as "the gay actress" and steer her towards those movies.

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Emile Hirsch Lands John Belushi Role in Untitled Biopic

It looks like a major biopic on late funnyman John Belushi is finally, actually going to happen. Just a few days ago word emerged that Adam Levine, Joaquin Phoenix, and Emile Hirsch were contenders to play Belushi in the long-developing film now being helmed by writer Steve Conrad, and it didn't take long for a decision to be made. A press release has confirmed today that it will be Hirsch in the Belushi role, which should be interesting to say the least.

In the works for at least three years, Conrad was initially set to merely pen the script but he's on the up 'n up after writing Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. So now he's directing, and apparently he sees something in Hirsch that I'm missing because he seems like an odd choice.  Hirsch has never quite lived up to how good he was in Into the Wild but playing Belushi should do the trick. The film is produced by Belushi's friend Dan Akroyd and widow Judy Pisano, based in part on her 2005 book. Here's the official synopsis:

On the day he turned thirty, John starred in America's number-one movie ("Animal House"), starred in the number-one late-night show ("Saturday Night Live") and had recorded the number-one album ("Briefcase Full of Blues"). All from a guy who was never supposed to make it out from behind the cash register of his family's Chicago diner.

How did this Albanian immigrant's son capture a nation's imagination and come to embody all the glory and tragedy of the American dream? It was one high-price, high-speed, short-lived wild ride.

Filming is set to start next spring. 

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Joaquin Phoenix, Adam Devine, and Emile Hirsch Up for John Belushi Biopic?

It's been three years since the last update on the very long-developing John Belushi biopic, back when Todd Phillips (The Hangover) was eying the director's chair and Steve Conrad (The Weather Man) was penning the screenplay. At the time, Zach Galifianakis, Jack Black, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Ethan Suplee and Tyler Labine were mentioned as candidates to play the late comedian, but the project never developed and it's languished in limbo ever since. But now it's suddenly been reborn, and the actors being eyed to play Belushi are more than a little surprising.

According to THR, Conrad will now take over as director, surfing the waves of his success writing Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. And with him comes some new possibilities for the starring role, with Emile Hirsch and Adam Devine (Pitch Perfect) having already met with Conrad about it. In what would be a truly inspired move, Joaquin Phoenix's name has also surfaced to play Belushi. This couldn't be a Belushi biopic without someone to play his buddy Dan Akroyd, and apparently Nelson Franklin (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) has is circling that role. Akroyd is also producing along with Belushi's widow, Judy Pisano.

Out of the choices, I'm perhaps most fascinated to see what Phoenix could do playing the late Animal House star, but the prospect of seeing the charismatic Devine land such a breakout role is intriguing. 

Warner Bros. is still backing this one and they're targeting spring 2014 as a start date.

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