If the name Del Close isn't all that familiar to you, some of his students most definitely will ring a few bells.
Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Bill Murray, Jon Favreau, Dan Aykroyd, Bob Odenkirk, Stephen Colbert, Jim and John Belushi, Amy Sedaris, Andy Richter, Gilda Radner, Eric Stonestreet, John Candy, Adam McKay, David Koechner, Harold Ramis and Mike Myers all trained under Del Close and the man is considered to be the father of modern comedy improv.
As well as this, Close was instrumental in inspiring the likes of Saturday Night Live, the famous Second City Theatre and the Upright Citizens' Brigade - all of which was either formed by or heavily involved his former students.
THR reports that Mike Myers - himself a former student of Del Close - is set to star as the man himself in a feature biopic on his life and career. The film is currently being shopped at Berlin International Film Festival, with a release date expected once the worldwide sales and distribution has been sorted.
Myers has been off the boil for quite some time, to say the least. His last live-action film was 2008's reprehensible The Love Guru, although he did turn up for SNL's 40th Anniversary celebration and reprised his Wayne Campbell character. It's an interesting choice for Myers and, from the looks of it, the film could be something along the lines of Jim Carrey's biopic on Andy Kaufman.
Although he was known more for his comedy coaching, Close made a number of cameos in the likes of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Brian DePalma's The Untouchables and was the subject of a 2009 documentary that featured his past students.
No release date has been scheduled for the film as of yet.
Via THR
