https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLqq1EyWhPE
Earlier, Eric noted that late last night, Variety reported that WWE Studios (in conjunction with Great Point Media) has hired Josh Gad and writing partner Ryan Dixon to write a script for a biopic of WWE Hall f Famer Gorgeous George. Gad has written before, mostly for TV, but he’s best known for voicing Olaf in Frozen and currently co-starring with Billy Crystal in “The Comedians” on FX.
The Gorgeous George project has been floating around within WWE for several years. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in March of 2010 over WrestleMania weekend. A few weeks later in April, Deadline first reported that WWE Studios had optioned the 2008 book Gorgeous George: The Outrageous Bad-Boy Wrestler Who Created American Pop Culture. Written by John Capouya, it’s a heavily researched look into the life and career of George Wagner, the man behind the Gorgeous George gimmick. Much of it is sourced from his interviews with Wagner’s ex-wife Betty (who accepted his HOF induction), and it’s about as detailed as you could ever hope a book about wrestling from the early television era could be.
Before long, the project was turned into a documentary, with WWE even soliciting relevant home movies and memories from locals in the paper of record in Wagner’s old home town, the Houston Chronicle. Not long after that, Betty Wagner passed away, and it seemed as if the projected had been permanently shelved. That was the last anyone heard until last night. While projects with big name writers can still fall apart, this news definitely shows a renewed commitment on WWE’s part.
