Domhnall Gleeson has joined the cast of 'A Futile And Stupid Gesture'.

Domhnall Gleeson

Domhnall Gleeson

Gleeson will star alongside Will Forte in the upcoming true-life tale of the men who founded the National Lampoon magazine and turned into a comic force when it launched a pantheon of comedy movies in the 1970s and '80s including 'Animal House' and 'Caddyshack'.

The 'Ex Machina' star will portray Henry Beard, who founded the humour magazine with Doug Kenny (Forte) and Robert Hoffman.

Despite National Lampoon being known for comedy, the movie may have a darker side as it will centre on the tragic story of Doug, who ended up going Hollywood and succumbed to drug and alcohol issues before falling off a cliff in Hawaii under mysterious circumstances and dying in August 1980 aged 33.

David Wain is directing the film, which Michael Colton and John Aboud- two former editors of the Harvard Lampoon - adapted from Josh Karp's 2006 biography.

Peter Principato and Jonathan Stern are producing.

The production is being backed by Netflix with a release date not yet announced.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in April and the schedule will allow the 'Revenant' star to work on the movie in Los Angeles before returning to London to shoot 'Star Wars: Episode VIII', in which he will reprise his role as General Hux.


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