As Deadline Hollywood reports, award-winning documentarian Clay Tweel (Gleason) has been set to direct the first authorized feature doc on comedy legend Andy Kaufman.
Fully financed by Fifth Season (Being Mary Tyler Moore, Kiss the Future) – with EVP of non-scripted and documentary Mary Lisio overseeing – the film will be produced in partnership with The Andy Kaufman Estate. Boasting unprecedented and exclusive access to Kaufman’s family, as well as personal and never-before-seen archives and private recordings — provided by the Estate — and all Kaufman-related archival material from the estate of his longtime manager George Shapiro, it will track the creative process of a performance artist who operated at an undefinable frequency.
Kaufman was a comedian uninterested in “telling jokes,” Kaufman was lauded for his live performances (including his iconic, sellout Carnegie Hall special), his role as Latka Gravas on ABC’s Taxi, and his appearances on SNL (including the inaugural episode), his alter ego Tony Clifton and late-night talk shows – particularly, on Late Night with David Letterman.
The Kaufman documentary will investigate the origins of the artist’s unparalleled creative choices and his personal definition of “funny,” aiming to demystify the human being behind the act, with insight from his closest family, friends, and collaborators.
