Development is underway on Nice Guy Phil (working title), a Phil Hartman biopic to be produced by Tyler Levine’s Carousel Pictures and directed by Jason Priestley.

The screenplay for the film will be penned by Jonas Chernick, whose previous writing credits include My Awkward Sexual Adventure. Casting for Hartman proved to be a difficult process, with the filmmakers holding nearly five months of auditions before awarding the part to Daran Norris (iZombie, Turbo FAST, Fairly Odd Parents).

Hartman was known as “The Man of a Thousand Voices,” and played more than 75 different Saturday Night Live characters and voiced 25 Simpsons characters. He passed away in 1998, with Levine securing the life rights from the comedian’s estate in 2013 after a negotiation process which took several years. A portion of the film’s proceeds will be allocated to Hartman’s children Birgen and Sean.

The development of Nice Guy Phil has received financial support from Telefilm and The Cogeco Fund. Production on the film is currently slated to start in Summer 2016, and will be shot in both Canada and the U.S.

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