Robin Williams was one of the most beloved actors of his generation and his absence from the screen is sorely missed. The actor lead an interesting and varied life, ranging from his breakthrough as a stand-up comedian, his incredibly popular movie career, and his battles with depression. His life story would make for a fine movie, with the only problem that it’s difficult to imagine anyone able to match his famously intense energy.
Until now, anyway. Earlier this week, a video appeared online titled “ROBIN Test Footage Scene”. This five-minute clip appears to be a spec shot for what a biopic about him could be, with actor Jamie Costa as Williams. Set in 1982, it imagines a moment from the Mork & Mindy set in which Williams learns of the death of his friend John Belushi. It’s a great scene, and fans are calling for it to be turned into a movie:
So what are the chances of this happening? I’d like any planned biopic to be approved by Williams’ family, as it’d necessarily tread on some potentially unpleasant ground. After all, even though Williams was relatively open about his addiction issues and mental health problems, a movie could run the risk of feeling exploitative. His daughter Zelda Williams has already said that people “spamming” her the footage isn’t welcome:
On the other hand, the more people that are aware of Williams’ body of work the better. It’s been seven years since his death and Costa does such a scarily good job of channeling the iconic actor it’s almost like he’s back. Here’s hoping that studio executives are paying attention to the popularity of this clip and consider green lighting this for a full Robin Williams biopic.
