Richard Linklater is set to write and direct a film based on the life of comedian Bill Hicks.
The 58-year-old filmmaker – who helmed the 2014 hit ‘Boyhood’ – has signed on to develop the untitled film about the controversial stand-up star for Focus Features, Collider reports.
Linklater is a self-confessed fan of Hicks – who died from the effects of pancreatic cancer in 1994 – and has previously admitted to being disappointed that they never had the chance to work together.
The acclaimed directed has also argued that Hicks’ death left a gap in the comedy landscape that no-one has subsequently been able to fill.
Speaking in 2011, he explained: "There’s not quite any others like him. They don’t speak in the same voice. You’d think people would take that torch and go with it, but it’s a rare combination of that kind of intelligence, mysticism, political, you know … his politics, his angle, it’s pretty unique.
"I go through my life all the time … everything that’s going on in our culture, I always think, what would Bill Hicks be doing? You just miss him."
At the moment, it’s unclear whether the Hicks film will be Linklater’s next project.
The director had also planned to make a movie about the Space Race in the summer of 1969, but those ambitions have recently fallen through.
Richard Linklater to write and direct Bill Hicks movie
