We’ve been talking a lot about the sudden surge of music biopics being greenlit as of late, and it stands to reason that when something becomes an identifiable trend, it usually isn’t long before someone like the Wayans Brothers jumps on the potential for an easy parody movie to be made too. Enter the new magic man of comedy Judd Apatow, who has teamed up with his buddy Jake Kasdan (Orange County, Freaks & Geeks, Undeclared) to bring us a musical spoof called Walk Hard. John C. Reilly will star as fictional music legend Dewey Cox, who is described as “an amalgamation of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings”, and will sing in his own voice.

In addition to Reilly, the cast looks pretty solid with names that include David Koechner, John Michael Higgins, Jenna Fischer, and Tim Meadows, along with some interesting cameos like Will Ferrell (big surprise), and both Jack Black and Jack White (of the White Stripes). How poetic. Strangely, Jack White has reportedly been cast as Elvis Presley in the movie; somehow I can’t see it, but maybe he’s only supposed to be a fictional “Elvis-esque” character. On the one hand, I like the people involved in this film and I think it could be funny, but on the other hand, music parodies have been done to death, and you really can’t top This Is Spinal Tap. (This also sounds a lot like the recent Canadian mockumentary The Life and Times of Guy Terrifico.) Walk Hard is currently in production and is aiming for a February 2008 release.

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