Rob Zombie is Making A Groucho Marx Movie

Ever wonder why Rob Zombie named the Firefly clan from House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects after characters from Marx brothers movies? That wasn’t just for a fun bit for movie nerds. Zombie is apparently a huge fan of Groucho Marx, and through some amazing alignment of the planets, Deadline reports that he’s now attached to direct a film about the final years of Groucho Marx’s life.

Based on the memoir Raised Eyebrows by Steve Stoliar (who was Groucho’s assistant and archivist) with a screenplay by Oren Moverman (The Messenger, Love and Mercy), Zombie has some enthusiastic words about the project:

“I have been a huge Groucho Marx fan ever since I was a child and have read countless book on the comic legend, but after reading the book Raised Eyebrows, a totally new perspective on Groucho’s life emerged,” says Zombie. “I immediately saw this project as Groucho’s Sunset Boulevard and knew I had to bring it to the big screen. It is a sad, funny and very dark tale of a one of Hollywood’s greatest stars final years.”

I’m someone who goes to bat for Zombie a lot. Though I can’t really defend his Halloween remake (it has one good idea/image in it, but only one), his other films are so uniquely his and I welcome anyone who is able to get their voice and perspective across in their films. I’ve been eager to see him try his hand outside of the horror genre (he’s been attached to a film about the Philadelphia Flyers for what seems like forever), and I don’t see him doing so unless it’s a project he’s extremely passionate about. His obvious love of Marx makes me excited to see how he’ll apply his talents towards something far more mainstream.

I only wonder if he’ll pull from his usual stable of actors when it comes time for casting. Are we going to see William Forsythe as a geriatric Groucho Marx? Do we live in such a glorious universe?

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