An original comedy with some original country music songs – from some bona fide songwriters.
The country music genre will soon be returning to the big screen, and it’s looking like it’s going to be a country comedy. Will the country music itself be the punch line? That can’t be ruled out. But considering the proposed premise of the movie, it seems like the fictional country music star that the project will focus on will probably be the thing that’s set to bring the most laughs.
Glenn Powell will take on the role of a country music artist who’s “career is in free fall.” It’ll apparently be his next movie, and the film is rumored to start filming early this year. Powell and Apatow have actually been writing the script for the feature together, and there’s apparently a lot of faith in the idea. Universal Pictures has reportedly fast-tracked the original, still-untitled comedy, and I’m sure it was fast tracked partly because Judd Apatow is set to direct.
In case you didn’t know (or forgot), Apatow is the mind behind some of the best comedy movies and TV shows since the turn of the century. His directorial credits include The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007), and his producer credits include Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004 ), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), and Superbad (2007), just to name a few.
You are probably noticing that a lot of those big hits are now close to two decades old. As far as Judd Apatow projects go, he’s somewhat stalled out a bit as of late. His last movie, The Bubble, was a flop… and his most recent successful TV show, Girls, aired it’s final episode in 2017. The esteemed director and producer is really looking for another hit, and that might come in the form of this team up with Glen Powell.
And there won’t just be star power on the screen in this upcoming comedy. The country music movie is going to have some star power in the songwriting department as well. Judd Apatow shared with The Wrap that he’s enlisted two of country music’s best songwriters to help out with original songs for the country comedy.
“The songwriting is being led by Lukas Nelson and ERNEST, and we’ve had a lot of fun.”
Bringing in the big guns.
ERNEST is one of the most prolific songwriters in Nashville right now, and has helped the likes of Morgan Wallen and Jelly Roll (and strangely enough, sports personality Pat McAfee) write some huge hit songs. As for Lukas Nelson – the son of the great Willie Nelson – he’s as talented of a songwriter as they come, and he’s even got experience writing original music for a movie. Nelson wrote a handful of songs that were featured in the 2018 film A Star Is Born, which starred Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
It’s important to note that A Star Is Born called for some very believable songwriting, and was far from a comedy. It’ll be intriguing to see what the original songs for a country music comedy sound like with ERNEST and Lukas Nelson at the helm. And like I floated out earlier… it’ll be interesting to see how they approach the country music storyline as whole.
Could it play out a lot like Talladega Nights, where a feel good, comeback story is presented with the backdrop of country music being poked fun at the whole time? Or will Glenn Powell and the surrounding characters themselves be the ones that bring the laughs, and the setting just so happens to be the country music world?
I’ve got a feeling that the genre itself will be joked about throughout the film, and I’d imagine that country music artists and fans will be able to take the joke. All in all, it’ll be just great to see country music at the center of what could be a blockbuster movie if Glenn Powell is attached to it. As of right now, it’s set for a February 5, 2027 release date.
The pair teamed up for a song titled “Why Dallas,” which was featured on Ernest’s 2024 Nashville, Tennessee album.
