Richard Linklater to direct Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine in Bernie

Brad Sturdivant August 8th, 2010

Richard Linklater has enlisted the services of Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine to star in his film BERNIE. But before you get too excited, read the description of the film. This is a true story based on the life of Berhardt “Bernie” Tiede, who was a mortician in the mid-90’s that was convicted of murdering an 81 year-old widow. He was a mortician that befriended the widow and after he killed her, he hid her body in a freezer and pretended she was still alive. Wow. How original is that? A movie about “Bernie” that runs around pretending a dead person is actually still alive. I wonder if this movie will take place over a weekend and will spawn an equally ridiculous sequel.

I’m sure the story is fascinating and I’m sue the real Berhardt was a wacky, quirky fella. But the fact remains that the movie is called “BERNIE” and is about a guy pretending a dead person is still alive. No matter what they do, this film will absolutely never be able to escape the comparisons to WEEKEND AT BERNIES. Which brings up the point; why even bother?

Jack Black