by: S. Scott Stanikmas 

Movie director and shock rocker Rob Zombie is stepping outside his comfort zone of the horror genre for his next project. Deadline has the scoop that the filmmaker will tackle a Groucho Marx Biopic,

Zombie will work form a script by Love and Mercy screenwriter Oren Moverman. The script will be an adaptation of Steve Soliar’s memoir Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House.

The book follows the story of the last years of Groucho Marx, as told by one of his biggest fans that also had the chance to work as the actor’s archivist and personal secretary. Along the way he got to meet such Hollywood luminaries as Bob Hope, Steve Allen, Mae West and George Burns. But he also had to deal with Marx at the end of his time as well as Erin Fleming – the capricious woman that was in charge of Groucho’s personal and professional going-ons.

Moverman has been getting rave reviews for his work on the Brian Wilson biopic, with the Beach Boy himself stating that this was the most fact-based story anyone could have put out there. It’s an interesting turn to take, using an assistant’s memoir to tell the story of a star’s last years alive, but it could prove to be a sound gambit.

Moving from his usual standard fare, it will be interesting to see how Zombie tackles this type of material. It’s obvious the man is a fan of the Marx Brothers, with the many references that get slipped into his films. This may turn out to be the case of a filmmaker finally getting to do a dream project about a topic he feels passionate about and knocking one out of the park in terms of quality and storytelling.

“I have been a huge Groucho Marx fan ever since I was a child and have read countless books 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.”

No production start dates were given, but Zombie is still currently filming his next movie, the horror film 31. As long as he doesn’t get sidetracked with anything else, this could be next on the director’s to-do list.