Pioneering silent film comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle -- whose career was ruined following charges that he raped and murdered actress Virginia Rappe in 1921 (he was acquitted) -- is getting a proper biopic treatment in the HBO movie The Day the Laughter Stopped, with Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet set to star. The tragic story will be spun by John Adams scribe Kirk Ellis, with Barry Levinson attached as director. Seems like a perfect storm of talents; I just wish HBO titled it something a little more Arbucklian, like Fatty's Big Murder or Mabel's Confounding Demise. [Vulture]
