Who would have ever guessed that the douchebag from The Hangover would become one of Hollywood’s top talents?
Deadline is reporting that Bradley Cooper has signed a deal to direct a film about the life of legendary American composer Leonard Bernstein for Netflix.
Bernstein is the genius behind the music for classic films such as West Side Story, On The Town and On The Waterfront and considered one of the greatest musical talents in American history. At one point he was blacklisted by the US government but unlike others was able to continue on with his career.
Cooper’s last directorial effort was the eight-time Oscar-nominated film A Star Is Born, with whom in addition to directing it, also starred in it alongside Lady Gaga.
The script for the film was written by Cooper and Spotlight writer Josh Singer.
Three of the names backing the production in the producer’s chair are Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Joker director Todd Phillips.
At one point Scorsese was planning on making a film about Bernstein himself, but stepped aside to make The Irishman instead, which opened the way for Cooper to come on board as director.
Spielberg’s next film is a remake of Bernstein’s West Side Story, but yet his name is perhaps the most surprising one to be involved in the project. Remember, he pretty famously stated a while back his dislike for Netflix and how he did not believe films made for the service deserved to be considered for the Academy Awards.
But now that he’s working with them, I’m pretty sure his tune on that will change if this film winds up with any nominations a couple of years from now.
Even though Netflix has quickly gained a reputation for churning out a lot of films of questionable quality, they also seem to always have one or two films every year like The Irishman or Roma which clean up with the critics during awards season.
Still too early to tell how this film will do, but it seems to have to proper footing so far.
