BRADLEY COOPER TO STAR IN AND DIRECT LEONARD BERNSTEIN BIOPIC

By Justin Kroll  @krolljvar Justin Kroll

As buzz builds on his directorial debut, “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper looks to have found his next directing vehicle. The A-lister will helm and star in the Leonard Bernstein biopic “Bernstein,” sources tell Variety.

Paramount Pictures and Amblin Entertainment will co-finance the film from a script by Josh Singer. Cooper — through his Joint Effort banner — will produce with Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Fred Berner, Amy Durning, and Kristie Macosko Krieger.

Paramount and Amblin are close to finalizing a deal with the Bernstein estate for music and life rights, which should be done shortly.

The movie is the second project to be announced in the last week revolving around the composer; Jake Gyllenhaal is also developing a pic about Bernstein called “The American.” Cary Fukunaga directs with Gyllenhaal toplining and producing.

Bernstein rose to fame after he was tasked with conducting the New York Philharmonic at the tender age of 25. His career skyrocketed when he composed the music for “West Side Story,” which bowed on Broadway in 1957 and then was turned into a classic, multi-Oscar-winning film.

It is unknown how these two films with differ in terms of storyline, but there is now a race to see who can get their movie up and running first.

Cooper is in post-production on his remake of “A Star Is Born,” in which he stars alongside Lady Gaga; it bows this October. He is repped by CAA.

http://variety.com/2018/film/news/bradley-cooper-leonard-bernstein-movie-1202805902/