Bradley Cooper is a wanted man.
The in-demand thesp, whose starpower helped propel last year’s “Limitless” to a $161 million gross worldwide on a budget of only $27 million, is in talks to star in the period crime thriller “Bad Blood and Trouble” for writer/director J Blakeson (“The Disappearance of Alice Creed”). Cooper would star as a detective in 1950s Miami whose love affair with a married woman leads to trouble when her husband is pursued by a gang of criminals. The film is being eyed for a production start in the second half of next year.
The busy actor is also being pursued for the male lead in director Clint Eastwood’s remake of “A Star Is Born” starring Beyonce Knowles, though there are no negotiations underway at this time and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to make room for the project given his already-crowded schedule. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise have previously been rumored for the role.
Both stories were first reported by Variety.
Cooper begins shooting Todd Phillips’ “The Hangover Part III” next month, followed by a new fact-based thriller directed by David O. Russell and co-starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner in which he’ll play a con artist who conspires with the FBI on a far-reaching corruption investigation. Cooper’s first collaboration with Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook” opposite Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence (with whom he’s also starring in Susanne Bier’s bleak period drama “Serena”), screens at this year’s Toronto Film Festival before premiering in theaters Nov. 21.
Also at Toronto for the actor this year is the Derek Cianfrance-directed thriller “The Place Beyond the Pines,” which also stars Ryan Gosling, Rose Byrne and Eva Mendes. Cooper’s next theatrical release, meanwhile, is the romantic action comedy “Hit & Run” co-starring Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell and Tom Arnold.
Let us know your thoughts on Cooper’s upcoming filmography in the comments. Is he right for the male lead in “A Star Is Born”?