Almost one year ago we heard that Bradley Cooper was trying to make a film based on the book AMERICAN SNIPER written by Chris Kyle, the most deadly sniper in Navy SEALS history. Cooper will produce through his own 22nd and Indiana Pictures. Once his SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK Oscar nomination hit, Cooper was suddenly much more capable of getting projects off the ground. Most recently he stepped into Jude Law‘s role in the troubled JANE’S GOT A GUN with Natalie Portman, a part which he has now left as well.
Not to bad of a consolation prize, Cooper has now secured a director for AMERICAN SNIPER and it is none other than Steven Spielberg. Warner Bros. and Dreamworks will co-produce the film which should start shooting this year.
Here’s the plot synopsis for the bestselling book:
From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book. Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.
We all know that Spielberg is very capable of handling drama, action, and war sequences. Cooper has begun to prove his is more than a good looking guy and convinced me with SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES that he definitely earned that Best Actor nomination. I hope this film gets a quality supporting cast and it will be nice to see Spielberg delve into a contemporary set film.