Bradley Cooper, like all-so-many actors in Hollywood, seems bitten by the director's bug, as he inched to jump into the chair for a couple years. While he has a couple projects as his potential jumping point, he may have picked his definitive choice with Honeymoon with Harry, starring himself and Robert De Niro.
Word came out on new developments for this decade-in-the-making comedy earlier yesterday via Deadline when it was announced Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love) was re-writing the film through New Line Cinema as a vehicle for Cooper and De Niro. The two stars previously starred in Limitless, Silver Linings Playbook and, if briefly, American Hustle together, so naturally developed a strong working relationship together before this picture. But soon trickled out word that Cooper was not only interested in starring, but directing it as well.
Honeymoon with Harry follows an alcoholic (Cooper) who reforms himself when he falls in love with a woman, only to relapse during their scheduled honeymoon after she dies on the eve of their wedding. It's there where he crosses paths with her father (De Niro). Considering Fogelman is a high-profile writer now, with a stream of successful — if even just financially — movies under his belt, New Line evidently has good intentions on getting this movie made. He recently wrote Last Vegas and also is the creator of ABC's new series Galavant. He also has his directorial debut Danny Collins, starring Al Pacino, set for release sometime this year.
Cooper and De Niro go back to 2010 on this project, when they did a script reading together. They first circled Honeymoon with Harry when Jonathan Demme planned to re-team with his Rachel Getting Married writer Jenny Lumet with this movie. But the history of this project goes farther than that, as producer Mike Karz bought the rights back in 2004 from Bart Baker's unpublished novel. Paul Haggis scripted the movie then, before he would go on to helm his Best Picture-winning Crash or write Million Dollar Baby. He also was attached to direct it, with Vince Vaughn and Jack Nicholson circling the project. Even though the script made the Black List, the budget fell through and the film was never made.
Considering this is more of a drama with comic overtones than straightforward comedy, compared to the works of writer/director James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets), this has been a project the studio has been particularly careful about, as it could easily turn into either an awards-favorite or a complete disaster. Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener and Dave Neustadter are overseeing the movie from New Line, while Karz produces, Russell Hollander co-produces and Josie Rosen executive produces.
Cooper is currently lighting up both the big screen and the Broadway scene right now, with his turn in Clint Eastwood's American Sniper, a movie he also produced, earning great praise, as is stage-performance of The Elephant Man. De Niro, coming off of last year's The Bag Man, has a variety of projects premiering this year, including Nancy Meyers' The Intern, Hands of Stone and Bus 657. Also scheduled to come out this year are Dirty Grandpa, which is currently filming alongside Zac Efron, and David O. Russell's upcoming Joy, also starring Jennifer Lawrence. Both are expected to hit theaters on Christmas Day.
Image courtesy of INFphoto.com
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