It’s clear every news story this week will feature Bradley Cooper in some way. Just grin and bear it, guys.
Besides, this one is actually about Olivia Wilde, and how she decided to add another notch on her Handsome Costar Belt. According to a press release from Benaroya Pictures, Wilde Zoe Saldana, Ben Barnes, John Hannah, J.K. Simmons, and Nora Arnezeder have joined Cooper, Jeremy Irons and Dennis Quaid in the indie thriller, The Words.
The plot description is a little thin. It centers on an author (Cooper) who “at the peak of his literary success, discovers the price he must pay for stealing another man’s work.” It feels a bit Limitlessesque, doesn’t it? It immediately makes me think it will rely heavily on his tried-and-true smug persona, but I suppose that really depends on whether this character consciously plagiarized or not. Maybe this is Secret Window territory. I’m also curious why such a character-centric story boasts such a large cast. The press release doesn’t give any indication as to who Wilde and Company will be playing, but I think Love Interest is probably her enviable role. (So enviable…)
The Words will be the directorial debut of Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal of Tron: Legacy (let’s not hold it against them for now), and starts shooting this month in Montreal.
We’ve been love-hate snarking on Cooper a lot today, but you have to admit, he’s picking his post-Hangover projects wisely and aligning himself with good casts. He hasn’t gone the easy comedy and rom-com route, unlike some other actors I can think of. If he can hold on, between him, Michael Fassbender, Jon Hamm, Tom Hardy, and Leonardo DiCaprio (and maybe James Franco), it feels like we’ve got a nice crop of male actors who can headline those lean thrillers and dramas that we used to get in the 1980s and 1990s. I’ve missed those. I’ve missed the men who can handle those, and then do a comedy or a romance without losing their gravitas. Each little movie like this makes me hope we’re seeing a renaissance.