With more than $500M and a Best Actor nomination, Bradley Cooper tapped into a whole new audience with American Sniper. So it's not surprising he's attempting to stay within the military genre, and bringing his pal Todd Phillips (The Hangover) along with him. The two are teaming up for an adaptation of Don Pendleton's commando Mack Bolan novels, and now they're working on a true story on one of the most unique units in U.S. military history.
Cooper, Phillips, and Andrew Lazar are teaming with Warner Bros. to produce Ghost Army, an adaptation of Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles' book, "The Ghost Army of WWII". Officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops , the U.S. tactical unit specialized in deception and was responsible for impersonating other U.S. army units in order to deceive the enemy. The army recruited a number of creative-types to come up with unique ways to fool the enemy into thinking the U.S. had forces where they weren't supposed to be. From D-Day through to the end of the war they staged 20 battlefield deceptions, employing inflatable tanks, phony radio transmissions, sound trucks, and more.
Henry Gaden (Earth to Echo) will write the screenplay with everyone hoping Cooper will want to star in it. Next up for him is the culinary film, Adam Jones, followed by a reunion with Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell in Joy. He's also expected to direct and star in a remake of A Star is Born. Cooper is also a producer on Phillips' next film, Arms and the Dudes, starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller.
