Bradley Cooper to star and direct Netflix's Leonard Bernstein biopic, an Oscar sure shot?

In big breaking news from Hollywood, Netflix is planning a biopic on Leonard Bernstein, the orchestra conductor, and composer of West Side Story.

As per a report in Deadline, Bradley Cooper will star in the project as well as helm it.

The feature will be produced by a consortium of big Hollywood names, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, ‘Joker’ helmer Todd Philips and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, a frequent film collaborator of Martin Scorsese’s. The strangest of the names in the list is that of Steven Spielberg’s who has been very critical of streaming platforms vs traditional films and distribution channels. 

The film on Leonard Bernstein's biopic is yet-to-be-named but will have “a significant theatrical release before the film premieres on its streaming site, just as it did for Scorsese on The Irishman.” Remember when Martin Scorsese revealed at the time of ‘The Irishman’ that it was only Netflix that let it make the film as he visualised it. The film was three hours long. Oscars 2020: Meet the nominees in the best director category

Imagine the stakes of such a film at the Oscars, whenever it gets made. The names thus mentioned in the report that are in some way related to the project, have had 12 Academy Award nominations since 2018. 

This year alone, Netflix has bagged 24 Oscar nominations in various categories and continues to grow in relevance. Oscars 2020: Here's the full list of nominees

The biopic, meanwhile, will officially enter production early next year, likely with a fall 2021 release.

Also read: 2020 Oscars nominations: 7 snubs that took everyone by surprise

Also see: Oscars 2020: 21 movies you should watch before the awards night