Rumors circulated recently that Bradley Cooper might be playing Lance Armstrong in a feature film. But hang on, people, not so fast.
Obviously, there’s probably going to be a movie made, because that’s what Hollywood does. Takes real-life stories and tragedies and interesting people and turns them into movies.
Last week, Cooper apparently told BBC News that he’d be interested in playing the disgraced cyclist IF a movie was ever made. But the “Silver Linings Playbook” star explained to Access Hollywood that there’s no truth to it.
“Oh my god, that’s so nuts!” he said. “I was in Manchester, doing the BBC morning show… I had no idea what [the interviewer] was talking about. I didn’t even know that J.J. [Abrams] has the rights, I had no idea. I don’t know anything about it.”
Indeed, Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot, are planning a biopic about the disgraced cyclist, a studio spokeswoman said Friday.
They’ve secured the rights to New York Times reporter Juliet Macur’s upcoming book “Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong,” due out in June. Macur covered the seven-time Tour de France winner for over a decade.
But here’s where the story gets murky. J.J. Abrams confirmed to Entertainment Tonight that he’d emailed with Cooper about Macur’s upcoming book. A rep for Cooper declined to comment to EW.
Cooper would be a good choice. He’s proven he can take on any role and make it his own, and he looks a teensy bit like the cyclist.
On the other hand, I’m thinking Matthew McConaughey or Jake Gyllenhaal might be better choices. Then again, they’ve buddied up with the cyclist in real life, so that might be weird if either one played him on the big screen.
Personally, I’d just as soon Hollywood gave no more exposure to Armstrong at all. But I know people will be interested in his story, and someone is bound to make a ton of money off it.
Thoughts?
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