EXCLUSIVE: After bringing Bruce Springsteen’s formative life to the screen on Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, 20th Century Studios is back onstage with writer-director Scott Cooper and Gotham Group producers Eric Robinson and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein on a new film.
Related Stories
The deal was just closed, and Cooper will write to direct a thriller I’ve heard is based on the Roswell, New Mexico, sci-fi tale in which a rancher found debris scattered around his property, and the government closed ranks as conspiracy theories took flight about a UFO event.
Deliver Me From Nowhere marked the first time that Springsteen and Jon Landau allowed The Boss’ story to be told in a narrative film, with Jeremy Allen White playing the singer-songwriter and Jeremy Strong playing his longtime manager. The film focused on a serious bout of depression and childhood PTSD that Springsteen weathered while writing and recording the seminal 1982 album Nebraska. After Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River put him on the brink of global stardom, Springsteen needed to work on his own issues first. After seeking help for his crippling depression, Springsteen scored his biggest global hit with Born in the USA, and the rest is rock ‘n’ roll history. Springsteen and Landau supported and participated in architecting Cooper’s film, which launched lasty year’s Telluride festival to strong reviews. It has grossed $45 million worldwide since its October theatrical bow.
RELATED: Bruce Springsteen & Jon Landau Q&A: After Half A Century Telling Hollywood No, Why They Let Scott Cooper Tap The Boss’ Pain In ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’
Cooper is figuring out his next screen vehicle while percolating this one. Commanche, an Eric Roth script that Michael Mann percolated for years, is one possibility. He’s repped by CAA and Jackoway Tyerman.