Not every story about Bradley Cooper signing on to a film pans out: while he didn’t end up picking up a weapon for Jane Got A Gun, it appears he is definitely down for a stint in the kitchen for **Chef.
Cooper was first linked to the movie back in January, when his Place Beyond The Pines director Derek Cianfrance was considering taking the directing job, working with a script by Eastern Promises’ Steve Knight.
Now John Wells, fresh from marshalling a top ensemble for August: Osage Count****y, is on to direct the story of Adam Jones (Cooper) a chef at a swanky Paris restaurant who loses his job after a run of out-of-control behaviour. He decides to get clean and returns to the city aiming to run a restaurant that can once more sport three Michelin stars. He might consider getting a rat to help…
With Michelle Williams and Marion Cotillard circling the cast, and Omar Sy already aboard, this one is now bubbling away nicely.
Yet there’s a fly in the soup, as Jon Favreau is also preparing a film called Chef, a comedy that he’s written and will direct/star in. That one sees a top cook fired, only to regain his mojo and reconnect with his family by starting a food truck.
Favreau already has Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo and Bobby Cannavale co-starring, not to mention Robert Downey Jr set for a cameo. And he’s just scooped another Avenger, Scarlett Johansson, to play a restaurant manager he falls for{
Though Favreau is set to kick off shooting in July, there is wrangling behind the scenes as The Weinstein Company is claiming ownership of the title and has already sent a cease and desist letter to Favreau’s production company. We’d guess a simple name switch will suffice, but who will blink? This one will keep on heating up…