Jake Gyllenhaal Entering the Chat, Mad as Hell
On the dueling Bernstein biopics.
I don’t have proof that Jake Gyllenhaal reads Hung Up — but I also don’t have proof that Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t read Hung Up. In any event, if he is: baby, skip this one!
There was once a man in Hollywood who dreamed of making a biopic. The biopic would be about his hero, Leonard Bernstein, perhaps the most important conductor in American history. The movie would be big, impressive, bold — “structured in five movements, like a symphony!” Cary Fukunaga would direct; the actor would produce and star. “Like many people, Leonard Bernstein found his way into my life and heart through West Side Story when I was a kid,” the man said in a statement. “But as I got older and started to learn about the scope of his work, I began to understand the extent of his unparalleled contribution and the debt of gratitude modern American culture owes him. As a man, Bernstein was a fascinating figure—full of genius and contradiction—and it will be an incredible honor to tell his story with a talent and friend like Cary.” There was just one problem: When it came time for the Bernstein estate to give the rights to Leonard Bernstein’s music, they did not choose this man. They chose the other Leonard Bernstein biopic. They chose Bradley Cooper’s.
Chile! You can hear my laugh from Tatooine’s second sun!
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