The director’s upcoming original film about Frank Bullitt, the character made famous by Steve McQueen, will star Bradley Cooper in the titular role.
The film is based on the 1963 novel, Mute Witness by Robert L. Fish. The original Bullitt starred the late and great McQueen as the title character, a San Francisco Police Department lieutenant seeking to take down Chicago mobster Johnny Rose (Pat Renella). According to Tarantino’s latest book, Cinema Speculation, the filmmaker states that McQueen’s role and involvement in Bullitt made it one of the defining films of the era.
Spielberg is not a filmmaker who does many remakes, which is why this Bullitt filmwill be an entirely original story according to sources close to the project (via IndieWire). Josh Singer is penning the screenplay for Spielberg’s new project, with McQueen’s son Chad and granddaughter Molly as executive producers.
'Bullitt'Credit: Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
The original Bullitt was a critical success, grossing $42.3 million on a $4 million budget, and also won the best editing Oscar at the Academy Awards. Bullitt also became a defining movie in the action genre, especially for the film’s car chase scene, and many films still try to capture the lightning in the bottle that was McQueen’s most famous performance.
Cooper will join Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger as producers on the film. The three also serve as producers on Cooper’s upcoming feature, Maestro, about the life of Leonard Bernstein. Maestro is currently in post-production and is set to release on Netflix in 2023.
Spielberg’s untitled Bullitt film will be the director’s next film after The Fabelmans, which will be released in theaters by Thanksgiving. The film has been receiving rave reviews and has generated Oscar buzz. Spielberg might be hoping to win another Oscar with his Bullitt-inspired film.
Let us know what you think of the project in the comments below!
Source: IndieWire
