Bradley Cooper has ben working for years to bring a biopic of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein to life. It's been coming together across the last few months, and now Carey Mulligan will play Bernstein's wife opposite Cooper in the film, which is now called Maestro.
Cooper will also direct, and wrote the script with Josh Singer. Maestro will tell the complex love story of Leonard and Felicia, a story that spans over 30 years, from the time they met in 1946 at a party and continuing through two engagements, a 25 year marriage, and three children: Jamie Bernstein, Alexander Bernstein and Nina Bernstein Simmons.
"I was struck by Carey ever since I saw her on stage many years ago and I haven’t missed a performance of hers since," Cooper tells Deadline. "I am humbled to be working with such a mammoth talent, as well as such a kind person in Carey."
And Bernstein's children also seem happy with the choice. "We’re absolutely thrilled that Carey Mulligan will play our mother in Maestro,” says Jamie Bernstein. “Carey will surely capture Felicia’s unique combination of wit, warmth, elegant beauty, and depth of emotion. We also love the way Carey conveys a kind of storybook European grace, which was something our mother embodied as well."
The film itself will debut on Netflix, and Cooper is looking to start the cameras cranking in the spring.