Steven Spielberg is still looking for his next directing gig.
According to Deadline, Spielberg — along with DreamWorks — has backed out of directing American Sniper after declaring in May that that would be his follow-up to last year’s Lincoln. The stated reason was that Spielberg couldn’t “square his vision of this movie with the budget.”
American Sniper stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, a real-life US Navy SEAL with more sniper kills than anyone in US history. Cooper is also a producer.
It’s kind of disappointing that Spielberg isn’t directing American Sniper, as the subject matter sounds up his alley; he does have a pretty good track record with biopics (i.e. Schindler’s List and Lincoln). But it’s nice that he’s being choosy and not just doing something to do something. It’ll be interesting to see what one of the greatest directors of all-time has next up his sleeve.