Actor Bradley Cooper and director Todd Phillips, who worked together on The Hangover films, have formed a production company and signed a three-year, first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio announced on May 16.
Cooper called Phillips “one of the smartest, coolest guys I know” and “one of the best filmmakers in the business, and I am honored and excited to be his partner.”
Phillips said Cooper “is the hardest-working guy I know and truly loves all aspects of filmmaking. The pairing of his intense focus and my good looks should make for some fun, and hopefully compelling, projects. I look forward to causing some trouble with him.”
Their first collaboration will be Arms & the Dudes, which is Phillips’ next directing project, according to Greg Silverman, the studio’s president, Creative Development and Worldwide Production.
The film is based on a Rolling Stone article written by Guy Lawson “that chronicles the true story of two stoner kids from Miami Beach who wound up becoming big-time arms dealers for the U.S. government, eventually landing a $300 million contract that got them in way over their heads,” according to the studio.
Cooper became well known from The Hangover franchise and has since been nominated for Academy Awards for his work in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.
He formed 22nd & Indiana Pictures and partnered with Warner Bros. in a two-year development deal in 2012. One of the first projects Cooper acquired under that banner was “American Sniper,” an adaptation of the autobiography of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.
Cooper is producing and starring in the film, which is currently shooting in Morocco and Los Angeles, under the direction of Clint Eastwood.
Phillips’ Green Hat Films has been based at Warner Bros. since 2005. The first film under the Green Hat banner was The Hangover, which grossed $469.2 million worldwide.
