The movie The American is produced by and stars Jake Gyllenhaal and is structured in five movements, like a symphony, has been put on ice, since the competing film, Bernstein, went into production first.
The American follows Leonard Bernstein from conducting the New York Philharmonic at the age of 25 and through a meteoric rise to fame, all while struggling both personally and publicly to be everything that everyone expected him to be, most of all himself.
The film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who may best be known for the 2011 big screen Jane Eyre and Beasts of No Nation (2015).
Bradley Cooper is directing and starring in the title role in a competing film, Bernstein, a biopic about late gay composer Leonard Bernstein, as his follow up to his directorial debut, A Star Is Born.
Bernstein, which has a screenplay by Oscar-winning writer Josh Singer (Spotlight, The Post), is being produced by Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese.
