Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners) va juca rolul principal in The American, filmul biografic regizat de Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) despre viata compozitorului Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story).
Nascut in Massachusetts si absolvent al Universitatii Harvard, Bernstein avea doar 25 de ani cand a fost numit Dirijor Asistent al Filarmonicii din New York, fiind apoi Director Muzical timp de 11 ani. El a condus numeroase concerte la Carnegie Hall, New York Symphony Orchestra, dar si in Londra, Milano sau Tel Aviv.
De-a lungul carierei sale, Bernstein a castigat 11 Premii Emmy, dar si un Grammy pentru intreaga activitate, in 1985. A fost nominalizat la Oscar in 1955, pentru muzica filmului On the Waterfront. Leonard Bernstein a murit la 72 de ani, in octombrie 1990, la 5 zile dupa ce s-a retras din activitate.
Michael Mitnick (The Giver) a adaptat scenariul filmului dupa cartea scrisa de Humphrey Burton in 2001, Leonard Bernstein. The American este produs de Cary Fukunaga si Nine Stories, compania de productie a lui Jake Gyllenhaal; BRON Studios va finanta filmul, productia acestuia debutand in toamna.
“Like many people, Leonard Bernstein found his way into my life and heart through ‘West Side Story’ when I was a kid. But as I got older and started to learn about the scope of his work, I began to understand the extent of his unparalleled contribution and the debt of gratitude modern American culture owes him. As a man, Bernstein was a fascinating figure — full of genius and contradiction — and it will be an incredible honor to tell his story with a talent and friend like Cary,” a declarat Jake Gyllenhaal.
