Will Bradley Cooper Be Hyperion’s Screenwriter?

Dan Simmons’ novel Hyperion has been in and out of talks for film production for years, and now it seems like the film actually will be taking off sometime soon. Or will it? Producer Graham King holds the rights to the film adaptation of Hyperion, but nothing is happening in that cinematic ballpark.

However, during his interview on Charlie Rose, actor Bradley Cooper let it leak that he was applying to be the screenwriter for Hyperion, the last writer having been Trevor Sands. Cooper already has a rough draft to present to King, and he said that they are negotiating to author a more permanent screenplay.  He also added, “…ideally I’d like to direct it, but there’s no way.” While his dealing with King is far from over, Cooper is hopeful that “at least we have the chance to write the script for Hyperion.”

Hyperion…how many of us have even heard about this book? Personally, I haven’t. I just browsed Wikipedia’s description and the article says that this is a science fiction novel with a “highly complex” plot. /Film tells us:

“… The novel is a tricky prospect: the stories of six pilgrims as they travel towards a rendezvous and possible redemption at the hands of a mysterious cult icon and killing machine called the Shrike. The setting in each tale ranges across the far corners of a universe united by teleportation technology. It’s big stuff from a budget and design perspective, and very tricky stuff from the perspective of capturing characters and really developing the ideas behind each story. …”

Nevertheless, we’ll be watching to see how far Cooper’s effort to get involved in a dormant production will extend and if the producer will announce actual filming anytime soon.