AceShowbiz - Bradley Cooper has signed on to direct and star in a new movie about beloved composer Leonard Bernstein. The actor, who recently directed Lady GaGa in the upcoming "A Star in Born" remake, will also co-write Bernstein with Oscar-winning Spotlight screenwriter Josh Singer and produce, alongside Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, among others.

Cooper's project will go up against Jake Gyllenhaal's new Bernstein film, "The American", which will be adapted from Humphrey Burton's biography, titled Leonard Bernstein. Gyllenhaal's biopic, which will pick up Bernstein's life as a rookie conductor at the New York Philharmonic at the age of 25 and portray the composer through his highs and lows as he grappled with fame and success, is one of the hottest properties being shopped around at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

"Like many people, Leonard Bernstein found his way into my life and heart through (movie musical) West Side Story when I was a kid," Gyllenhaal said in a statement to Deadline last week. "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 honour to tell his story."

Cary Fukunaga, who will direct Jake in "The American", added, "Bernstein's artistic passions changed the way generations understood and appreciated music... Jake is the perfect partner to help bring this story to life and to play this legend."

Meanwhile, sources suggest Scorsese was at one point interested in directing Cooper's new Bernstein project, but stepped down to take charge of upcoming mob drama "The Irishman".