‘Burnt’ Teaser: Bradley Cooper Is a Disgraced Chef

If the title Burnt means nothing to you, then perhaps you remember a project titled The Chef, or maybe Adam Jones, which was the most recent title of the upcoming drama starring Bradley Cooper. The first teaser has arrived via The Today Show, but hopefully we’ll have a more formal trailer release soon.

This isn’t the first time Cooper has played a disgraced chef who has to work to reclaim his former glory — the actor starred in the incredibly short-lived FOX series Kitchen Confidential, based on renowned chef Anthony Bourdain’s own life experiences. The plot of Burnt may also seem familiar if you watched Jon Favreau’s Chef, the film Favreau starred in and directed about a chef who loses his mind and his love of cooking and sets out to reignite his passion.

Actually, Favreau’s film is the reason why Cooper’s new film underwent a title change from The Chef to Adam Jones (briefly) before it settled on Burnt. David Fincher was in talks to direct the project at one point, and the brief visuals of precise food preparation and the sharp, talky dialogue give you a sense of what may have attracted him to the film. After Fincher backed out, Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines) was in talks to direct before the film landed John Wells (August: Osage County).

Burnt was written by Steven Knight (Locke, Pawn Sacrifice) and Michael Kalesniko (Iron Sky), and co-stars Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Bruhl, Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson and Matthew Rhys. Here’s the official synopsis:

Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) had it all – and lost it. A two-star Michelin rockstar with the bad habits to match, the former enfant terrible of the Paris restaurant scene did everything different every time out, and only ever cared about the thrill of creating explosions of taste. To land his own kitchen and that third elusive Michelin star though, he’ll need the best of the best on his side, including the beautiful Helene (Sienna Miller). BURNT is a remarkably funny and emotional story about the love of food, the love between two people, and the power of second chances.

Burnt hits theaters on October 23. Hopefully we’ll get a more official trailer — sans The Today Show’s shrill introduction — soon.