Some time back in May, IESB reported a rumour that Bradley Cooper was lining up the role of Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck in Joe Carnahan’s A-Team adaptation. Of course, Cooper then later gave out the standard non-denial denials all over the place but this morning, Variety are confirming that he’s in negotiations. Also navigating the choppy waters of studio contract formulation is Liam Neeson, who looks set to step up as Col. John “Hannibal” Smith. My, what catchy handles these A-Team boys have.

Both Cooper and Neeson are coming off of big, big hits - The Hangover (blech) and Taken (hurrah!) respectively. This definitely won’t keep costs down, and probably it won’t make negotiations smooth or speedy.

Having seen Neeson sock chops so winningly in Taken, I’m hoping that his Hannibal has more to do than smoke cigars and dress up as an alligator. I won’t go so far as to expect to film to tap into his actual acting ability too much, but that’s the filmmaker’s loss. The rest of us can keep looking forward to Atom Egoyan’s Chloe.

I’ve been trying to guess what kind of “mission” the A-Team will go on in the film, or who their “enemy” will be. I’m pretty much expecting them to be hired by a young woman who will become a love interest for Cooper. Perhaps you know the show better and can take more accurate stab at this.

I’m sure many /Film readers are, like me, not entirely convinced that an A-Team film is a good idea in the first place. To encourage such dissent further, I’ll remind you that most of the graft on the screenplay was done by Skip Woods. Yep - the screenwriter behind Swordfish and Hitman, who also got his mucky paws all over GI Joe and the recent Wolverine movie. He’s directed one film himself - the ludicrous Thursday, a would-be smart-mouthed crime yarn which chased keenly in the wake of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. It still stands as Woods’ best produced screenplay, and has truly earned almost every one of the 33 percentage points it clocked up at Rotten Tomatoes.