Bradley Cooper in talks to replace Mark Wahlberg in The Silver Linings Playbook; Robert De Niro eyes role

There's only 24 hours in a single day, and although Mark Wahlberg may look like a superhero not even he can slow down time. Unfortunately in this case, the calendar has forced him to drop out of The Silver Linings Playbook, his buddy David O. Russell's(The Fighter) adaptation of Matthew Quick's novel.

That means basically starting back at square one, which includes going back to the first name rumored for the lead role: Bradley Cooper. Deadline reports that the Cooper is now in talks for the role of Pat Peoples, an ex-high school teacher who is released from a mental institution after four years, and tries to put his life back together(finding the silver lining!). He moves in with his mom, and tries to turn his life around. Jennifer Lawrence is set to play a possible love interest for Pat, a depressed neighbor handling the recent death of her husband very poorly.  It was signing which caused the shoot date to get pushed to the fall(she's in the midst of The Hunger Games), leading to Wahlberg having to drop out. Does that mean they want Lawrence more than Wahlberg? Robert De Niro is also said to be circling an unknown role. De Niro and Cooper just starred together in the surprise hit, Limitless.

I don't see much in the way of similarity between Wahlberg and Cooper. Wahlberg is certainly a more sympathetic figure, while Cooper comes off as smug even when trying not to. I'll be curious to see how this plays out.