AceShowbiz -

Steven Spielberg has just bowed out of "American Sniper", Deadline confirms. The "E.T." director, who has won three Oscars, exits the project in which he was set to direct in May since he could not "square his vision of this movie with the budget" planned by Warner Bros. At the same time, co-producer DreamWorks drops out of it following Spielberg's departure.

Fortunately, the move does not affect Bradley Cooper at all as he is still signed on to star and develop the film as producer as of this writing. It is adapted from the autobiography of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. It chronicles how the late Texas native Kyle came to record the highest number of sniper kills for an American.

To Entertainment Weekly, Cooper reveals that the project is very important to him. "It's a unique situation because it's playing an actual man. I mean, Jesus. I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to do him justice and to do it right. I think it's an important story to be told right now," the "American Hustle" actor says.

"It's been quite a road. We bought the rights to the book and I was talking to Chris [Kyle] and we had every intention of making the movie already and then he was murdered. I know it's going to be a tough role for me."