Is Nebraska Bruce Springsteen’s best album? The answer is yes, and it isn’t only us saying so – the making of The Boss’s 1982 masterpiece is about to become a motion picture that will star Jeremy Allen White, hot off his Emmy-winning role in The Bear, as Springsteen.

Scott Cooper, who directed Jeff Bridges as a fictional country star in Crazy Heart is on board to direct Deliver Me from Nowhere, based on the 2023 book Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska by Warren Zanes.

The title comes from a lyric in one of Nebraska’s more upbeat tunes, “Open All Night,” but the entire album features songs about despair, disillusionment and the struggle to survive, recorded by Springsteen at his home with only a few instruments and a four track recorder. Though he intended them as demos that would later be re-recorded by his E-Street band, Springsteen changed his mind and released them as is.

The resulting album is one of his most highly regarded, ranking 150th on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list in 2020. The album was more stark in tone than 1980’s The River, which preceded Nebraska, or the followup album, Born in the USA. While all three albums tackled the same themes of working class anguish, Springsteen’s other albums had a more upbeat outlook – and more songs you could dance to.

The movie is being distributed by 20th Century Studios. Cooper is adapting the screenplay from Zanes’ book and will produce alongside Eric Robinson, Zanes, and Scott Stuber.

“Warren Zanes’ Deliver Me From Nowhere ‘is one of the best books ever written about Bruce Springsteen and his music,” said Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau in a statement. “Bruce and I are thrilled that Scott Cooper has chosen to write and direct the film based on that book – we think he’s the perfect filmmaker for the job.

“I once read that Nebraska is an album that moves you to the marrow of your bones. I couldn’t agree more,” said Cooper in a statement. “Bruce Springsteen, and Nebraska, in particular, have had a profound impact on me and my work.”

According to Deadline, White has officially signed on to the picture. He will finish shooting Season 4 of The Bear in June. White, who also received good reviews for his role in A24’s The Iron Claw, won an Emmy for his performance as the burned-out chef Carmy, who goes back to his roots to resurrect the Chicago sandwich shop left him by his late brother.