Brent Lang Executive Editor There’s an “American Hustle” reunion brewing. Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale, who previously braved late ’70s hairstyles and fashions in service of David O. Russell’s vision, will reunite more than a decade later.
21.11.2023 - 18:29 / variety.com
Zack Sharf Digital News Director When backlash over Bradley Cooper‘s nose prosthetic in “Maestro” first erupted in August ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Cooper himself could not speak out to defend his choice as it was in the midst of the SAG-AFTRA strike. He finally got the opportunity to do so during an interview with “CBS Mornings,” explaining that he first attempted to play famed composer Leonard Bernstein without the prosthetic but ultimately decided “we just had to do it.” “Nothing catches me off guard,” Cooper said when asked about the initial backlash over the fake nose. “You never know what’s going to happen.
I’ve done this whole project out of love and it’s so clear to me where I come from. My nose is very similar to Lenny’s actually. The prosthetic is actually like a silk sheet.” “I thought, ‘Maybe we don’t need to do it because we could take time off prep,'” Cooper continued.
“But it’s all about balance, and, you know, my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin. And so we had that, and it just didn’t look right [without the prosthetic]…we just had to do it, otherwise I just wouldn’t believe he’s a human being.” Cooper has earned critical acclaim for his performance in the film, which he also directed and co-wrote. As soon as the backlash started in August, the real Leonard Bernstein’s children — Jamie, Alexander and Nina — issued a joint statement defending Cooper.
Brent Lang Executive Editor There’s an “American Hustle” reunion brewing. Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale, who previously braved late ’70s hairstyles and fashions in service of David O. Russell’s vision, will reunite more than a decade later.
Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer In “Maestro,” Bradley Cooper disappears into the role of legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, one of the most consequential American figures in classical music.
Bradley Cooper made his directorial debut with A Star Is Born in 2018, and he returned to the directors seat for his new movie Maestro.
Leonard Bernstein — the composer of West Side Story and considered one of the world’s greatest conductors — has lived rent-free in Bradley Cooper’s head since 2018, when Steven Spielberg met with him about what was going to be a straightforward biopic of a musical genius. Somehow, Spielberg knew that Cooper had been obsessed with conducting since he was a child. Not because he was some kind of musical prodigy, but because of an episode of The Bugs Bunny Show in which the hero conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, arms flailing wildly.
Jon Burlingame The greatest film score of 2023 isn’t eligible for an Academy Award. That’s because Leonard Bernstein composed it between 1944 and 1977, multiple pieces that collectively form the musical backdrop of “Maestro,” Bradley Cooper’s film about the 20th century American composer-conductor. The classical excerpts functioning as dramatic score include Bernstein’s ballets “Fancy Free” and “Facsimile,” parts of his Broadway scores for “West Side Story” and “Candide,” his opera “A Quiet Place,” music for the film “On the Waterfront,” portions of his second and third symphonies as well as his “Mass” and “Chichester Psalms.” “I think of the score as the co-star of the film,” says the composer’s oldest daughter, Jamie Bernstein.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Any movie fan who thought “Dune” was lacking on the action front will be happy with the upcoming sequel, at least according to director Denis Villeneuve. In a new interview with Total Film magazine, Villeneuve touted the 2024 sequel as “more muscular” than the first installment that hit theaters and Max in 2021. “The first movie was more meditative and contemplative.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ted Sarandos is happy the twin Hollywood strikes are over — but the Netflix co-CEO claimed the streamer didn’t see significant “interruption” in its ability to launch original series and films. “We are mostly just thrilled that the strikes are behind us.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director The year is coming to end, but not without some major original films debuting on Netflix, Prime Video and more top streaming platforms. Whether it’s potential new holiday classics (Prime Video is launching the Eddie Murphy holiday comedy “Candy Cane Lane” this month) or potential new franchises (Zack Snyder returns to Netflix for the start of his space opera saga “Rebel Moon”), streaming is offering up a ton of original fare this month bolstered by star power such as Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and more. Disney+ already added the first four “Indiana Jones” movies to its streaming library in May, but now comes the arrival of the fifth installment, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which marks Harrison Ford’s final outing as the iconic archeologist and adventurer.
Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan are bringing their new movie to London.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Bradley Cooper‘s “Maestro” publicity tour landed him on “The Howard Stern Show,” where the eponymous radio show host asked him a nail-biting question: “Sophie’s choice for 2024: You win the Oscar, not only for best director but also best actor, and Carey Mulligan wins best actress, or the Eagles have a Super Bowl victory?” “Eagles Super Bowl victory,” Cooper answered without hesitation as Stern appeared shocked and called him out for lying. “Eagles! Eagles! I’m sick. I’m not lying.” Cooper is obviously a diehard fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that played a prominent role in his 2012 comedy-drama “Silver Linings Playbook.” The Eagles lost the 2023 Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs, no doubt a heartbreaker for Cooper.
Bradley Cooper is on the latest episode of SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show to promote his new film Maestro and we learned some interesting things from the actor!
Bradley Cooper isn’t ruling out returning to comedy. In Friday’s episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour, Cooper, 48, was asked if he was putting his comedic past behind him to take more dramatic roles, as he’s getting Oscar buzz for his latest movie, “Maestro.” “Are you done with fun?” host David Remnick asked.
The life of Leonard Bernstein would be a daunting prospect for any filmmaker with the ambition to commit to screen. The larger-than-life American composer and conductor was a man with a deservedly renowned talent, who put his fame to good use through humanitarian work in between conducting great masterworks and composing his very own for orchestras, stage and screen. He lived large and loved many, and to condense all his life, his triumphs, his relationships and his complexities is no easy feat. Martin Scorsese considered it, as did Steven Spielberg, but both ultimately passed, all the while staying on as producers for the final piece, which has come courtesy of director and star Bradley Cooper.
Emerald Fennell’s dark comedy Saltburn takes a massive jump from to over 1,500 screens today as Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest The Boy and the Heron, animated They Shot The Piano Player and other festival favorites launch awards season runs this Thanksgiving specialty weekend.
Bradley Cooper has addressed the controversy surrounding his decision to wear a prosthetic nose in upcoming film, Maestro.The actor plays Jewish conductor Leonard Bernstein in the biopic, which is also co-written and directed by Cooper. Following the film’s first trailer, some criticised the decision to use a fake nose to play the character.Speaking about the controversy during an interview on CBS Mornings on Tuesday (November 21), Cooper explained how they nearly considered not using the prosthetic.“The truth is I’ve done this whole project out of love, and it’s so clear to me where I come from with this,” Cooper said.
his movie “Maestro” against criticism that the prosthetic nose he wears to play Leonard Bernstein is insulting to Jewish people.“I thought, ‘Maybe we don’t need to do it,’” Cooper, 48, said on “CBS Mornings” of his look in the biopic, which he also directed. “But it’s all about balance, and, you know, my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin.
Bradley Cooper is breaking his silence on the backlash surrounding the prosthetic nose he wore in his new film Maestro, where he portrays real-life composer Leonard Bernstein.
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Garner are together again!
Bradley Cooper spent six years developing Maestro as a film. Cooper wrote, directed and stars as Leonard Bernstein. He told Deadline’s Pete Hammond at Contenders Film L.A. that he lost all sense of time making Maestro.
When Bradley Cooper’s sophomore directorial outfit Maestro, an ambitious and extravagant Leonard Bernstein biopic, debuted at Venice, none of the film’s stars or crew made it on to the red carpet. SAG was 51 days deep into its strike against the studios.