Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, A Star is Born, shows off all the filmmaking chops we never knew he had -- along with his amazing ability to beautifully duet with Lady Gaga. It was a project that originally was set to be directed by Clint Eastwood, with Beyoncé as the star.
What became a missed opportunity for Clint Eastwood and Beyoncé as they moved on from A Star is Born became the career shift Bradley Cooper had been longing for. It came to Cooper just as he started working on American Sniper with Eastwood, who directed him in the 2014 film. That allowed Cooper to talk with the past director about how he wanted to go about A Star Is Born. In Cooper's words:
I pitched it to him. He talked to me about doing it before we did American Sniper, but I thought I was too young. [Later] it had passed to him, but he said no. Then I actually had a dream --- I know it sounds crazy --- and I saw the beginning of the movie and went to Warner Bros. the next day. I said, "I want to make this low-budget idea of A Star Is Born, here's what it is." And they said OK. And then [it was about] just drilling down more and making it as personal to me as I could.
During a director roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter, Bradley Cooper said he'd always had a passion but didn't really feel like he was ready until A Star is Born came along. The film served as the perfect medium to explore the themes he'd been draw to, such as the effects of childhood trauma, a love story, and music of course. It wasn't about remaking a Hollywood classic for the fourth time, it was about finally saying what he wanted to on film.
Clint Eastwood passed on A Star is Born to focus on his other planned projects -- including his new film The Mule, with himself as both star and director. The idea to remake A Star Is Born under Warner Bros. might have been dropped or placed in the wrong hands, but Bradley Cooper stepped in with a specific vision for the film -- a vision that apparently came to him at least in part from a dream.
A Star is Born has been widely-praised, perhaps as one of the best films of the year, much due to Bradley Cooper's work and his decision to bring in Lady Gaga for the lead role. The film has already been nominated for quite a few Golden Globes, including Best Picture, and Best Director and Best Actor nods for Cooper.
There's no question the achievement will make its way to the Oscars this year, hopefully with a live performance from Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. There's also no question the remake was placed in the right hands -- along with gifting the audiences with some incredible performances by its leads.
