Director and actor Bradley Cooper revealed who inspired his rock-star look in A Star is Born and co-star Lady Gaga on how the film is meant to inspire people to follow their dreams and have faith.
Rocking red carpets at film festivals around the world and stunning critics along the road, A Star is Born, an upcoming film which marks the debut of Bradley Cooper as director comes out next month.
In the film, Bradley Cooper co-stars as well, alongside Lady Gaga, and according to a new interview Cooper admitted who inspired his character in the film. As he told Yahoo, he knew the person from whom to draw his character in the film, Jackson Maine. It is the legendary Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. The film is not about Eddie but Cooper flew to Washington and spent time with Vedder to adapt some of his mannerisms.
“I went up to Seattle and spent four or five days with [Vedder] and I asked him 9,000 questions,” Cooper told Yahoo. “And he gave me minor, little things that only musicians know about what to do, just aesthetically and the inner workings. He was wonderful.”
The film that is on the short-list as an Oscar contender for 2019, also saw Cooper working closely with Lukas Nelson—the son of Willie Nelson and front man of the band, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real—“to learn how to play guitar and perform for an audience”.
Speaking to Nelson at the premiere of his film at the Toronto International Film Festival, Cooper said to Nelson: “I remember you said to me, ‘Look, man, when you get in front of an audience you better have sung this song 1,000 times, and maybe 10,000 times. Because the first thing that is going to happen is you are going to lose your breath.’”
As for Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, he was not convinced that Cooper should do the film. Noted Cooper: “He thought it was crazy I was going to do this movie. He was like, ‘What? Bro, don’t do that.’”
One person who was convinced upon their first meeting that Cooper could do the role was Lady Gaga. And, as the film premiered in Los Angeles earlier this week, Lady Gaga noted that it was the scariest thing she had ever done.
“I exposed myself in ways I had never done before. I completely let go, and it was the scariest thing I have ever done,” she said. “I brought everything I had in my body and my soul into this role. I went back and thought about my fears, my insecurities when I was younger and in high school. I was vulnerable. I wore no makeup and dyed my hair back to my natural color. There was no hiding, mentally and physically.”
The premiere pulled a mix of stars, ranging from directors Steven Spielberg and David O. Russell to Jerry Seinfeld, Kathy Bates, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, among others.
There are other versions of the film, made first in 1937 and again in 1976 but the newest version, slated to open on October 5 is said to follow: “the tumultuous relationship between alcoholic country rock star Jackson Maine (Cooper) and aspiring singer-songwriter Ally (Lady Gaga), who suffers from debilitating self-doubt and depression.”
Lady Gaga told Vanity Fair that she related to the character and hoped that it will inspire people to have faith and chase their dreams.
– With information from Vanity Fair and Yahoo.
