Bradley Cooper on ‘A Star is Born’: It’s a Broken Love Story
Photo Credit: Neal Preston/Warner Bros
When fans first heard that Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga were working together on A Star is Born, excitement quickly built. They’re both powerhouses in their respective careers and this film is going to open the door to take things to the next level.
In an interview with EW, Cooper says he’s performed on stage at festivals because the audience needs to believe he’s a musician.
While this isn’t Gaga’s first time acting, it’s going to be the first time she takes on a role of this caliber and it’s easy to see from the few stills we’ve seen that she made sure to give it her all.
When asked to describe his take on the film in his own words, Cooper (who is also the director) says the film is about unconditional love.
We’re exploring what unconditional love is, how hard it is to love someone in this world as a human being, and what that demands: those are the things I was interested in. I was also very interested in the character of Ally being a bit different than the other versions. She’s not an ingénue; she’s not this innocent person. What happens when you’re 30 and you realize you might not make it? And what happens when the idea that maybe you’re not going to make it creeps into your artistic brain, but then you meet somebody who inspires you to run away from that idea and embrace what it is that moves you creatively.
The film also deals with what toll it takes when you put everything you have into this connection.
We’re also dealing with the idea of abandonment — when you put too much stock in a relationship and not in your own worth —
how that affects your ability to fully be there for someone else, and for yourself. I wanted to explore the realities of loving another human being, and what that demands of a person.
He was also asked why he wanted to tell this story as a director. It’s not the first time the film has been remade.
The only reason to direct a movie is if you have a point of view, where you feel like there’s a reason that you’re supposed to do it. Believe me, if you told me that the thing, for me, would be A Star Is Born, I’d have said no way, that’s a crazy idea. But, for some reason, this story somehow moved me in a deep way, somewhere inside of myself. It all came down to this broken love story, and there’s no better way to express that than through singing because there’s nowhere to hide when you’re singing. Your whole body is electrified… so there was something about it that kept gnawing at me, and that was the initial igniter of the passion for me… then, it was about going back and watching the other versions, and each one had many merits, and I wanted to make sure that this movie paid homage to and was aware of the others and honored them as another incarnation, while at the same time being a very personal movie that lives on its own.
The pair will sing tunes from many genres as part of their story. At the core of the film, as Cooper says, is love but it’s also what loving so deeply can do to you if you’re not standing on solid ground.
For the rest of the interview, check out EW’s exclusive with Bradley Cooper. You can also see the first look photo, below.
‘…but I knew him’
