A Star Is Born
Short description
Jackson Maine is a country musician whose fame is fading when he meets Ally Campana, a talented singer who has all but abandoned her ambitions. The two begin a relationship, and Jackson pushes her toward the spotlight, where she quickly becomes a star. As Ally's career outgrows his own, Jackson struggles to accept his declining stature while dealing with personal troubles that strain the couple.
The film is Bradley Cooper's directing debut and stars Cooper as Jackson and Lady Gaga as Ally, with Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay, Rafi Gavron and Anthony Ramos in supporting roles. It is the fourth American version of the story of a rising performer and a man whose career is slipping away, following earlier Hollywood productions. Eric Roth, Cooper and Will Fetters wrote the screenplay, and the production companies include Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Peters Entertainment and Live Nation Productions.
Made for around 36 million dollars, the film earned roughly 436 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.6 out of 10 from about 447,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.5 out of 10 from more than 12,000 votes, showing broad audience approval. A critics' rating of 8.1 out of 10 from 537 reviews places it noticeably higher with reviewers than with general viewers. Its 136-minute running time covers both the musical performances and the relationship at its center. Cooper went on to direct Maestro, released in 2023.
What's left behind the scenes
- Bradley Cooper had to apply fake tan to his body every day and menthol around his eyes to make them look inflamed. Lady Gaga, in turn, only used lip balm and moisturizer.
- Some scenes were filmed during Lady Gaga's concert in Los Angeles on August 9, 2017, during her Joanne tour.
- According to Lady Gaga, she became so close to her character during filming that she immediately dyed her hair after it finished for a symbolic farewell ceremony to the character she had come to love, Ally. She also said that she actually has little in common with Ally, especially considering the fact that, unlike Ally, she herself started at a fairly young age and received a classical musical education.
- To prepare for the role of Jackson Maine, Bradley Cooper learned to play the guitar, and his mentor was Lukas Nelson, the son of country singer Willie Nelson. They practiced almost every night in Cooper's basement for a whole year. In the film, Cooper is accompanied by the band Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. For several months, Cooper worked with an experienced speech coach, Tim Monich.
- According to Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga persuaded him to sing live. She said she couldn't stand movies where the actors' lip movements didn't match the sound. Cooper had to work more actively on his vocals.
- When Bradley Cooper offered Lady Gaga the role, her one condition was that no one would lip-sync to a pre-recorded track in the film. Therefore, all the songs were recorded live, on the set of the movie itself.
- During one of the filming days, Gaga learned about the death of her friend, Sonya Durham. Leaving the set, the singer drove away to support her husband. On that day, according to the script, she was supposed to perform the song I’ll Never Love Again. The song was filmed in one take, with Bradley Cooper supporting Lady Gaga and not shooting new takes.
- Lady Gaga dyed her hair a bright orange for filming, deviating from her usual blonde. She wore a wig in scenes where she rehearsed choreography, sang during the tour, and attended the Grammy Awards ceremony. She started wearing the wig somewhere in the middle of filming, when her own hair began to fall out from frequent dyeing.
- During the filming of Ally (Lady Gaga) at the 2017 festival, the dynamics were deliberately turned off to prevent material leaks. Thus, the audience near the stage could hear the singing, but did not hear the accompaniment at all.
- The actor and producer were inspired to film the movie by a concert of the band Metallica and the singer Annie Lennox. "I was at a Metallica rock concert at the time and was standing behind Lars Ulrich’s drum kit. And that’s when I suddenly realized that’s how I wanted to film the movie, from the stage. I had never seen a film shot like that before. I wanted to tell a love story, and Annie Lennox’s performance of the song I Put a Spell on You was a source of inspiration for me. When she sings, you see the pulse in her neck, you hear how pure her voice is. And that’s what I wanted to show in the film. And Lady Gaga was always at its epicenter, everything depended on her."
- The scene at the very beginning of the film, in which Bradley Cooper's character performs live on stage, was filmed at a country music concert in California in 2017, where the organizers managed to fit his performance between the sets of Jamie Johnson and Willie Nelson, father of the frontman of the Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real band. Cooper's set in front of a live audience lasted only 10 minutes, and the recording was made on the first try.
- Bradley Cooper was so struck by Lady Gaga's performance of the classic French song La Vie en Rose, when he heard it at a charity event at philanthropist Sean Parker's home, that he insisted on including the song in the film.
- Robert De Niro, John Turturro, and John Travolta were considered for the role of Lorenzo, but Andrew Dice Clay ultimately played it.
- Richy Jackson, Lady Gaga's actual choreographer, served as the choreographer for the film.
- Producers really wanted Beyoncé to play the role of Ally. In 2015, she initially agreed to participate in the film, but ultimately decided to focus on her music career. Bradley Cooper then tasked Camille Blackett with rewriting the script, who immediately stated that Beyoncé had too few lines. According to Blackett, the original script differed significantly from the final version.
- The fight scene in the bathroom was improvised, and when Jackson called Ally “scary,” Lady Gaga’s reaction was not acted.
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