Moviefone Editorial

Tag: bradley cooper

  • Movie Review: ‘Nightmare Alley’

    Rooney Mara and Bradley Cooper in 'Nightmare Alley'
    Rooney Mara and Bradley Cooper in ‘Nightmare Alley’

    Opening in theaters on December 17th is the new neo-noir thriller from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro entitled ‘Nightmare Alley,’ which is based on the novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham. The film stars Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper (‘A Star is Born’) as a 1940s carnival con-man turned famous mentalist who meets his match in a psychiatrist played by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (’Blue Jasmine’).

    In addition to Cooper and Blanchett, the movie also features an impressive cast that includes Academy Award nominees Rooney Mara (‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’), Toni Collette (‘The Sixth Sense’), Willem Dafoe (‘Platoon’), Richard Jenkins (‘The Shape of Water’), and David Strathairn (‘Good Night, and Good Luck), as well as Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen (‘Melvin and Howard’). The result is another absolute masterpiece from Guillermo del Toro, a visually stunning and extremely disturbing movie that actually gets better the more you think about it after viewing, which features Bradley Cooper in the best performance of his career thus far.

    The film begins by introducing us to a mysterious drifter named Stan (Cooper), who gets a job at a carnival doing odd jobs in the early 1940s. One of his jobs includes working with Clem (Dafoe) running the “freak show.” The “freak,” as Clem explains, is a “fake,” and is actually just a local drunk that they bribe with booze to eat live chickens in front of an audience. Eventually, Stan befriends Pete (Strathairn) and Zeena (Collette), who are “mentalists” at the carnival, but are actually just con-artists. Pete begins teaching Stan some of his tricks, but Stan wants to learn more and attempts to read Pete’s book of secrets. Stan soon starts a relationship with Molly (Mara), who plays the “electric lady” in the show. When a local sheriff threatens to close down the carnival, Stan steps up and uses his new “powers” to convince the cops to let them go. Stan and Molly eventually marry and leave the carnival to start an act of their own.

    The film then flashes forward several years, and we find the couple performing a successful “mentalist” act for wealthy socialites in the big city. Stan and Molly now have a very extravagant life, living in hotels and driving fancy cars, a long way from their carnival days. Molly is happy, but yearns for more attention from Stan, who is obsessed with his own fame and ambition. The trouble begins during one of their performances, when a psychiatrist named Dr. Lilith Ritter (Blanchett) challenges Stan and is skeptic of his abilities. Stan is able to “con” his way out of it but becomes captivated with Lilith and eventually becomes seduced by her to con wealthy businessman, Ezra Grindle (Jenkins). But when the con goes wrong, it will threaten not only Stan’s relationship with Molly and everything he’s achieved, but it will also threaten his life.

    With ‘Nightmare Alley,’ director Guillermo del Toro is able to infuse the film with all the strange elements of the macabre he loves including societal outcasts and the supernatural, which creates a tone and a mood that is completely del Toro’s own. While based on the original novel, technically it is a remake, since the source material was first adapted into the 1947 movie starring Tyrone Power. However, del Toro has made a film that stands completely on its own, and in many ways is his most very personal movie.

    I have to admit, I wasn’t really sure how much I enjoyed the movie while I was actually watching it, but I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I saw it, and the movie just gets better the more I relive it in my head. Del Toro has a vision that is truly unique to him, and the Oscar winning filmmaker masterfully builds the suspense and mystery throughout the film. While I did guess the twist ending before it happened, I believe del Toro spread clues throughout the movie like breadcrumbs, so the audience could play along and “solve the mystery” before the conclusion was actually revealed. This gives the entire story a “predetermined nature,” in a sense saying that there was nothing Stan could do, he was always destined for this outcome, something that the character shockingly says out loud in the movie’s final moments.

    Del Toro filled the film with some of the best character actors working today including Richard Jenkins, Tim Blake Nelson, Clifton Collins Jr., Mary Steenburgen and, del Toro’s constant collaborator, Ron Perlman. Willem Dafoe feels right at home playing the untrustworthy Clem, who is really our introduction to the carnival world. But it’s Toni Collette and David Strathairn as Stan’s mentalist mentors Zeena and Pete Krumbein, respectively, who really stand out. Collette gives a warm yet vulnerable performance, while you sympathize with Strathairn’s down-on-his-luck character. Rooney Mara is also wonderful as Molly, the best thing that ever happened to Stan, unfortunately he doesn’t know it. Mara plays her character with a sweetness and a naïveté that is in stark contrast to Stan’s unbridled ambition.

    Coming off of very strong performances this year in both ‘The French Dispatch’ and ‘Don’t Look Up,’ Cate Blanchett gives another marvelous turn that could earn her an Oscar nomination. As Dr. Lilith Ritter, Blanchett is cold and calculating, and every bit of a match for Stan. Blanchett’s role embodies the idea of a Femme Fatale, and the actress is excellent at conveying her character’s motivations in the subtlest of ways. The actress is absolutely electrifying in the role and has great chemistry with Cooper. But it’s Bradley Cooper’s magnetic, powerhouse performances that really makes ‘Nightmare Alley’ worth seeing. Cooper puts on a masterclass of acting and absolutely loses himself in the role.

    I absolutely loved ‘A Star is Born’ and thought Cooper deserved an Oscar for that role, but this is easily the best work of his career. While we all know that it has been predetermined that this is “Will Smith’s year,” and that he will definitely win an Oscar for ‘King Richard,’ I wouldn’t be cleaning off the mantelpiece just yet if I was the former-Fresh Prince as Cooper could definitely give Smith a run for his money this coming award season. Cooper’s performance is multi-layered, as playing Stan requires him to really portray three different types of characters at once, including a mysterious but ambitious young man, a successful socialite, and a washed up drunk. The actor excels at portraying all three aspects of the character and delivers a believable, well-rounded performance.

    In the end, ‘Nightmare Alley’ may be based on previous source material but feels completely like it originated in the head of Guillermo del Toro. The material is synonymous with the filmmaker’s sensibilities and is a haunting piece of neo-noir cinema, grounded by an outstanding performance from Bradley Cooper.

    ‘Nightmare Alley’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.

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  • Review: ‘Licorice Pizza’ Is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Latest Masterpiece

    Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in 'Licorice Pizza'
    Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in ‘Licorice Pizza’

    Opening in theaters on November 26th is acclaimed filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson’s ninth feature film, ‘Licorice Pizza.’ The movie fallows the story of a teenage actor growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970s, who falls in love with a twenty-five-year-old woman while working together on several different business ventures over the course of a summer. The movie boasts an excellent cast including musician Alana Haim (from the rock group Haim), Cooper Hoffman (son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman), Benny Safdie (‘Good Time’), Bradley Cooper (‘A Star is Born’), Tom Waits (‘Seven Psychopaths’), and Oscar winner Sean Penn (‘Milk’). The result is Paul Thomas Anderson’s unique version of a romcom, a brilliant and tender film about growing up, with Oscar worthy performances from both Alana Haim and Bradley Cooper.

    The film begins by introducing us to Gary Valentine (Hoffman), a 15-year-old actor and entrepreneur living in Encino, California in the early 1970s. He soon meets Alana Kane (Haim), a 25-yeard old woman working dead-end jobs with no plans for her future. Gary professes his love to Alana right away, who of course rejects him due to his age, but the two become fast friends. Throughout the summer, they audition for films together, start a waterbed company, and even work for Joel Wachs’ (Safdie) mayoral campaign. They also meet several celebrities including actress Lucille Doolittle (Christine Ebersole), actor Jack Holden (Penn), director Rex Blau (Waits), and Barbara Streisand’s boyfriend, Jon Peters (Cooper). As their friendship grows, each becomes jealous of the other when they both begin dating people their own age, and this tears a rift in their relationship and businesses together. Eventually, they both realize how much they truly care for each other.

    I’m a big fan of Paul Thomas Anderson, and remember seeing ‘Magnolia’ for the first time and thinking, “Someday, this guy is going to make the great American movie, but this isn’t quite it.” Then, less than ten years later, I watched ‘There Will Be Blood’ and said, “Wow, he did it. He made the quintessential American film.” Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest directors of my lifetime, right up there with Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson and the Coen Brothers. ‘Licorice Pizza’ is one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best films, right up there with ‘There Will Be Blood,’ ‘Boogie Nights and ‘Inherent Vice.’ It’s basically Anderson’s version of a romantic comedy, and a sort of modern day ‘Harold & Maude.’ While the difference in age between Gary and Alana is problematic, Anderson handles it in such a sweet and innocent way that you almost forgive the filmmaker for even “going there.” It also helps that Alana rejects Gary’s attempts at love throughout most of the film.

    ‘Licorice Pizza’ also marks the second time this year we’ve seen the son of a late actor taking on a role that their father might have done had they been alive and age appropriate. We saw this first when James Gandolfini’s son Michael played a young Tony Soprano in ‘The Many Saints of Newark,’ and now with Cooper Hoffman, whose late father, Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman was a constant collaborator with Anderson. I have to admit that through most of the movie I did not like the character of Gary and found him to be annoying, but I think that was the point. I’d compare him to Jason Schwartzman’s character in ‘Rushmore.’ So, in that sense, Hoffman did a great job creating a very irritating character that you don’t really care for through a majority of the movie. But what the young actor does that is truly incredible is that he turns you around before the end of the film and makes you feel sympathy and really root for his character. You should definitely keep an eye on Cooper Hoffman, I think he is going to have a long career.

    But the big discovery in ‘Licorice Pizza’ is the brilliant and layered work done by musician turned actress Alana Haim. She absolutely lights up the screen and steals every scene she is in. She carries the weight of the film and gives one of the best performances of the year. The actress is absolutely commanding in the movie and has fantastic chemistry with Hoffman. Haim definitely deserves an Academy Award nomination, and in a very tough year, I hope she will not be forgotten. She’s fun, smart, tough, vulnerable, and makes it all look effortless. It’s also worth mentioning that Haim’s real-life sisters and bandmates play her sisters in the movie, and their real-life parents also have roles as their parents.

    (L to R) Bradley Cooper, Cooper Hoffman, and Alana Haim in 'Licorice Pizza'
    (L to R) Bradley Cooper, Cooper Hoffman, and Alana Haim in ‘Licorice Pizza’

    Bradley Cooper gives an Oscar worthy and very funny performance as an out-of-control Jon Peters. He’s not in a lot of the movie, but just enough to be considered for a Best Supporting Oscar nom. But I did find it interesting that Anderson chose to change a lot of the celebrity’s names, like Lucille Ball is now Lucille Doolittle and William Holden is Jack Holden, but he didn’t change Jon Peters’ name, and I’d be curious to know why, especially since he is the only “real person” that comes off looking bad in the film. Sean Penn is also very strong as Jack Holden and has some fun scenes with a motorcycle and Tom Waits, who is clearly channeling John Huston. There are also some really fun cameos including Anderson’s wife, Maya Rudolph, comedic actor John Michael Higgins, Sasha Spielberg (daughter of Steven) and George DiCaprio (father of Leonardo).

    While the movie is supposedly loosely based on the childhood of Tom Hanks’ producing partner Gary Goetzman, Anderson also grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the 70s and clearly put some of his own experience in the movie. The director also captures the feeling of the 70s perfectly, a changing time both culturally and politically, which the film reflects, especially with the 1970s gas crisis looming in the background. In the end, Paul Thomas Anderson has delivered another masterpiece with ‘Licorice Pizza,’ an entertaining, funny, and sweet film about the fleetingness of youth and love, in a love letter to his own youth and the city he loves.

    ‘Licorice Pizza’ receives 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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  • Eight Great Summer Vacation Movies

    Eight Great Summer Vacation Movies

    Meatballs

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    Sometimes overlooked in favor of other “slobs vs. snobs” comedy classics from the same era, like Animal House and Caddyshack, this was Bill Murray’s first starring role, and the feature directorial debut for Ivan Reitman. Murray stars as Tripper, head counselor at Camp North Star, a bargain-basement summer camp in Ontario. Murray takes the lonely Rudy (Chris Makepeace) under his wing while still overseeing a group of oddball counselors-in-training as they have their own romances, pull pranks on the camp’s director, and take on wealthy Camp Mohawk in a yearly tournament. It’s ultimately a sweet story, without ever getting quite as crass as some of the era’s other films starring Saturday Night Live alumni. ‘Meatballs’ would turn out to be hugely successful, spawning three mostly unrelated sequels and countless knockoffs.

    Wet Hot American Summer

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    If ‘Meatballs’ saw plenty of lesser imitations, ‘The State’ alumni David Wain and Michael Showalter stepped up with a satirical take on summer camp movies. Although it bombed at the box office, it’s since become a cult classic, spawning two series on Netflix (one prequel and one sequel). There’s an amazing cast here, including Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, Judah Friedlander, Janeane Garofalo, Christopher Meloni, and David Hyde Pierce, plus other alumni from ‘The State,’ such as Ken Marino, Michael Ian Black, and Joe Lo Truglio. There’s a plot here about the camp putting on a talent show, counselors in love, and a falling piece of Skylab that threatens everyone’s lives, but it’s really just an excuse to see some stars and future stars show off some great comic chops.

    Dirty Dancing

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    For those that haven’t gotten around to seeing this classic, it’s easy to write off ‘Dirty Dancing’ as sappy romance. But that would be wrong. It’s an emotionally satisfying coming-of-age story about Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) and her steamy summer romance with dancer Johnny (Patrick Swayze). The dancing is terrific, Grey and Swayze have terrific chemistry. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and based on her own summer trips to the Catskills, Baby’s adventure starts because she and her family are taking a summer vacation at Kellerman’s a tony resort. Baby sees hints of classism between some of the staff, and she finds herself drawn more to the working class staffers instead of the Ivy League-bound waiters. The film subversively gives Baby agency, letting her pick her own friends and make her own choices in her sex life; she has a summer fling with a sexy dancer and isn’t punished by fate for it. That was fairly groundbreaking in 1987, and is (sadly) might still be considered unusual in some corners even now.

    National Lampoon’s Vacation

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    This is another film that started a franchise, but the original version is still the best. Based on screenwriter John Hughes’ own National Lampoon story about a disastrous road trip, the movie focuses on the Griswold’s drive from Chicago to California for a visit to a thinly-veiled version of Disneyland called “Wally World.” Chevy Chase puts in a legendary turn as Clark, the increasingly obsessive patriarch of the Griswold clan. Clark is going to have a great road trip with his family whether they like it or not, and if he becomes Ahab in a station wagon, then so be it. Beverly D’Angelo hits just the right notes as Clark’s wife Ellen, as does Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron as their children Rusty and Audrey. Chase and D’Angelo would return for sequels, and it became a running joke that Rusty and Audrey would be recast in every subsequent film. This first adventure sees car trouble in the desert, an unwanted passenger, a temptress in a Ferrari, and a visit with Cousin Eddy (a reminder of when Randy Quaid was funny). It’s filled with laughs, but it will definitely make you think twice about future family road trips.

    Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

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    Based on the best-selling YA novel by Ann Brashares, this is the story of four teen girls, best friends since childhood, who are about to spend their first summer apart. But before three of them leave town, the quartet go shopping and find a pair of jeans that magically fit each one of them. The four decide that they’ll share the pants for the summer, and while each of them have these mysterious jeans in their possession, their individual summers are upended. Blake Lively, America Ferrara, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn play Bridget, Carmen, Lena, and Tibby (respectively). The movie captures the charm of the novel, in no small part because of the charisma and chemistry of the stars, and it’s ultimately a heartwarming tale about female friendships and the bonds young women make that can last a lifetime.

    Girls Trip

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    The annual Essence Music Fest takes place in New Orleans every 4th of July, and that’s the backdrop for Ryan Pierce’s (Regina Hall) attempt to reunite with three of her friends from college. Pierce is a bestselling author and lifestyle guru, poised to be “the next Oprah.” She’s scheduled to speak at the festival, so she invites her college friends to join her, in the hopes of rekindling their friendships. These other three have lives of their own now; Sasha (Queen Latifah) is a celebrity gossip blogger, Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) is a working single mother, and Dina (Tiffany Haddish) is still party-girl Dina, all these years later. These four actors are great together, but Tiffany Haddish is a revelation here, stealing the movie and never giving it back. The film isn’t afraid to remind us that women can and do party hard, but it doesn’t lose sight of these friends repairing burned bridges and reaffirming their love for each other.

    Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

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    One of the casualties of quarantine is that this film didn’t get a proper theatrical release. That’s a shame, because as funny as this movie is, it would have been even more side-splitting with a big audience. Make no mistake, this movie is straight up bananas from beginning to end. Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo wrote the script and star as Star and Barb, two middle-aged best friends that talk a bit too much, they can be both clueless and timid, but once they hit Vista Del Mar, the movie all but explodes into mayhem. To describe too much would be to take away some of the stunningly insane jokes packed wall-to-wall across the entire film. But suffice to say you may never look at Jamie Dornan the same way again.

    The Endless Summer

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    This is one of the first and probably still the best surf movie ever made. Director Bruce Brown follows two surfers, Robert August and Mike Hynson, as they leave Southern California and travel to surf spots around the world, including South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Tahiti, Senegal, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Australia. Brown’s breezy narration is a far cry from the stiffer voices heard in most documentaries at the time, and it lends an inviting tone to the gorgeous cinematography of the both surf action and the local landscapes. This documentary might help non-surfers understand the appeal of surfing more than any other film ever made, and the idea of an “endless summer” means its welcome on any day of the calendar year.

  • Rooney Mara Joins the Starry Cast of Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’

    Rooney Mara Joins the Starry Cast of Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’

    Sony

    Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro is assembling a fine roster of stars for his upcoming “Nightmare Alley” adaptation, with Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Richard Jenkins, Willem Dafoe and del Toro regular Ron Perlman. Now, Deadline reports that Rooney Mara has closed a deal to join the film as well. She’ll play Cooper’s love interest and partner in crime.

    Del Toro insists that this is a new adaptation of the 1946 William Lindsay Gresham novel (a book that the director recently told us was given to him by Perlman) and not a remake of the 1947 Tyrone Power movie. Considering the source material involves a traveling circus and a conman teaming up with a mystic, we think that this is right up del Toro’s (wait for it) alley.

    Shooting is scheduled to start in early 2020 and we would be very surprised if this wasn’t an awards contender by late 2020.

  • Cate Blanchett in Talks for Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’ Opposite Bradley Cooper

    Cate Blanchett in Talks for Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’ Opposite Bradley Cooper

    Cate Blanchett in Ocean's 8
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    Cate Blanchett is eyeing a role in Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s next film.

    The Oscar-winning actress is in talks to star opposite Bradley Cooper in “Nightmare Alley,” an adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s novel.

    The book was previously adapted into a movie in 1947, which starred Tyrone Power as an ambitious young con-man who teams up with a female psychiatrist who is even more corrupt than he is. At first, they enjoy success fleecing people with their mentalist act, but then she turns the tables on him, out-manipulating the manipulator.

    “Nightmare Alley” is del Toro’s first directing gig since 2017’s “Shape of Water,” which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture.

    Blanchett can next be seen in Richard Linklater’s “Where’d You Go Bernadette?” this fall.

  • Bradley Cooper May Join Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’: Report

    Bradley Cooper May Join Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’: Report

    Bradley Cooper in War Dogs
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    A star is in talks.

    Bradley Cooper is interested in Guillermo del Toro‘s upcoming “Nightmare Alley” adaptation. The actor-director is in early talks to join the Fox Searchlight project, Variety reports. He’d fill a role that Leonardo DiCaprio previously circled, per the publication.

    “Nightmare Alley” is based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsey Gresham. The book was first adapted to film not long after it was published. Edmund Goulding‘s 1947 film “Nightmare Alley” starred Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell. Del Toro is directing the new film and he wrote the script with Kim Morgan. It follows the unique path of an ambitious and corrupt carny named Stan Carlisle.

    Cooper has reportedly received an offer, but Variety’s sources say it’s unclear if he’ll reach a deal. His star power has been rising in recent years as he’s had success with high-profile projects such as MCU films and his “A Star Is Born” remake. He also recently starred in “The Mule” and “War Dogs.”

    Del Toro has to finalize the cast in the coming months. Production is slated to begin this fall. The director is producing alongside TSG Entertainment’s J. Miles Dale.

    [via: Variety]

  • 11 Things You Never Knew About ‘The Hangover’ on its 10th Anniversary

    11 Things You Never Knew About ‘The Hangover’ on its 10th Anniversary

    Warner Bros.

    Ten years ago, “The Hangover” landed in theaters and proved that R-rated comedies can also be huge summer blockbusters. It spawned a franchise and made huge names out of stars like Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. To celebrate this big milestone, here are 11 fun facts about the making of “The Hangover.”

    1. The plot of “The Hangover” is inspired by a similar ordeal suffered by a Hollywood producer named Tripp Vinson. Vinson once went MIA from his own Las Vegas bachelor party and awoke in an unfamiliar strip club with a hefty bill.

    2. The screenplay was included on the 2007 Blacklist, a roundup of the most acclaimed scripts not yet made into films.

    Warner Bros.

    3. Ed Helms didn’t need any special makeup work done to create his missing tooth. Helms never developed an adult incisor tooth in that spot, so he simply had his dental implant removed during filming.

    4. Lindsay Lohan was originally offered the part of Jade. Lohan has since admitted she regrets turning down the role.

    Warner Bros.

    5. Jack Black, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jonah Hill were all considered for the role of Alan Garner, though Alan’s portrayal in the script was significantly altered before Zach Galifianakis was eventually chosen.

    6. Galifianakis improvised one of Alan’s most memorable lines, “I didn’t know they gave out rings at the Holocaust.” Galifianakis changed the original joke because he wanted to convey Alan’s utter ignorance about the wider world.

    Warner Bros.

    7. Ken Jeong has said that he had to get permission from his wife before appearing nude in “The Hangover.” Jeong had underwear digitally added to his body for the trailer.

    8. Mike Tyson initially turned down an offer to appear in the film, but he changed his mind after learning that Todd Phillips previously directed 2003’s “Old School.”

    Warner Bros.

    9. Phillips waived his salary in favor of partial ownership of the movie, a decision which paid off handsomely after its release. Phillips compares it to George Lucas‘ handling of the original “Star Wars.”

    10. “The Hangover” became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever released, beating a record long held by “Beverly Hills Cop.”

    Hasbro

    11. In 2018, Hasbro released a “The Hangover”-inspired variant of Clue called “Clue: Lost in Las Vegas.” which tasks players with finding a missing friend rather than uncovering a murderer.

  • Bradley Cooper Is Considering Holding Live ‘A Star Is Born’ Performance

    Bradley Cooper Is Considering Holding Live ‘A Star Is Born’ Performance

    Warner Bros.

    “A Star Is Born” and never dies — at least, now that Bradley Cooper has given fans hope that he and Lady Gaga may reprise their performances from the Oscar-nominated film.

    On Thursday’s “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Cooper shot down the host’s suggestion of a tour featuring the director/actor and his Oscar- and Grammy-winning co-star.

    “I mean, no,” Cooper said of a tour. “But what I thought would be a cool thing to do, maybe one night, would be like a live reading of the script and sing all the songs as we read the script, like at the Hollywood Bowl or something.”


    That does sound like a cool thing to do, even if Cooper is terrified of performing, just as he was when he and Gaga sang “Shallow” at the Oscars.

    “I actually wasn’t nervous, because I worked so hard, and Lady Gaga is so supportive. But it was terrifying,” he said. “Because I’m not a singer and I didn’t sing before this movie, so it was really crazy.”

  • ‘A Star Is Born’ Soundtrack Passes 1 Million in U.S. Sales

    ‘A Star Is Born’ Soundtrack Passes 1 Million in U.S. Sales

    Warner Bros.

    “A Star Is Born” has earned another accolade.

    The soundtrack featuring the Oscar-winning song “Shallow” has now surpassed 1 million copies sold in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music.

    “A Star Is Born,” which stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper as singers who fall in love, has sold 1,003,000  albums after 24 weeks.

    This mark’s Gaga’s fourth million-selling album and her first since May 2011, when “Born This Way” launched with 1.11 million sold in its first week.

    The most recent album to hit the million mark was also a soundtrack, “The Greatest Showman.” It was released on Dec. 8, 2017 and reached the million mark in its 23rd week of release. Its total sales now stand at 1.68 million.

    “A Star Is Born” continues to be the top-selling album of 2019. Earlier this month, on the heels of a sultry performance by Gaga and Cooper at the Oscars, “Shallow” rose No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

  • Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s ‘Shallow’ Soars to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

    Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s ‘Shallow’ Soars to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

    Warner Bros.

    They are definitely far from the shallow now.

    Helped in part by a sultry performance at the Oscars, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s award-winning song “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” surged to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

    It rose from the 21st spot; in October, the song previously peaked at No. 5.

    “Shallow” won the Oscar for Best Original Song, the latest trophy in a haul that includes a Grammy and Golden Globe.

    This marks Gaga’s fourth Hot 100 No. 1 and, of course, Cooper’s first. The actor made his directorial debut with the movie, but also stunned audiences with his musical ability. With this No. 1 hit, he now can boast a feat that many big-name music stars have yet to achieve— including Bruce Springsteen, James Brown, the Backstreet Boys, and One Direction.

    After “Shallow’s” Oscar win, Warner Bros. re-released “A Star Is Born” into theaters with additional footage.