Production has gotten underway on actor Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, A Star Is Born. Once it was reported that Cooper and co-star Lady Gaga would be filming scenes at the Coachella music festival later this week, studio Warner Brothers knew that the cat was out of the bad and sent out the press release below and the picture of Cooper and Gaga above.
Interestingly, we are seeing pop star Lady Gaga being billed under her real name of Stefani Germanotta for the film. Especially given that in her previous acting gigs in films like Machette Kills and Muppets Most Wanted and the fifth season of American Horror Story she went by her stage name of Lady Gaga. She is not the only entertainer who marked their transition to acting by reverting back to their given name. Wretsler The Rock is now known just as well, if not more so, by his real name of Dwayne Johnson. So, balls in your court Madonna. Will your next acting job be credited to Madonna Ciccone?
This marks the fifth time that the story of starcrossed lovers whose careers collide has been brought to the big screen. The first was the early 1932 talkie What Price Hollywood? directed by George Cukor. Cukor was approached by producer David O. Selznick to direct his planned project, A Star Is Born, but Cukor turned him down due to the similarities it had with What Price Hollywood?. Selznick eventually hired William A. Wellman to direct Janet Gaynor and Fredric March for the film, which was released in 1937. Cukor would come back and direct the 1954 version starring Judy Garland and James Mason. A third remake of the story starred Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson and was released in 1976.
Filming begins today on Warner Bros. Pictures’ reimagining of the musical “A Star is Born,” starring Bradley Cooper and introducing Stefani Germanotta, known across the globe as Oscar-nominated music superstar Lady Gaga, in her first leading role in a major motion picture. Four-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper,” “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”) is helming the film, marking his directorial debut.
Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a country music star who is on the brink of decline when he discovers a talented unknown named Ally (Germanotta). As the two begin a passionate love affair, Jack coaxes Ally into the spotlight, catapulting her to stardom. But as Ally’s career quickly eclipses his own, Jack finds it increasingly hard to handle his fading glory.
In addition to playing Ally, Germanotta, who earned her Oscar nod for the song “Til It Happens to You” from “The Hunting Ground,” has composed and will perform original songs in the film. The main cast also includes Andrew Dice Clay and Sam Elliott.
“A Star is Born” is being produced by Bill Gerber, Jon Peters, Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips and Lynette Howell Taylor; with Basil Iwanyk and Ravi Mehta serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Will Fetters & Bradley Cooper and Eric Roth, based on a story by William A. Wellman and Robert Carson.
Collaborating with Cooper behind the scenes are Oscar-nominated director of photography Matty Libatique (“Black Swan”), production designer Karen Murphy, three-time Oscar-nominated editor Jay Cassidy (“American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Into the Wild”), and costume designer Erin Benach.
“A Star is Born” is being filmed entirely in Southern California.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents A Jon Peters Production, A Bill Gerber Production, A Joint Effort Production, “A Star is Born.” Slated for release on September 28, 2018, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
