‘A Star Is Born’ hits close to home
Movie Review
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When Bradley Cooper saw Lady Gaga perform "La Vie en Rose" at a fundraiser at the home of entrepreneur Sean Parker, it wasn't one of the important moments along the road to making "A Star Is Born." It was, Cooper says, THE moment.
"She demolished the room," he recalls, still wide-eyed about it. "I knew that was plutonium."
The next day, Cooper went to Gaga's home in Malibu to confirm that what he had seen the night before was real. He arrived hungry. Gaga --whose friends call her by her real name, Stefani -- îfed him some leftover spaghetti, and the two East Coast, Italian American-raised performers (Cooper is from Philadelphia, Gaga New York) felt an immediate, natural connection.
"Instantly," says Gaga. "When I saw his eyes, when I opened the door."
Within minutes, they were singing by Gaga's piano and "A Star Is Born" was, well, born.
It can be hard to separate the already mythologized transformations -- Cooper directs! Gaga acts! --that fueled "A Star Is Born" from the fictional fable of fame itself. In both the movie's creation and in the finished product are lessons of bold chances and artistic integrity, of personal frailty and popular success. "A Star Is Born" is a movie mirrored by its making.
"A Star Is Born" is the fourth version of the story. More popular versions included Judy Garland and James Mason in 1954 and 1973's remake with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
A new "A Star Is Born" has been in development for about two decades at Warner Bros., with various incarnations once planned around Will Smith and Whitney Houston, or Beyonce and Leonardo DiCaprio with Clint Eastwood directing. Cooper, who starred in Eastwood's "American Sniper," first discussed acting in the film for Eastwood before deciding to direct, too.
Cooper has put his own imprint on "A Star Is Born," retailoring the story and -- he hopes -- launching himself as a writer and director.
Cooper stars as Jackson Maine, a hard-drinking, country-rock 'n' roll star in the vein of Gregg Allman. (Maine's band is played by Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Neil Young's regular backing band.) When Jackson ducks into a drag bar for a drink, he's blown away by Ally (Gaga), who's there singing --î what else -- "La Vie en Rose."
A naturally talented singer who has essentially given up on her music dreams, Ally has always been told her look (and her nose) isn't quite right. She and Jackson quickly fall in love, even as Jackson's drinking problem worsens, but not before they can together forge something honest and beautiful through music, catapulting Ally to stardom.
A rare fervor has greeted Cooper's "A Star Is Born." Its trailer has been watched more than 10 million times, many of them repeat, misty-eyed views. And if there's one thing that accounts for its swoon-inducing power it's this self-empowering message of fame coming to those who are true to themselves.