Bradley Cooper has been snubbed in the Best Director category at the Oscars for his movie Maestro.
The actor, 49, has been nominated in the other major awards shows this series but failed to impress the voting committee at the Academy Awards.
Bradley stars in, co-wrote, co-produced and directed Netflix’s Leonard Bernstein biopic and managed to earn nominations for Best Lead Actor and Best Picture.
Yet the director snub will no doubt be a sore subject for the star, who made his feelings very clear when he didn’t receive any Oscars love for his directorial debut in 2018’s A Star Is Born.
The movie was a critical success and was nominated for eight Oscars, but Bradley said he was ’embarrassed’ because he wasn’t up for Best Director.
The actor-filmmaker opened up during Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations from Times Square, confessing: ‘I was embarrassed. I was at a coffee shop in New York City and looked down at my phone and Nicole [Caruso, his publicist] has told me congratulations and said what we had been nominated for.
‘They didn’t even give me the bad news. I was embarrassed because I felt I hadn’t done my job.’
Despite not being recognised for A Star Is Born, he clearly caught the directing bug as while he was on the promotional trail for the film he had already begun thinking about Maestro.
His work on the biopic began in 2018 when he was attached to star as Bernstein in the project, with Steven Spielberg directing.
When Steven pulled out of the project to dedicate more time to his West Side Story remake, self-professed lifelong classical music fan Bradley refused to let the project drop, instead putting himself forward as the new director.
He convinced Steven to let him take over the role after showing him his directorial debut in A Star Is Born, with Maestro producer Kristie Macosko Krieger revealing that even on the promotional trail for his musical drama he couldn’t get Maestro off his mind and pitched her the idea then.
She told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘He was like, “Can I pitch you my idea for the opening of the film?” He pitched me, shot for shot, what we actually now see in a film in 2023.
‘He thought about the movie for six years, nonstop. I would hazard a guess to say that I’ve probably received 3,000 texts from him, easily, over the course of us making the movie.’
As well as ensuring he could do the movie justice with his directing, Bradley ensured he embodied the role of the famed American composer by spending six years learning how to compose… for a six-minute scene.
The scene in question was capturing Bernstein’s iconic performance conducting the 1976 London Symphony Orchestra in Ely Cathedral, which ‘terrified’ Bradley.
He confessed during a tastemaker screening: ‘That scene I was so worried about because we did it live. That was the London Symphony Orchestra. I was recorded live, I had to conduct them.
‘And I spent six years learning how to conduct six minutes and 21 seconds of music,’ he admitted, while crediting his ‘wonderful teachers’ for all their help along the way.
‘I was able to get the raw take where I just watched Leonard Bernstein [conduct] at Ely Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1976 and so I had that to study.
‘And Yannick Nézet-Séguin made videos with all the tempo changes, so I had all of the materials to just work on,’ he continued.
‘It was really about dialing exactly what I wanted cinematically and then inviting them into then inhabit that space and trusting that they have all done the work.
‘Because I think that I knew, I was terrified, absolutely terrified that if I hadn’t done the work that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in these scenes. And everybody did.’
Bradley also practised method acting for the role, even staying in character while directing scenes.
He explained that he has utilised method acting ever since starring alongside Christian Bale in 2018’s American Hustle, revealing: ‘I was playing Lenny throughout his life. I would spend three to six hours in the makeup trailer every day before the crew arrived.
‘It was hilarious, because on days when I was young Lenny, the energy of the set was faster, and we got more done. And then when I was old Lenny, it had a slower gear. If you ask the crew or cast, Lenny directed the movie.
He added The Hollywood Reporter: ‘I have hand signals with the sound mixer and the camera operator. I don’t call action. After everything’s set up, I’ll just start talking and bring the actors, and often they don’t know we’re rolling.
‘And then they’re like, “The scene’s over.” And they’re like, “Huh?” I’m [playing] Lenny Bernstein, so I’m not breaking in and out of character.’
The performer also stated that he felt as if the time he spent on the project greatly affected his views about filmmaking.
He explained: ‘I will say this about Maestro: I grew up on this movie. It changed me as an artist.
‘I executed exactly my vision. And that was the result of just having so much time to think and write and prepare to act in this movie.’
The American Hustle star also attendance on his sets limited to the individuals most involved in the filmmaking process.
He recalled: ‘When we shoot the movie, no one’s allowed on set. [Producer] Steven Spielberg came three times, but other than him, there’s nobody. It has to be a sanctuary.’
Bradley also banned chairs from his set, explaining: ‘I feel like your energy dips the minute you sit down.’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
