Netflix
Five years after “A Star is Born” premiered at the Lido, en route to seven Oscar nominations, “Maestro” – Bradley Cooper’s long-awaited second film as a director – premiered at the Venice Film Festival to thunderous applause. The drama about the life of legendary stage composer Leonard Bernstein received a seven-minute standing ovation at its world premiere on Saturday evening at the Sala Grande Theater.
Cooper, who also plays Bernstein in the Netflix film (with the help of a prosthetic nose), and his co-star Carey Mulligan were absent from the evening’s festivities due to the SAG-AFRTRA strike. But Bernstein’s three children – Jamie Bernstein, Alexander Bernstein and Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein – received the audience’s affection and waved to the sobbing crowd as the lights came up. And then they rejoiced at their father’s joy. As the credits rolled to Bernstein’s music, they began waving their arms as conductors, dancing and celebrating their father’s art.
“Maestro” subverts some of Bernstein’s best-known life moments, including composing “West Side Story,” and instead focuses on his relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre (Mulligan). The supporting cast includes Matt Bomer (as Bernstein’s lover), Maya Hawke (as Bernstein’s daughter Jamie) and Sarah Silverman (as Bernstein’s sister Shirley). Cooper co-wrote the screenplay with Josh Singer. The film premiered in competition at Venice alongside other Netflix originals such as David Fincher’s The Killer and Pablo Larrain’s El Conde.
Heading to Venice, much of the hype surrounding “Maestro” revolved around Cooper’s decision to wear a prosthetic nose to play Bernstein. Cooper worked with Oscar winner Kazu Hiro (“How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Darkest Hour”) to develop the controversial prosthesis. Hiro addressed the backlash during the film’s press conference today.
“I didn’t expect this to happen… I’m sorry for hurting some people’s feelings,” Hiro said. “My goal and Bradley’s goal was to portray Lenny as authentically as possible. Lenny had a really iconic look that everyone knows – there are so many pictures out there because he is also photogenic – such an amazing person and also inspired so many people. That’s why we also wanted to respect the appearance inside. So we did various tests and made a lot of decisions and this was the result of the film.”
“It’s just such an annoying distraction,” Jamie Bernstein told Vanity Fair before Venice about the backlash. “The people who were waiting to get angry about something were just waiting to pounce.”
In a previous interview with Variety, Cooper revealed that Steven Spielberg was originally attached to direct a Bernstein biographical drama and recruited Cooper to star. Cooper was coming off of A Star Is Born at the time and was more interested in writing and directing films than taking on an acting role for anyone, even Spielberg.
“I [told Spielberg]”I always felt like I could play a conductor, but can I research the material and see if I can write it and conduct it? Would you let me do that?'” Cooper said. “Steven has many interests – he will only choose one thing and all other things will be put on hold. I think he knew he wouldn’t be making this film for a while. He was kind enough to give it to me.”
The premiere of Maestro was a much more low-key affair than A Star Is Born, with Cooper and Lady Gaga arriving by boat to a swarm of paparazzi at the Lido. The remake immediately became a front-runner at the Academy Awards after its Venice debut, grossing $436 million at the worldwide box office. It won the Oscar for best original song for “Shallow,” which Gaga and Cooper performed at the ceremony.
Netflix often uses the Venice Film Festival to showcase its biggest Oscar contenders. “Roma” won the Golden Lion at the 2018 festival before earning 10 Oscar nominations and three awards, including the best director award for Alfonso Cuarón. The streamer’s “Marriage Story” opened in Venice in 2019, while “The Power of the Dog” won Jane Campion the best director award in 2021. Both films subsequently received Oscar nominations for Best Picture.
“Maestro” will stream on Netflix starting December 20th.