Bradley Cooper was warned.
Friends discouraged theAmerican Sniperstar from choosingA Star Is Bornas his directorial debut.
I just knew this could be the end of everything if it doesnt work.
Clay Enos/Warner Bros.
Its like, Whos this guy making the fourth [version] of this movie?
But I still could not deny what I felt deep down, and thats why it was this movie.
It sort of ignited something in me.
Neal Preston/Warner Bros.
As Jackson falls deeper into addiction, Ally blazes a path toward superstardom.
I wasnt going to do it, no.
I was too young.
Clay Enos/Warner Bros.
I always thought I didnt have enough experience to play this guy.
But that was when I first became aware of the project and first met [Clint] actually.
He was thinking about doing it and we were talking about it.
Clay Enos/Warner Bros.
And then life happens and we wound up doingAmerican Snipertogether, which aged me.
And then a year of doingThe Elephant Managed me.
And I thought, You know what?
Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga next to Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand in ‘A Star Is Born.'.Neal Preston/Warner Bros.; Everett Collection
I think Im ready.
And then I was like, when am I gonna have the guts to do it?
And I also knew I could only direct something that I had a point of view about.
Clay Enos/Warner Bros.
And I always wanted to tell a love story.
It really was a culmination of a lot of moments.
I was backstage and I saw the crowd from that point of view.
Clay Enos/Warner Bros.
And I thought, Thats a great perspective that I really hadnt seen in movies.
Youre usually in the audience.
I love Clint Eastwood, and I look up to him so much.
And I always had in my mind, Well, he was 41 when he madePlay Misty For Me.
So I always thought when I get around that age then I gotta just do it.
So I had this whole opening that I never even shot.
But that was the inspiration, and thats what I pitched to Warner Brothers.
I was like, Heres the movie.
And I walked them through the whole thing.
Gaga, what drew you to this?LADY GAGA:This guy right here.
I just knew that whatever he was gonna do was gonna be an explosion of his talent.
I couldnt believe that he wanted me to be the girl.
Did you know each other before you started working onA Star Is Born?COOPER:No.
Its like, So in five years you guys will be inseparably close.
Gaga, did you have to audition to play Ally?GAGA:I did.
I tested for the film.COOPER:We shot 10 pages in one day at her house.
We were moving like lightning and she completely gave herself to the process.
I was like, Oh my gosh, Bradley, you might sing.
And then we kept going.
Before we knew it, we were harmonizing.
And he filmed us doing it.
We have a tape of the first time we ever sang together.COOPER:Its on my phone.
When I look at it now Im like, Oh my God.
How could she say yes?
Im not that good.
And I think also were both from the East Coast.COOPER:We both have an Italian upbringing.
Our families are very similar.GAGA:Before I knew it, I was making him spaghetti and meatballs.
She knows everything about me everything.
There is not one thing she doesnt know, and I believe the same for me.
Gaga, this role was pivotal in the careers of Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, and Janet Gaynor.
Did you take it thinking this could be a game-changer for your career?GAGA:No.
He was in the studio with us all the time and without me a lot of times.
[Borns music collaborators include producer Mark Ronson, singer Jason Isbell, and Willie Nelsons son Lukas.]
I loved to sing privately.
I thought, One day I could maybe pull that off.
It really was the confidence she had in me that I would just find it.
[The song that opensBorns trailer.]
I was like, Oh, my goodness.
The soul behind it.
He told the story.
He has the ability to do that.
Bradley, where did Jacksons voice come from?
Its a raspy almost-growl.COOPER:I knew I wanted to lower my speaking voice an octave.
It was brutal, and it took months and months and months.
So we did that.
I was standing on the side of the stage during that moment in Shallow.
[The song fromBorns trailer when the pair first sing on stage together.]
I was watching him rip, roar on the guitar and sing.
I really felt nervous.
I really felt afraid.
It really just took me back to that place.
It was just so real the way that it was all set up that it was easy.
The camera is also right up in your face during this intense performance scene.
I had to really stay focused and trust him.
That was the biggest thing, the trust.
It went hand in hand.
We knew the story we wanted to tell and then the music really became a character in the movie.
That was our launching pad and then it was just about discovering what songs fit in the right places.
We had wonderful songwriters that helped us and it was just an exploration.
We were writing songs during the filming.
You all shot at actual festivals like Glastonbury, Stagecoach, and Coachella.
I was like, Oh, dont worry about it.
Ally is going to play Coachella.
It was the first stuff we shot.
That was amazing because that was the first time I sang on stage with her.
I couldnt believe how easy it was.GAGA:It was so easy.
And it was live.
I was so excited that he wanted to do all of the music live and record our voices live.
That was in front of 80,000 people.
Kris Kristofferson was kind enough to give us four minutes of his set.
I sang, played the guitar solo, and then I said, Ladies and gentlemen, Kris Kristofferson.
Barbra came to the set and she watched some of the film.COOPER:She gave us a blessing.
Everybody was so excited she was there.
We just looked at each other and were like, Wow.
How are we here right now?
You guys also shot on theSaturday Night Livestages.
How did you get that access?COOPER:Yeah, that was not easy.
I just never wanted to do a montage of her rise.
There is nothing else.
I got to know [creator Lorne Michaels] then, and I fell in love with him.
Hes one of the great people.
We had lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel and I said, Dont make me recreate it in L.A.
He was kind enough and he said yeah.
So we used all the crew.
She performed as Ally on that stage.GAGA:We used their cameras too.
We did the whole thing.
Ally is very close with her father, played by Andrew Dice Clay.
When Eric and I started writing the script we asked her about her life and stories.
Then we recorded everything.
Then Eric [Roth] and I would take that.
Dave Chappelle has a small dramatic role in the film as one of Jacksons old friends.
I always thought standup comedians could be the best actors.
Dave Chappelle is somebody I find magical.
I was doing a play in London and he came and we hung out all night.
I spent two years trying to get him [for the film].
Theres a truly stunning moment with Ally singing a beautiful ballad at the Shrine in Los Angeles.
I missed her by 15 minutes and she died.
I literally laid with her, with her husband, and their dog, and his son….
When I came back, Bradley was so gentle with me and we got through it.
I performed the song.
He was like, You dont have to do it again.
All I wanted to do was sing.
Ill never forget that day.
It was really a special scene, and Ill always remember that moment.
I know thats why I wanted to tell this story, so I could even help understand it myself.
I was, like, clutching to them for dear life, thinking, I finally wrote a hit.
I cant give it away.
I was not the prettiest girl in the room.
I was a little weird, and I liked being weird.
I didnt like to be sexual in a way that other pop stars or pop groups were.
I was my own thing.
Its heartbreaking, because you feel like Why am I not enough?
Youve also been very honest about your struggles with chronic pain and fibromyalgia.
How was it during production?GAGA:It was up and down, but you know what?
He flew to where I was and he played it for me and some friends of mine.
I just remember that from the very first frame, I just burst into tears.
I literally cried watching the whole movie.
Bradley, youve been working on this for three years.
Are you now able to let go of it?COOPER:Oh, yeah.
I didnt let go of it until I felt like, Okay, that was it.
I remember the last time I saw it.
We were coloring it for months, and I brought two of my friends in.
When the movie ended, I went, Thats it.
I knew it was over.
Someone asked me the other day, Are you terrified?
The truth is, Im not.
We havent left anything on the field.
I mean, its all there.
Whether it works or not …
I mean, look, talk to me if its a bomb and see how I feel.
