{"id":16345,"date":"2023-12-20T15:26:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T09:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/maestro-is-magnificentif-you-can-see-beyond-the-end-of-the-nose-row-films-entertainment\/"},"modified":"2023-12-20T15:26:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T09:56:29","slug":"maestro-is-magnificentif-you-can-see-beyond-the-end-of-the-nose-row-films-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/maestro-is-magnificentif-you-can-see-beyond-the-end-of-the-nose-row-films-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"Maestro is magnificent\u2026if you can see beyond the end of the nose row | Films | Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Bradley<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro (Image: Jason McDonald\/Netflix)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Not since Cyrano de Bergerac has a nose provoked such a furore. Oscar winner Bradley Cooper sparked international outrage when the first images of him appeared wearing a sizable prosthetic nose to portray legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in the movie Maestro, which debuts on Netflix today.<\/p>\n

Cooper, who wrote, produced and stars \u00adin the film, was attacked for wearing what the group StopAntisemitism branded \u201ca \u00addisgusting exaggerated \u2018Jew nose\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

Social media exploded as Cooper was accused of adopting \u201can insanely large \u00adprosthetic nose\u201d and perpetuating \u201cJewface\u201d \u00adethnic stereotypes.<\/p>\n

Yet the film arrived to critical acclaim, with the approval of Bernstein\u2019s children who issued a statement admitting their father \u201chad a nice, big nose\u201d and that \u201cBradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we\u2019re perfectly fine with that\u201d.<\/p>\n

An early Academy Awards front-runner, Maestro is the culmination of a six-year journey for Cooper to bring to the screen the life of the musical genius who famously co-wrote Broadway hits including West Side Story and On The Town, three symphonies, brought concert hall performances to the masses on US television, and remains one of America\u2019s most influential figures in classical music.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Yet beyond Bernstein\u2019s music the film focuses on his 27-year marriage to Costa Rica-born Chilean actress and fashion icon Felicia Montealegre \u2013 played by Londoner Carey Mulligan \u2013 whose love endured despite the composer\u2019s numerous affairs with men.<\/p>\n

The 38-year-old actress has twice \u00adbeen nominated for an Oscar \u2013 for An Education in 2010 and Promising Young Woman in 2021 \u2013 but has yet to win. Her \u00adlatest role has already seen her tipped as a contender for next year\u2019s nominations.<\/p>\n

Maestro is Cooper\u2019s \u00adsecond film as \u00ada writer-director, following his acclaimed remake of A Star Is Born opposite Lady Gaga, and he admits that the role got under his skin. \u201cI\u2019ll carry it with me for the rest of my life,\u201d says Cooper. \u201cIt has changed who I am as an \u00adartist.\u201d<\/p>\n

He worked for six years with two of the world\u2019s leading conductors \u2013 Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick S\u00e9guin \u2013 learning how to command an orchestra with his baton.<\/p>\n

Cooper shot one remarkable scene in a \u00adsingle six-minute take, conducting Gustav Mahler\u2019s Resurrection Symphony at the gothic Ely Cathedral in England, where Bernstein had conducted in 1973.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me six and a half years of \u00adworking on it for six minutes and 25 seconds of music,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n

Cooper studied video of Bernstein\u2019s \u00adcathedral performance, and worked for months with Dudamel in Los Angeles \u00ad\u00adand Berlin, before standing alone facing the 130-piece London Symphony Orchestra and chorus to conduct live at Ely.<\/p>\n

Quite simply, there was no way to fake his conducting skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the greatest orchestra in the world, but still, I had to conduct them because the shot is seeing everyone,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou just would know it if it wasn\u2019t happening. Conducting is the hardest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Don’t miss… <\/strong> Row over Bernstein\u2019s nose is permanently offended mob at their most stupid <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Yet after filming the shot, he knew that the movie\u2019s musical climax was a disaster. \u201cIt was a nightmare,\u201d Cooper confesses. \u201cI just kept messing it up. The minute I was behind tempo, it\u2019s over. I\u2019m lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next day Cooper planned to film an exterior scene outside the church, but arrived six hours early in desperation. \u201cI walked into that church and it was empty,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not supposed to shoot there that day.\u201d He called in the musicians, choir and hundreds of audience extras, and the film crew set up inside the church again, with only enough time for one shot.<\/p>\n

Cooper prayed to the late Bernstein\u2019s spirit, recalling: \u201cI looked up, and I have this conversation with him, and I was like: I got to give it one more shot.\u201d That desperate last-chance take is what you see in the movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it ended, the timpanist came \u00adrunning up and he was like: \u2018You know what you did yesterday? It was total s***. Today, you conducted us!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooper admits it was like an out-of-body experience: \u201cI was actually floating above the orchestra. I was able to point to each musician.\u201d He had previously sung at the Oscars and played guitar at Glastonbury, but says those \u201cdidn\u2019t even compare to what that experience was\u201d.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Bernstein\u2019s<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

Bernstein\u2019s Iconic Performance of Mahler\u2019s Resurrection Symphony at Ely Cathedral (Image: Screengrab from Youtube)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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    Cooper immersed himself in Leonard Bernstein, even adopting the composer\u2019s patrician New York accent for a full year before filming began.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt was astonishing,\u201d says Carey Mulligan. \u201cUnbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

    They spent weeks rehearsing, learning to inhabit their characters so that the dialogue felt natural. Mulligan says: \u201cBy the time we were shooting it, it just didn\u2019t feel like we had to think very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

    As the writer, producer and star, Cooper barely had any time away from Maestro. \u00adOne night he rushed from the set in full makeup to attend the school graduation of his \u00adsix-year-old daughter Lea De Seine, who he shares with his former girlfriend, model Irina Shayk.<\/p>\n

    \u201cSome of the mothers must have thought: \u2018Who is this guy?\u2019 Seriously, I was Lenny. Full Lenny. It was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Yet the responsibility of carrying the film on his shoulders weighed heavily.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI knew that if Maestro was going to mess up, it was all on me,\u201d he says. \u201cI was not beholden to anybody else. There was a freedom in that, as well as a huge burden.\u201d<\/p>\n

    But Cooper dismisses the backlash over his prosthetic nose as \u201cridiculous,\u201d insisting: \u201cI have a very pronounced nose. So \u00adwe didn\u2019t do much to \u00ad\u00admy nose. There wasn\u2019t a nose we put on\u2026 It\u2019s basically a silk sheet.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Bernstein\u2019s children Jamie, Alexander and Nina say they were \u201ctouched\u201d by Cooper\u2019s dedication to their father\u2019s story, and confess: \u201cIt breaks our hearts to see any \u00admis\u00ad\u00adrep\u00adresen\u00adtations or misunderstandings \u00ad\u00adof \u00ad\u00adhis efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

    They supported Cooper\u2019s fake nose, and assure critics: \u201cWe\u2019re also certain \u00adthat our dad would have been fine with \u00adit as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Cooper phoned Alex Bernstein to thank him for the family\u2019s support, and reveals: \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it, but this huge emotional exhalation came out, and I was just crying so hard. I couldn\u2019t even thank him. And he started crying.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Cooper, who has been nominated for nine Oscars without winning, with films including The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and American Sniper, admits to having an obsession with conducting classical music since childhood when he watched \u00adcartoon characters lead orchestras.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt started with Tom & Jerry and Bugs Bunny as a kid, watching them conduct,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    \u201cAnd asking Santa Claus for \u00ada baton when I was about eight or \u00adso, and then just being obsessed with conducting.\u201d<\/p>\n

    His parents played classical recordings at home, and Cooper \u201cconducted\u201d along with the orchestras.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt was just this incredible feeling of being a maestro, really,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    The film explores the deep passion between Bernstein and wife Felicia, documented in love letters between them. She remained loyal despite his numerous gay affairs, and he nurtured Felicia through the battle with lung cancer which claimed her life in 1978, aged 56.<\/p>\n

    Says Mulligan: \u201cThis devotion that she had for him from the moment she met him… It\u2019s just so beautiful, but there\u2019s a real… struggle within her.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Cooper is convinced that the duo remained deeply in love throughout their marriage despite Bernstein\u2019s conflicted sexuality. While admitting their relationship was \u201ccomplicated,\u201d he says: \u201cI believe that they found each other\u2019s soulmates.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Daughter Jamie Bernstein says: \u201cShe knew exactly what the deal was,\u201d but adds: \u201cI feel like it cost her everything to stick with it. It was really tough for her, and I think it contributed to her early death, in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Bernstein fondly claimed in his later years to have seen visions of his wife, and when he died of a heart attack in 1990, aged 72, he was buried beside his wife, together in a Brooklyn cemetery, and in eternity.<\/p>\n

    \u00b7 Maestro is streaming on Netflix now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [ad_1] Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro (Image: Jason McDonald\/Netflix) Not since Cyrano de Bergerac has a nose provoked such a furore. Oscar winner Bradley Cooper sparked international outrage when the first images of him appeared wearing a sizable prosthetic nose to portray legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein in the movie Maestro, which …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[765],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16345"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}