Top 10 Behind-the-Scenes Facts About A Star Is Born
#10: It Was Originally Going to Star Beyoncé
This tidbit has us feeling conflicted, because as much as seeing Gaga in the main role of this hotly anticipated remake was total fan service, we can’t even imagine what the movie would have been like in one of its earlier iterations. Before this version went into production, another one was in the works where Clint Eastwood was going to direct and Beyoncé was poised to star. Bradley Cooper was actually offered the role back then but he felt he was too young at the time to do it justice.
#9: The Performances Were Filmed at Real Concerts
The budget for “A Star is Born” was a relatively modest $35-40 million, so when it came time to film the major concert scenes, the producers had to get a little bit creative. The audiences in those scenes are supposed to be huge, and it would have cost a ton to hire thousands of extras to appear in the background. So instead, Cooper actually got on stage at real concerts to shoot for the film! Kris Kristofferson helped him do this at his Glastonbury Festival show and he did the same thing at a Willie Nelson concert. That’s why it all looks so real!
#8: Art Imitated Life in How the Leads Met
In the movie, Cooper’s character Jackson Maine meets Gaga’s character Ally when she’s performing a rendition of “La Vie en Rose” at a drag bar. It turns out, they plucked this scene straight out of real life; although the two performers had met briefly before, when Cooper was working on casting “A Star Is Born,” he witnessed Lady Gaga singing the very same song at a cancer benefit show in LA. He says he instantly knew this would be something special, adding, “It shot like a diamond through my brain. I loved the way she moved, the sound of her voice.”
#7: There’s a Shout-Out to Judy Garland
“A Star Is Born” is a story that has been told many times over the decades. It started in 1937 with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March; a remake was made in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason; and the most recent version was released in 1976, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. In a memorable scene from the 2018 version of the film, Gaga’s character hums the tune to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, a song which was, of course, made famous by Garland in “The Wizard of Oz”.
#6: Cooper Had No Musical Experience
Bradley Cooper signed on to play a famous rock star for this movie, and yet the Academy Award nominated actor had essentially no musical experience. For the role, he took on the tasks of learning to play both the guitar and piano, and even spent time with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam to get an inside look at what the life of a rock star is like. When Gaga first heard Cooper sing, however, she was clearly surprised by his natural talent saying, “‘Oh, my God, Bradley, you have a tremendous voice,” adding, “Has anyone ever heard you sing before?”
#5: The Stars Developed Their Own Shared Codewords
It’s clear from seeing the film and watching Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s interviews that these two have some serious chemistry. In fact, Gaga said of their first meeting about the film, “The second that I saw him, I was like, ‘Have I known you my whole life?”. On set, the two actors even came up with a shorthand in order to communicate effectively. Cooper would whisper the word “Tony” to Gaga to evoke certain emotions in reference to Tony Bennett, and he would use words like “ninja” and “assassin” when he wanted her to have a laser focus.
#4: Willie Nelson's Son Wrote Some of the Songs
In 2016, Bradley Cooper was at a Neil Young concert when he noticed the backing guitarist . . . who just so happened to be Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas Nelson. Clearly some serious musical talent runs in the family! Nelson and his band Promise of the Real appear in the film as Jackson Maine’s band, and Nelson himself penned several of the songs that appear in the final version of the soundtrack. After working together on the film, Lady Gaga even provided backup vocals for Nelson’s 2017 album!
#3: Cooper Got Tan-Happy for his Weathered Cowboy Look
Bradley Cooper wanted to look authentically experienced for his role as a cowboy rocker; and, as you can see in the film, the final effect is surprisingly realistic. While they were filming, he would go for full body spray tanning sessions every two weeks, and on top of that he used Vita Liberata’s pHenomenal 2-3 Week Tan Mousse every morning before going on set, to make the look even more realistic. It wasn’t just his skin though that contributed to the final effect, because the on-set makeup artist added eyeshadow at various times during filming to help Cooper look even more tired. Not exactly the effect most of us are going for!
#2: Real People Are Featured Throughout for Authenticity
Just like how they filmed many of the concert scenes at real shows, Cooper and the producers of the film wanted to add authenticity to the movie wherever they could. So rather than casting actors to play minor roles, they often chose real-life figures they either Cooper or Gaga knew. So the hair and makeup artists in the movie are played by Lady Gaga’s real hair and makeup artists and her dancers and choreographer were played by her real dancers and choreographer! It makes us wonder why film productions don’t do this more often!
#1: The Makeup Controversy
If there’s one thing that people already know about this movie it probably has to do with this infamous moment. As the story goes, when Cooper met Gaga for a screen test, he took out a makeup wipe and removed all her makeup for her. The Internet was up in arms about this, because people weren’t wild about a man telling a woman how she should present herself. It turns out that in the earliest iterations of “A Star Is Born”, the character that Cooper plays actually does take off the young starlet’s makeup so maybe he was aiming to simply recreate the moment but we’ll let you guys form your own opinions on this one.