‘A Star Is Born’ World Premiere Interrupted After Lightning Strikes Theater, Causes Screening Malfunction — Venice

The world premiere of “A Star Is Born” at the Venice Film Festival came to a halt after lightning struck the theater and caused technical malfunctions. According to Variety, the screen went black and the audio in the theater cut off about midway through the screening of Bradley Cooper‘s directorial debut. The theater’s projector and sound system were apparently affected by the lightning strike.

Soon after the lights came up in the theater, festival attendees at the world premiere took to social media to share their reactions. Celebrity reporter Derek Blasberg said the lightning “damaged the projection” inside the theater and left the audience waiting for the movie to start back up again. Gaga could reportedly be seen chuckling about the incident. The technical malfunction was resolved after about 20 minutes and the premiere continued as scheduled.

Prior to the world premiere screening, “A Star Is Born” was met with enthusiastic reviews from critics. The first batch of reviews singled out Lady Gaga’s film debut as being “extraordinary” and “electrifying,” immediately starting Oscar buzz for the pop singer. “Star” stars Gaga and Cooper as music artists navigating the highs and lows of stardom and their relationship.

Warner Bros. will open “A Star Is Born” nationwide on October 5.

LADY GAGA IS ELECTRIFYING. Literally. I’m in Venice for the film festival and sitting in the audience at the premiere of “A Star is Born,” and the theater was just struck by lightning—no joke—and damaged the projection. And now we’re all waiting for it to start. ⚡️🇮🇹

— Derek Blasberg (@DerekBlasberg) August 31, 2018