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‘A Star Is Born’: Lady Gaga on the Career-Changing Lesson Director Bradley Cooper Taught Her

"It’s changed the way that I work today," Gaga says of working with Cooper on his directorial debut.
Lady Gaga, "A Star Is Born"
'A Star Is Born': What Lady Gaga Learned From Director Bradley Cooper
'A Star Is Born': What Lady Gaga Learned From Director Bradley Cooper
'A Star Is Born': What Lady Gaga Learned From Director Bradley Cooper
'A Star Is Born': What Lady Gaga Learned From Director Bradley Cooper
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Lady Gaga has sold out arenas around the world and won numerous Grammy awards for her music, but she’s about to redefine her career by starring opposite Bradley Cooper in “A Star Is Born.” The pop star, whose television work on “American Horror Story: Hotel” earned her a Golden Globe, is leading her first feature film with the upcoming “Star” remake. Cooper and Gaga made a deal before filming that she would help make him a convincing rock star and he would help make her a convincing actress. Gaga told Entertainment Weekly the process of working with Cooper was career redefining.

“It just has changed me,” Gaga said. “Watching Bradley work was phenomenal and then having him believe in me — it gave me more ammunition to believe in myself and I just feel so blessed to have had that experience.”

Part of the reason Cooper helped Gaga believe in herself was because he always believed in the project, despite the hesitation from some of his closest friends. Cooper told EW that a lot of people told him not to remake “A Star Is Born” for his directorial debut. His film is the third adaptation of the story, which was first made in 1937.

“I just knew this could be the end of everything if it doesn’t work,” Cooper said. “It’s like, ‘Who’s this guy making the fourth [version] of this movie? Shut up already.’ But I still could not deny what I felt deep down, and that’s why it was this movie. It sort of ignited something in me.”

Cooper revealed he used to write songs between the ages of 8 and 19. The actor-director always thought he would be able to actualize this skill in a movie and “A Star Is Born” turned out to be the perfect vehicle for making it happen. Cooper also co-wrote the script for the film with Eric Roth and Will Fetters, and his complete control over the film and his faith in the material resonated with Gaga more than anything.

“I think what I learned from Bradley [is] it’s okay to be relentlessly sure of your vision, and to go after it with every fiber of your being, and to never stop white gloving what you’re making,” Gaga said of her biggest takeaway from the experience.”Sometimes, as an artist, I second-guess myself when I go, ‘Am I pulling the thread? Am I unraveling the whole blanket now? Do I need to stop?’ It’s changed the way that I work today.”

“A Star Is Born” will world premiere outside of competition at the Venice Film Festival later this month. The drama is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival in September before Warner Bros. opens it in theaters nationwide on October 5. Head over to Entertainment Weekly for more from Cooper and Gaga.

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