After three versions of A Star is Born, it didn’t seem as though there could be a fresh take on the story. But Bradley Cooper managed to breathe new life into this age-old tale with his directorial debut.

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He found the perfect co-star in Lady Gaga, who gives a revelatory performance as an aspiring singer who gets swept up in a whirlwind of fame when she strikes up a romance with a famous country singer. Cooper had a lot to say about family, fame, and love in this movie. Here are 10 fascinating facts from the making of 2018’s A Star is Born.

Bradley Cooper And Lady Gaga’s Chemistry Convinced The Studio To Greenlight The Project

Bradley Cooper as Jackson and Lady Gaga as Ally in A Star Is Born

A remake of A Star is Born was a passion project for Bradley Cooper, but convincing Warner Bros. executives to greenlight it proved to be tricky because Cooper was a first-time director and the leading lady he wanted to cast, Lady Gaga, was better known for her musical career than her acting.

So, Cooper and Gaga did a screen test to show to the executives, and when they saw it, they saw the incredible chemistry shared by the two stars and were convinced the greenlight the project.

Shooting The Concert Scenes Live Was Lady Gaga’s Idea

Ally and Jackson singing on stage in A Star Is Born

According to Bradley Cooper, it was Lady Gaga’s idea for the duo to shoot the concert scenes for A Star is Born live. She said she was sick of watching movies about singers where the actors’ lips don’t line up with the professional singer’s voice being dubbed over them.

The only way to avoid this would be to actually do the singing live during filming. This took some convincing because it meant that Cooper would have to undergo extensive vocal coaching.

Willie Nelson’s Son Taught Bradley Cooper How To Play Guitar

Bradley Cooper on stage in a A Star Is Born

In order to learn how to play guitar and carry himself like a musician in the film, Bradley Cooper met with Willie Nelson’s son Lukas Nelson pretty much every night for a year. They hung out in Cooper’s basement and tinkered on the guitar until he got it right.

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In the stage performances in the movie, Jack is backed up by Nelson’s band, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Nelson also co-wrote a lot of the original songs that appear in the film.

Ally’s SNL Performance Was In Lieu Of A Rise-To-Fame Montage

Bradley Cooper intentionally didn’t want to include a clichéd montage showing Ally’s rise to fame in the music world.

Instead, he included a scene set on the day of her performance in an episode of Saturday Night Live, figuring that if the audience saw her appearing on SNL, they’d get an idea of how famous she’d become. To be invited to SNL as a musical guest, you have to be pretty famous.

Dave Chappelle’s Drumming Scenes Were Cut

The name of Dave Chappelle’s character, Noodles, was a reference to the fact that he’s a drummer. However, all of his drumming scenes were cut from the final film.

Noodles’ family members were all played by actual relatives. Chappelle’s own daughter, Sanaa Chappelle, played Noodles’ daughter. Noodles’ wife is played by Drena De Niro (Robert De Niro’s daughter), and their son is played by her own son, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez.

Lady Gaga Kept A Bunch Of Props As Mementos

Allie smiling in A Star Is Born

Although Bradley Cooper insisted that Lady Gaga was perfect for Ally from the get-go, many other actors were rumored for the part, including Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Rihanna, and Kesha. When filming wrapped on A Star is Born, Gaga kept a bunch of props from the movie as mementos. These included Ally’s lyric-filled notebook, Jack’s taupe shirt, and a bottle of Mr. Bubble from the bathtub scene.

It was also Gaga’s idea to intersperse snippets of dialogue from the film between the songs on the soundtrack, as a way of re-immersing the listener in the moviegoing experience.

A Lot Of The Drag Queens’ Dialogue Was Improvised

In the scene when Jack goes backstage to see Ally after her performance at the drag bar, most of the drag queens’ dialogue was improvised. In the original script, they didn’t have a lot of lines, and the focus was on Jack and Ally.

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However, when it came to filming the scene, Bradley Cooper saw that the drag queens had a frank sense of humor that would add to the entertainment of the scene and encouraged them to ad-lib some dialogue during takes.

The Dog In The Movie Is Bradley Cooper’s Own Dog

When A Star is Born first hit theaters, one of the most popular characters in the movie proved to be the dog that Ally gets for Jack.

The dog that appears in the movie is actually Bradley Cooper’s own dog, Charlie. He was named after Cooper’s late father, Charles Cooper.

Ally’s Relationship With Her Father Is Similar To Lady Gaga’s Relationship With Her Own Father

Lady Gaga and Andrew Dice Clay in A Star is Born

Ally’s relationship with her father, Lorenzo, played by Andrew Dice Clay, was written to share similarities with Lady Gaga’s relationship with her own father.

The scene in which Ally talks to her father about the countless times he carried her piano up the stairs and all the times he sat with her while she was writing songs reflects real memories Gaga has of her own father. Dice ended up landing the role after Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, John Turturro, and John Travolta were all considered for the part.

Clint Eastwood Was Originally Going To Direct With Beyoncé Starring

Homecoming- Beyonce

When the fourth version of A Star is Born went into development in 2011, Clint Eastwood was attached to direct and Beyoncé was set to star. A number of actors were considered for the male lead, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Tom Cruise, and Christian Bale.

Production was delayed to accommodate Beyoncé’s pregnancy, and eventually, Eastwood moved on to other projects and the remake fell through. This paved the way for Bradley Cooper to pick it up to be his directorial debut.

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