A New Generation of A Star is Born
November 16, 2018
By: Samantha Steinberg ’19
A Star is Born is the latest trending movie written, directed, and starred in by long time actor Bradley Cooper. He works alongside singer Lady Gaga to tell an incredibly romantic story, while belting out several original songs made specifically for the film. This movie is a must see to enjoy the heavyweight emotions, breakout acting, and inspiring songs.
It was originally made in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason. Then, another version came out in 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
A Star is Born is about Ally, a singer-songwriter, who is timid about performing in front of other people when she happens to meet a famous country singer named Jack in a bar. They immediately form a connection, and he is stunned by her beautiful voice. He invites her to come to his concert and sing with him. Together, they sing the song “Shallow” which is the unofficial theme song of the movie (it is now number one on iTunes).
Jack and Ally start a romantic relationship, and Ally becomes more recognized by the public and offered more opportunities to start her own career in music. However, Jack struggles with alcoholism and the changes that Ally condones when she becomes a star. She starts to change her physical appearance as well as her music that she writes.
All seventeen of the songs in A Star is Born are originally written by Lady Gaga with the help of Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, and Mark Ronson. Before Lady Gaga agreed to Ally’s part, she said that the only way she would take part in the movie was if all the performances were live; she said this was the only way to show the true emotions of what the characters were feeling. So, Lady Gaga and Cooper performed at festivals, including Coachella and Glastonbury, in front real audiences.
Cooper and his team made this possible by canceling out the speakers volume in the stands so that the audience could not hear the music. They did not want people to take videos and then leak the music. They were able to sing for the movie while the audience screamed in the background after they were told by Cooper what to do when he got on stage.
During the first week A Star is Born raked in $42.6 million and had a 90% review on Rotten Tomatoes. The acting was spot on, and the chemistry between Cooper and Lady Gaga made it even better.
Be ready to laugh and cry while watching A Star is Born as it explains the hardships of being in the public eye as a singer. I highly suggest making plans to go see A Star is Born if you feel like watching a romantic movie with amazing music written by Lady Gaga.
I personally give this film a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Sources used:
https://variety.com/2018/artisans/production/bradley-cooper-lady-gaga-a-star-is-born-2-1202966079/
