Bradley Cooper was afraid to lead. Then he found Lady Gaga

If you've watched a screen at any time in the last few months, you've probably seen the trailer for A star is born-In a movie theater, on television or on YouTube, where it has already been seen 9.2 million times. Or maybe you've seen the recurring version reinventing the movie featuring the Muppets. Or maybe follow the meme's Twitter account based on the most memorable moments of the trailer, like the one where Bradley Cooper's old rocker, Jack Maine, slams his window and grunts in front of Lady's young singer Gaga turns. "What?" His eyes narrowed. "I just wanted to see you again," he says. This is the kind of perfect little movie moment that can thaw even the most intimate hearts.

A star is born It's not out yet, and it has already achieved the status of behemoth of pop culture generally reserved for superhero fare. At breakfast in a West Hollywood restaurant, Cooper, who co-wrote, directed and starred in the film, seems not to have caught his breath yet again. The actor, aged 43, has already been nominated for four Oscars and his films have grossed nearly $ 8 billion worldwide. But when he took the helm as director for the first time the A star is born, there was no guarantee that this film, a reprise of one of the most iconic stories of the last century, putting itself in front of one of the most powerful symbols of the postmodern celebrity, would work even. He had never sung in front of the camera before. She had never played in a movie before. The stakes were high. The margin of error was slim.

"There are times when you think, it's O.K. if it does not work," he says. His eyes, cold and blue, widen. "And then there are some moments in your life where you think, in fact, I'm going to fall in a ladder of about 20 steps if it does not work."

To put it mildly, it works. The film premiered at the end of August at the Venice Film Festival, where it was acclaimed by critics. (Expect the original music, sensational everywhere, to sweep too.) This is not just the hype of the festival. A star is born is a real pleasure to watch, triumphant and sad and rich of a texture anchored by two performances deeply felt. This morning, Cooper has just returned to Venice before taking the film to Toronto, where the film will be received with such enthusiasm. And he is happy, of course, that everyone loves him. "This is the exact movie I wanted to do," he says, calling it "an artistic catharsis". But like the movie, his emotions are complicated. "It's sad to give something," he says. "It does not belong anymore."

When the film opens on October 5, it will belong more to the world. And it's not difficult to imagine what will happen next. A star is bornThe story of the latter is ultimately tragic, but it is not a disadvantage. And in a year when many of the best films have addressed social issues worthy of the name, it stands out because it is simply an old-fashioned love story. It will probably be both a commercial success and a season of awards. Its closest reference point could be Titanic--but even James Cameron did not have Lady Gaga. "For me, it's the power to believe in someone and to believe in yourself," Gaga told me later by phone. "Now it's really up to the public to decide what the film means to them."

Cooper and Gaga filmed scenes of music festivals, including Coachella and Glastonbury

Warner Bros.

The film, of course, has already been done three times: first in 1937, with Fredric March and Janet Gaynor; in 1954, with James Mason and Judy Garland; and again in 1976, starring Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand. Each film tells the story of an unknown young woman discovered by a male star; his ascent to fame and his love story are at the same time as he immerses himself in alcoholism, eventually meeting a tragic fate.

For Cooper, it was the kind of story that spoke to him when he was a kid outside of Philadelphia, in front of a movie theater. He is pleased that his career has taken almost a decade to develop, as he has learned throughout his career. "For me, I've had a lot of success doing an advertisement for Wendy and paying off my student loans on AliasCooper said. He spent a lot of time in the editing room following people like J.J. Abrams, "hours of learning," and drew inspiration from the actors including Vince Vaughn, with whom he worked Wedding Crashers"I remember being stunned by his fear," says Cooper. He thinks when he talks about his work, like a student recalling his teachers and classes.

Cooper also worked with some of the best filmmakers in the industry, including David O. Russell, who directed Playbook of silver liners and American hustle-And Clint Eastwood, the first person who approached her to do it again A star is born. But it took several years after this first conversation for Cooper to be ready to take the reins as director and star. "I've always known that I wanted to lead," he says. "Always so it was dealing with the fear of doing it.I told 40 if I had not shot, shame on me.

When we talk about his job, Cooper is measured, but it opens as we cover topics such as #MeToo and #TimesUp. "The potential for destruction of one of the main channels of culture, misogyny and patriarchy, is a miracle," he says. And he is also vague in his eulogy of Gaga, whom he calls by his first name, Stefani – about him.

"From the moment we met, I felt a similar spirit in him," she says. "And as soon as I heard him sing, I stopped in my tracks. I knew that he could play a rock star. In fact, he is the only actor on the planet to be able to play this one. According to Cooper, it was a mutual act of faith. "She entrusted me with the gift of turning out to be the actress she is," he says, "and I confided to her that I would be able to become the musician that I am." was terrified at the thought of being. "

It was a big swing, but the film works largely because they are both believable: Cooper as a rock-root superstar, and Gaga, the young woman he sees singing "La Vie en Rose" in a dirty, drunk bar after a concert. Their romance blossoms and soon, it makes it rise on stage to play in front of thousands of people. She's not sure, but when she starts to sing in front of the crowd, it's an electrifying and brutal moment. "I love him so deeply," said Cooper now of Gaga. "It's because we were together among our most vulnerable."

Vulnerability is an idea that comes up often when Cooper talks A star is bornYou can see him, as a storyteller and performer, digging deep pain to make this film. Jack is an alcoholic – Cooper, who has spoken in the past about his addiction problems, is now sober – and the painful descent of the addictive character has the texture of a person who experienced it first-hand. "Two things had to be bulletproof: I wanted the musicians to see this film and make the jump," it's true, it's real, "he says. "And I wanted everyone who has gone through drug addiction to do," Saint-sh, it's like that. "

For Gaga, the story of her character was not exactly autobiographical, but she was still linked to it. "When I wanted to be a musician, I started running," she says. "I knocked every door I could, shuffling my piano around New York trying to get people to listen to what I had to say." Her character, she says, has already been beaten by the music industry: I had to go back even further, to my teenage years, where I was bullied in high school and I did not feel pretty enough.

Cooper insists that he did not undertake to make a film about celebrity, which is not a topic that interests him personally. "It does not give me the impression of being in a strange hyperreality," he says. "I lead a very normal life." But he's been in the public eye long enough to know that celebrity, as he says, "creates a unique rhythm of life, and that rhythm is like …" He spreads his hands and makes a noise with his breath, and then bring them back in. "Anyone who has to do something public – there's just a lot of energy, and then it's private – it's an enigma that has to be equalized spiritually and emotionally. are so high and you are not.

There are several of them of that energy – the mad energy of celebrity – in the play a few weeks later at the premiere of Los Angeles. When Gaga enters the theater to sit down, something ripples through the crowd like a thrill. There are gasps and screams. During a scene of serious conflict between Cooper and Gaga that culminates in a vulnerable moment, a man in the audience shouts: "YAS!"

At the party, a group of people surround Gaga as she works the perimeter of the room, like dozens of planets orbiting a sun. The necks of the crane and people raise their phones over their heads, trying to see him. Cooper walks away, chatting happily. They both look happy – and why would not they? They succeeded: she is a real movie star. He is a true filmmaker. And now, just like that, they give it.

This appears in the October 08, 2018 issue of TIME.