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Bradley Cooper has found the missing piece of his musical puzzle – and the living inspiration for Jackson Maine, the romantic rocker in which he plays A star is born, his directorial debut – scratching next to Neil Young in the middle of the desert.
It was a sweet night in October 2016 and Young was playing at the classic rock festival Desert Trip with Promise of the Real, the folk-rock band led by Lukas Nelson, Willie's son. After the performance, Cooper asked Nelson to be both a music consultant and a contributor to the soundtrack of his more crisp and twangier update on the classic love story.
Before A star is bornThe highly anticipated release on October 5th, Nelson spoke about his work experience with Cooper and his co-star, Lady Gaga.
How did this first conversation with Bradley Cooper go?
He is a serious actor who takes his art very seriously, but in a balanced way. I like it a lot. He came up to me and said, "I would like you to come and be a music consultant on the whole." I said, "Yes, of course!" Stefani [Germanotta, a.k.a Gaga] came, and we ended up writing together a bunch. I produced it and it just grew from there. It was a kind of organic event where we were all really good together, and the band ended up being perfect for the movie, so [Promise of the Real] finished in the movie as [Maine’s] B: and. It's kind of a complete circle between Desert Trip and A star is born, with these same musicians, he was inspired by – us with Neil. He sort of made that model for what he did with that film, in a way, or at least how he wanted to portray the character.
How was it working with Lady Gaga?
I've been around successful people for a long time and I know very good talent when I see him, just growing up in the family where I grew up. It corresponds to the situation. She is very powerful. This is an actress; she's just a artist, you know? When we wrote together, we definitely saw it. We sort of finished each other's sentences when we wrote. It just seemed natural. It is a beautiful collaboration and it is a beautiful friendship that we have. I love her and her abilities and her heart. Same thing with Bradley: we have become very close friends and we love each other. It's more like an extended family with these guys.
Does Jackson Maine remind you of someone?
Me! Oh, man – he would study how I could hold a guitar, and then he would do his own. We talked a lot about how to look and feel on stage, to be in a group and to know what it is. It was great to have Promise of the Real in the movie … It was part of our group and this authenticity really manifests itself.
Cooper was clearly an enthusiastic student, so as a person who guided him through this musical education, was there something that surprised you in this process?
It was wonderful to see him grow up and see the level of dedication he put into it. Nobody will be able to say that he has not given 100% and more. I think this is paying off. Many people are enthusiastic and I do not think they will be disappointed either. I was surprised by his level of musicality. I did not realize that he was in the music and that he already knew a lot. He is definitely a musician; he had not just used it, and now he had the chance to do it. I hope that he will continue to do things over time, musically, as he has a talent for that. He has an ear – the same thing with Gaga and the acting game.
With regard to writing, how is this different from your own writing experience of your own music? Was it different to write from a fictional point of view like Jackson? Have you changed anything regarding your approach?
In a way, it was more like playing with Neil, because I play sideman: I'm retiring from my main role and playing the role of sideman with other artists, who were Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Having this ability to be a leader, I think it's also very important to know how to be in a group. The way I approach my writing, I think there is a lot of me in[[[[A star is born]. These are songs that I have written about my own life and, in a way, they can be applied to any situation.
You obviously know Kris Kristofferson; you know each other well and have worked together. He played in A star is born with Barbra Streisand. Have you and Kris ever discussed A star is born?
No, Kris and I did not talk about it too much. But I know he's really proud of Bradley and is happy to give up the torch. This film has been done four times now; the first was in the 30s, almost in the era of silent film. There was one later with Judy Garland in the 50s, then in the 70s with Kris and Barbra Streisand, then this one. There is actually a sort of tradition of redesigning this movie, you know, over time.
Scenes like those filmed at Stagecoach and Glastonbury underscore Cooper's commitment to that authenticity. Why was it important for him to make these appearances at the festival?
I think [Stagecoach] It was a great moment for him. In fact, we filmed the scene just before daddy's set. In fact, Dad cut his speaking time a bit to allow us to film this small segment for the same crowd – it was just after Jamey Johnson played. It was fantastic. It was a great moment for him to get up and just sing and sing in front of tens of thousands of people.
It must have been cool for your dad too, to see your own big Hollywood moment!
I do not know; I think he was in the bus at the time. He may have been chillin '.[[[[Laughs.]I'm sure he heard it!
Do you like musical theater and musical films in general?
I really liked O brother, where are you?which was a great soundtrack and a beautiful movie with good music. It's the only one I can think of. Of course there was the last A star is bornwhich was great then there was this movie with … oh, my god, I do not remember. Whitney Houston –
The bodyguard?
Yeah, The bodyguard! Right! I know that Stefani was really in this movie – it was part of the inspiration she mentioned, for her and for other movies too. They all did their research, Bradley and Gaga. It will be a good one. My favorite is probably The Blues Brothers – the original Blues Brothers is fantastic. He has so many great musicians.
Let's talk about Stefani's Americana chops: she's such a versatile performer, but how did she get that stuff?
I think she's just an accomplished artist, no matter what. No matter what she decided to do, she would do it really, very well – she's just that kind of artist. The last record that she released, Joanne, was my first introduction to it, really; I thought it was just fantastic. I heard her play songs and they are all great, but there were songs that resonated with me on this record. There are songs in this movie that really touch me, the ones with Mark Ronson that she wrote, and the band actually played it, so it was great to be part of that d & # 39; 39 a certain way.
What happens after the film premieres and you're back on the road? Do you want to incorporate these songs into your concerts?
I mean, probably, especially "Music to My Eyes". There are songs that I would probably like to play and cover, absolutely. I've also thought about covering some of his earlier songs. "Million Reasons" is an excellent song. it's just a classic song. I heard Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead cover this song not so long ago. She has a good sense of writing songs and creating songs and by everyone's standards, not just a world pop artist.
A version of this article was published in the September 15 issue of Billboard.
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