Bradley Cooper is back in the director’s chair for his second film Maestro, which was released on Netflix last week. Except he didn’t have a chair at all!
Indeed, the Maestro and A Star Is Born filmmaker and actor discussed his working process in conversation with Spike Lee for Variety’s “Directors on Directors” video collection. And he makes it clear that you won’t find chairs on the sets of the movies he makes.
“There is no chair on the set“, she said. “I’ve always hated chairs and I feel like your energy drops as soon as you sit down. So the apple box is a very good way to sit and all together. There is no video village, I hate it“.
The video village he talks about refers to the director’s monitors and their surroundings on set.
Bradley Cooper isn’t the only director with an alleged lack of politics. In 2020, Anne Hathaway stated that Christopher Nolan “Do not allow chairs“, remember Entertainment Weekly.
He explained that “His reasoning is as follows: if you have chairs, people will sit, and if they sit, they will not work. He makes films that are incredible in terms of scale, ambition, technical ability and emotion. They always come on time and on budget. I think he’s on the right track with this chair.“.
However, Christopher Nolan’s representative later said that Anne Hathaway’s comments were misinterpreted. “FYI, the only things banned on set are cell phones (not always successfully) and cigarettes (very successfully).Spokesperson Kelly Bush told Novak IndieWire.
“The chairs Anna was referring to are director’s chairs grouped around video monitors, assigned according to hierarchy rather than physical need. Chris chose not to use his own, but never banned chairs from the set. The cast and crew can sit where they want and when they want, which they often do.“
But another voice contradicts these statements. Robert Downey Jr. The actor recently said that there was no chair on the set of Oppenheimer.
“We’ve been testing it on IMAX with Nolan, which is crazyDowney said.You went back to sit in the chair you had set up – no, no, because there were no chairs set up!“
Bradley Cooper explains his chair theory in this short video by Spike Lee:
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
