Certainly one of the more eagerly awaited expected contenders isBradley CoopersLeonard Bernsteinmovie,Maestro.
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Alas, the actors and writers strikes have dampened those initial plans.
Go to Venice, dont go to Venice, she said.
Maestro. Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein (Director/Writer) in Maestro.Netflix
Venice is special for Bradley.
He premieredA Star Is Bornthere.
So, when we got into Venice, Bradley was thrilled and called the kids, Krieger continued.
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The kids were thrilled.
None of the above-the-line people could go.
What do we do?
And it was Bradleys idea.
So I think thats kind of actually amazing.
… Theyre all going to represent our film because we cant be there.
Im thrilled that theyre going to be there.
Take me through the development.
And so, they developed it with Marty (Scorsese) attached to direct it.
Josh Singer who we worked with onThe Postand had a relationship with Steven and I brought it to Steven.
And so, then we needed to look for a Leonard Bernstein.
He was on vacation with his family.
The idea of this is amazing.
I just finishedA Star Is Born.
DEADLINE:So it was A Star Is Born that got him the job?
So, then thats in 2018 at that point.
And so, he went to the family.
He got the rights.
Hes now directing and producing, and they realize he would handle this film with intricate care, detail.
Really that is what the heart of it is, right?
KRIEGER:He 100 percent did not think that was interesting.
He just started researching like, Whats my way into the story?
How am I going to tell the story best?
He was not making a biopic.
I cant even emphasize that enough.
He was very insistent that we are not making a biopic and we did not make one.
We made a story about love and about marriage.
DEADLINE:How closely involved were the three kids?
They were the best tools we had.
DEADLINE:For years Hollywood has stretched the truth in many films about famous musicians.
Leonard Bernstein was bisexual.
Was the family fine with all that?
KRIEGER:There was no other way to make it.
You had to show it authentically.
KRIEGER:I know we have to talk about the makeup but yes.
Bradley was not making this movie unless he got the details right.
He literally needed to perfect the looks.
Theres five stages of makeup.
Its like we start in the 40s and we end in the 80s.
He had to get it right.
Bradley was not putting this story on film unless he had it right and he worked tirelessly.
He kept saying is this a fully realized human being and it was.
It was a fully realized human being of Leonard Bernstein.
To me it felt accurate.
DEADLINE:I would imagine that particular internet white noise will just fade away once people see the movie.
The family was bowled over.
The family thinks he looks like Leonard Bernstein.
How does he pull off all of that?
He was like we are going to be prepared to make this movie.
So, Bradley didnt just tell me what he was going to do as a filmmaker.
He actuallyshowedme what he was going to do as a filmmaker.
And so, for me it was amazing for a man whos made his second film.
I actually knew what the vision was.
DEADLINE:How did the casting of Carey Mulligan come about?
KRIEGER:It was Bradleys idea.
She went to Chile to meet with Felicias family doing the research.
Again, both of these people did the research.
Its like research, research.
Matthew Libatique shot it.
KRIEGER:Yeah Bradley knew he wanted to shoot on film.
So, they were all creative decisions, and they were all deliberate creative decisions.
So, I think you would have to talk to Bradley about why he made those decisions.
He wanted to convey specific time periods and tell the story the way it was lived, right?
In the 40s and 50s everything was in black and white.
He knew what he was doing.
Then in the 80s he changed the aspect ratio to 1:85.1.
DEADLINE:How involved was Spielberg during the actual making of the movie?
KRIEGER:He was the sounding board for Bradley.
He read every draft for the script.
Number one it was COVID and number two we just wanted to get to the business of working.
He watched every cut of the film with Bradley.
He was involved in all of it.
KRIEGER:Heres the thing, Bradley Cooper was obsessed with conducting as a kid.
He asked Santa Claus for a conducting baton when he was little, right?
One of the first presents he remembers asking for when he was a kid.
Bradley Cooper was the right person to direct this movie when its all said and done.
He sat and watched Gustavo Dudamel.
He went to Berlin with Dudamel when he was doing eight days of rehearsals and performing.
He was like soaking it all in.
Maestroopens November 22 in select theaters and begins streaming December 20 on Netflix.
Its world premiere is Saturday, September 2, at theVenice Film Festival.
