Behind the Scenes: Bradley Cooper's Unconventional Rule on the Set of 'Maestro'
Bradley Cooper directs 'Maestro' with a unique approach, implementing a 'no chairs' rule on set to maintain high energy levels and enhance productivity
Bradley Cooper Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
During his time directing, Bradley Cooper has a specific set of guidelines, one being a ban on chairs on set. In an interview with Spike Lee, he explained that he avoids watching playback and prefers to keep the energy up by eliminating chairs, which he believes causes energy to dip. Cooper, 48, shared these insights while discussing filming Maestro for a Variety interview published on Wednesday, December 14.
Filming can often involve 12 to 16-hour days, and Cooper's dedication to keeping his actors focused is intense, but he acknowledges this. He acknowledged that he "changed" during filming and wouldn't be surprised if not all viewers loved the film.
"I will say this about Maestro: I grew up on this movie," he added. "It changed me as an artist. And people may not like it. I’m sure they won’t."
The American Hustle actor pointed out that in addition to not having chairs on set, there was also no video village, meaning the monitors typically used during filming were not present. Cooper directed and starred in Maestro as composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, with Carey Mulligan playing his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. The star-studded cast also included Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, Sarah Silverman, Jeremy Strong, and Sam Nivola. Maestro is Cooper's second major motion picture directing job since 2018's A Star Is Born.
Cooper praised “thoroughbred actor” Mulligan, 38, for her talent and commitment.
Carey Mulligan and Bradley Cooper were spotted at the Los Angeles photo call for Netflix’s ‘Maestro’ on December 12, 2023. In discussing Mulligan's performance in the film, Cooper stated, “I wasn’t focused for half the day trying to get Carey Mulligan to a place where I believed that she was serving Felicia Montealegre’s needs. She put the work in. And there’s very demanding scenes in this movie.” He went on to highlight specific scenes and Mulligan's talent as an actor, emphasizing how they were able to create musical chemistry as the characters Lenny and Felicia.
Of course, Cooper is not the only director with unique rules on set. Christopher Nolan, for example, is also known for banning chairs. Anne Hathaway revealed in a 2020 episode of Variety's "Actors on Actors" that Nolan doesn't allow chairs on set, stating, "If you have chairs, people will sit, and if they're sitting, they're not working."
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The Oppenheimer director’s team denied claims and said Nolan personally chooses not to sit while working on set.
Nolan's spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, clarified that the only things prohibited on the set are cell phones (although not always effectively) and smoking (which has been successfully prohibited). The chairs mentioned by Anne Hathaway are the director's chairs around the video monitor, allocated based on hierarchy rather than physical need. Chris Nolan himself chooses not to use his chair, but he has never banned chairs from the set.
