One of the trickiest elements of making a narrative film about a pop superstar has to be the logistical nightmare of concert scenes – not only getting the proper venues to create a convincing performance sequence, but the rabid fans to fill it. For his feature directorial debut, Bradley Cooper has figured out a rather ingenious solution: put his popstar leading lady on a stage where she’s already welcome.
Lady Gaga’s set was reportedly one of the highlights of the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. According to Entertainment Weekly , she’ll follow that success with a staged concert later this week, shooting scenes for Cooper’s remake of A Star is Born. Fans were invited to participate via the official Coachella app, offering up prizes and the chance to “help cheer and applaud their performances on camera,” provided they come “decked out in your most comfortable denim & boots” (the scenes for those days are set at a country & western show). The $10 admission charge will go to Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation.
Cooper co-stars with Gaga in A Star is Born, which is the third official remake of the 1937 melodrama, in which a young star on the rise falls in love with an aging veteran on the descent, and tensions ensue. Janet Gaynor and Frederick March starred in the original; Judy Garland and James Mason fronted the first remake in 1954, followed by a music-centered 1976 take with Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. (Gaga took over the role when Beyoncé dropped out last year — oddly mirroring her Coachella performance, which itself was announced when Beyoncé canceled her concert due to her pregnancy.) The film is slated for release next year.