Netflix just released the first photos teasing the biographical drama Maestro starring Bradley Cooper and based on the life of conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. Cooper also co-wrote and directs Maestro, a project Steven Spielberg was initially interested in helming.
In an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Cooper explained why Maestro was the perfect film for him to star in and direct. “When I was eight years old I asked Santa Claus for a baton because I was obsessed with conducting classical music,” said Cooper. “Steven Spielberg knew that…and he happened to know that I had this obsession with conducting. Like in grad school, I did like an M.F.A. and you create a character and I created a conductor and wrote a monologue. So it was something always inside of me. So he said, ‘There’s this project called Maestro, I might direct.'”
Cooper went on to say Spielberg asked him to read the script and play Leonard Bernstein. Cooper admitted he knew nothing about Bernstein but liked the project and asked Spielberg if he could show him a rough cut of A Star is Born. Spielberg agreed, watched the rough cut, and said, “You’re *&@!*#* directing Maestro.”
Joining Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born, American Sniper, American Hustle) in front of the camera are Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, An Education), Matt Boomer (The Sinner), and Maya Hawke (Stranger Things). Spielberg produces along with Martin Scorsese, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Bradley Cooper, Fred Berner, and Amy Durning.
The first photos show Cooper as a young man and aged up as an elderly Bernstein. Mulligan stars as Leonard’s wife, Felicia Montealegre.