Steven Spielberg's Possible Leonard Bernstein Biopic

[A24 4,171]

Does Bradley have a digital nose there? It's kinda distracting. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,097]

I'd imagine that it's makeup. He don't half look like Lennie.

[geom_00 15]

The trailer for the New Leonard Bernstien Biopic has dropped!

 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/bradley-cooper-maestro-trailer-leonard-bernstein-1235489118/

 

Moderators: I couldn't find a thread for this, but I am sure there is one.  Apologies if there is already.

[michael_grig 453]

Gustav Mahler's 5th symphony! That's exactly what I want trailer music to be!

[Marian Schedenig 7,491]

3 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

I'd imagine that it's makeup. He don't half look like Lennie.

 

He looks almost exactly like him in the older scenes. Uncanny-valley-ishly so.

 

3 hours ago, Tallguy said:

Good heavens, that's Sally Sparrow from Doctor Who!

 

Carey Mulligan was amazing in that episode, and I'm still sad she never became a companion.

[JNHFan2000 2,325]

So the producers on this are

 

Steven Spielberg

Martin Scorsese

Todd Phillips

 

That's quite something

[Jay 34,936]

On 21/01/2020 at 12:03 PM, mrbellamy said:

Todd Phillips, Scorsese AND Spielberg will co-produce the film

 

 

Gotta be the only time we'll see the 3 of their names on the same picture!

 

Have Scorsese and Spielberg ever been involved in the same pic before?

[bollemanneke 3,154]

Is the movie going to have normal pacing or Bernstein pacing?

[Romão 2,241]

Not only does Cooper look like Lenny (specially when older), but he also seems to capture his voice quite well.

 

I'm definitely intrigued by this

[Thor 6,721]

12 hours ago, Jay said:

 

 

Gotta be the only time we'll see the 3 of their names on the same picture!

 

Have Scorsese and Spielberg ever been involved in the same pic before?

 

Not the same pic, but they both did AMAZING STORIES.

 

Hope they include a fictionalized version of Lennie blowing up on poor Carreras.

[Gustavo Joseph 29]

Apparently no room for an original score on this one, but JW was friends with Bernstein, looks like a project he could have said "yes". 

[Alex 2,721]

I am looking forward to the Williams family releasing a statement when JW’s biographic film is released confirming that “John Williams had a nice, bald head.”

[Smeltington 1,297]

So I guess somebody on the internet complained about the prosthetic nose?

[bruce marshall 1,284]

LB was only 5 foot three inches tall ( give or take an inch).

[Naïve Old Fart 9,097]

Just seen the trailer.

I hate to say this, but... wasn't Bernstein gay? 

[iamleyeti 113]

1 hour ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Just seen the trailer.

I hate to say this, but... wasn't Bernstein gay?

You see him briefly touch another man… I guess they are going to talk about this.

 

Honestly, the nose thing is quite jarring… and I'm a bit afraid about how they talk about his homosexuality… But I'll be very curious to see the movie. It looks gorgeous.

[Docteur Qui 1,527]

21 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Just seen the trailer.

I hate to say this, but... wasn't Bernstein gay? 

 

Why box him in like that? He had relationships with both men and women. At any rate, even if he was exclusively only attracted to men he still married and had children with a woman, and that relationship is the central focus of this film. I imagine that in the 27 years they were married they had some kind of close friendship.

[Thor 6,721]

As the trailer suggests, the film will definitely touch on the sexual orientation bit. What is often a bit worrisome is when family is so supportive of a project like this; it might suggest too much PC and too much fear to go into a person's troublesome aspects. It remains to be seen how nuanced the portrait actually is. Hoping the film and the family have allowed for both the good and the bad of Bernstein's life, like the aforementioned temper issue (the Carreras incident, for example).

[Brónach 1,275]

5 hours ago, Docteur Qui said:

 

Why box him in like that? He had relationships with both men and women. At any rate, even if he was exclusively only attracted to men he still married and had children with a woman, and that relationship is the central focus of this film. I imagine that in the 27 years they were married they had some kind of close friendship.

 

he's not suggesting he can' be bi or have friendships, i think he's unsettled that the film may have boxed him as straight ( which is pretty typical )

[Romão 2,241]

They're definitely addressing his sexuality. Here is a set photo, for example:

 

[iamleyeti 113]

They could be roomate. /s

 

I fear this will end like the Queen biopic that made sure Freddie Mercury's sexuality was a detail and a problem…

[Marian Schedenig 7,491]

2 hours ago, Romão said:

They're definitely addressing his sexuality. Here is a set photo, for example:

 

 

Or maybe that's just Bradley Cooper and his friend during a break in filming. 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,097]

I suppose that all biopics need to tread a fine line between putting asses on seats, and presenting a rounded portrayal of the subject.

It's no surprise that dear Dickie chose not to show Gandhi sleeping naked, next to young, female members of his family (that's not me talking; it's an established fact).

It was an open secret, that Lenny was gay, and that he had a liaison with Sondheim, but I doubt very much that either topic will be dwelt upon to any degree.

As he is among the greatest figures in music who have ever lived, I, for one, am going to make an effort to watch this.

[Bespin 7,868]

On 15/08/2023 at 2:23 PM, geom_00 said:

The trailer for the New Leonard Bernstien Biopic has dropped!

 

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/bradley-cooper-maestro-trailer-leonard-bernstein-1235489118/

 

Moderators: I couldn't find a thread for this, but I am sure there is one.  Apologies if there is already.

 

Impressively, Bernstein's interactions with another man are evident in the trailer, and in the subsequent scenes, his wife attempts to drown herself in the pool.

 

You can't create a biopic of a well-known individual, even if they are a hero, without addressing the sexual aspects of their life. This becomes even more crucial when those aspects have led to suffering within their family.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,097]

She's sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool (in a very nice pant outfit, btw), but I'm not sure if she's trying to kill herself.

[Bespin 7,868]

4 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

She's sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool (in a very nice pant outfit, btw), but I'm not sure if she's trying to kill herself.

 

I only slightly exaggerated.

 

But you grasped the essence of that scene.

[Docteur Qui 1,527]

On 18/08/2023 at 6:59 PM, Brónach said:

 

he's not suggesting he can' be bi or have friendships, i think he's unsettled that the film may have boxed him as straight ( which is pretty typical )

 

Ah yep, that's fair enough, and as we saw with Bohemian Rhapsody a very real concern. Hopefully it's not the case here.

[mrbellamy 5,990]

On 16/08/2023 at 1:41 PM, Alex said:

I am looking forward to the Williams family releasing a statement when JW’s biographic film is released confirming that “John Williams had a nice, bald head.”

 

[iamleyeti 113]

2 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

 

I love The Onion so much

[Richard Penna 3,176]

On 18/08/2023 at 5:28 PM, Bespin said:

You can't create a biopic of a well-known individual, even if they are a hero, without addressing the sexual aspects of their life. This becomes even more crucial when those aspects have led to suffering within their family.

 

It's possible to do it without banging it over the audience's head. The Imitation Game didn't focus much on Turing's sexuality and the issue of his death was very glossed over, focusing on the 'happy' ending of winning the war.

 

Also depends on whether the sexuality aspects are a large aspect of the story, although they tend to override the main plot anyway because they're 'important'...

[iamleyeti 113]

I would rephrase it differently: You can't create a biopic of a well-known individual, even if they are a hero, without addressing the sexual aspects of their life. This becomes even more crucial when those aspects have led to suffering within their family. Especially when they are gay, so it becomes a couple of scenes about anxiety and self-loathing.

 

Sorry for the sarcasm, but I'm always overcautious when it comes to these topics…

[Bespin 7,868]

3 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

 

It's possible to do it without banging it over the audience's head. The Imitation Game didn't focus much on Turing's sexuality and the issue of his death was very glossed over, focusing on the 'happy' ending of winning the war.

 

Also depends on whether the sexuality aspects are a large aspect of the story, although they tend to override the main plot anyway because they're 'important'...

 

For example, in the trailer, they clearly intended to convey that he caused his wife to suffer, despite the very special bond they had throughout their lives.

[Brónach 1,275]

4 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

 

It's possible to do it without banging it over the audience's head. The Imitation Game didn't focus much on Turing's sexuality and the issue of his death was very glossed over, focusing on the 'happy' ending of winning the war.

 

Also depends on whether the sexuality aspects are a large aspect of the story, although they tend to override the main plot anyway because they're 'important'...

 

for Turing, this would be lying by omission.

 

the truth is, most audiences find honest-to-god depictions of homophobia/transphobia and its effect on the psyche and people's lives overly uncomfortable. they prefer to think that these things don't happen, that it's not important to the story, that it overrides the main plot (suddenly the "plot" is the most important thing ever and everything must contribute to "the mechanical plot"), that it's not a big deal, that it's not enabled by indifference of the majority rather than the more overt actions of the few, and specially people like to believe that they're not in the system, they don't act inside the system and would never contribute to the system at all.

 

this happens with many issues.

 

i dislike, quite honestly, the literal mindless application of these CIA funded ideas like "show don't tell" (at least, we have confirmed that one!) or even "everything must contribute to be plot", the repudiation of horizontal expansion of ideas and relations and vibes, and the offspring, the repudiation of sincerity on each possible movie, and the obsession over "plot holes"...

 

i struggle to word everything i'm thinking into a text where every idea leads more clearly to one another. anyway, i tried.

[MedigoScan 310]

I could have sworn The Imitation Game had a very distinct unhappy ending because of the homophobic medical treatments he had to endure.

[iamleyeti 113]

It does. But, in my opinion, a significant part of the movie is about how he could not reciprocate love towards Knightley's character.

[Jay 34,936]

New trailer

 

 

[filmmusic 1,677]

This should win the make-up Oscar.

Does anyone know what is the music playing?

[Dave Reebo 2]

4 hours ago, filmmusic said:

This should win the make-up Oscar.

Does anyone know what is the music playing?

The ending of Mahler Symphony No. 2

[Score 741]

6 hours ago, filmmusic said:

This should win the make-up Oscar.

Does anyone know what is the music playing?

 

Stop whatever you are doing and go immediately to listen to Mahler's 2nd symphony!! 

 

(seriously, it's one of the greatest symphonies ever written by anyone - especially due to the last three movements)

 

[Smeltington 1,297]

Which recording?

[Jay 34,936]

 

1. Leonard Bernstein, Robert Schumann: Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront / Manfred, Op. 115 Overture / Fancy Free Var. 1 (Galop) (5:18)
2. On the Town: Lonely Town. Pas De Deux (2:23)
3. Leonard Bernstein, Frederick Hollander, Frank Loesser: On the Town: I Get Carried Away / You’ve Got That Look (That Leaves Me Weak) (3:38)
4. Trouble In Tahiti: Interlude (0:32)
5. Candide: Paris Waltz (0:53)
6. Facsimile: Molto Adagio (1:12)
7. Fancy Free: Enter Three Sailors / Fancy Free: Var. 3 (Danzon) / On the Town: New York, New York (3:34)
8. Anniversaries for Orchestra: X. For Felicia Montealegre / Interview (Dialogue) / Songfest: To What You Said (6:07)
9. W.C. Handy, Gustav Mahler: St. Louis Blues (Concerto Grosso) / Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor, Pt. 3: Adagietto (3:50)
10. Candide: Make Our Garden Grow (2:09)
11. West Side Story: Prologue (1:24)
12. Mass: XVII. Pax Communion (7:23)
13. Walton: Facade – An Entertainment: Sir Beelzebub – Carey Mulligan, Zachary Booth (0:32)
14. Mahler: Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’: V. Finale. In Tempo des Scherzos (6:16)
15. Symphony No. 2 ‘The Age of Anxiety”, Pt. 1. A. The Prologue (0:58)
16. Lincoln Chase: The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap) – Shirley Ellis (1:13)
17. A Quiet Place: Postlude (2:00
18. Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 In F Major, Op. 93 (3:02)
19. Chichester Psalms: Psalm 23 (4:59)
20. Candide: Overture (4:36)
21. Symphony No. 3 ‘Kaddish’. II. Din-Torah (0:56)

 

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/maestro-music-by-leonard-bernstein-original-soundtrack/1712328445

[Thor 6,721]

Interesting cover and track listing. As someone who only owns sporadic Bernstein compositions in my collection, it might be a fine sampler. Much like the soundtracks of AMADEUS (which I have on vinyl) or IMMORTAL BELOVED (which I have on CD).

[Score 741]

3 hours ago, Smeltington said:

Which recording?

 

My favourite performance is probably the one led by Abbado with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra (it's also on youtube). Perfect tempi, perfect feeling, perfect playing. They really get all the details right. But of course, also Bernstein's recordings of Mahler's symphonies are very important ones.

 

... speaking of which, listen to this anecdote from Mauceri, in case you haven't heard it yet (from 1:09:45 to 1:10:56). It's relevant to Bernstein, Mahler, film music...

 

 

 

 

[JNHFan2000 2,325]

First cue released

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,097]

I love the CHICHESTER PSALMS, and I love Walton's FAÇADE. My go-to version is Ashcroft/Irons, so I'm interested to see what Mulligan/Booth have done with it.

[Jay 34,936]

1 hour ago, JNHFan2000 said:

 tracklist of full album

 

 

Look three posts before yours

[JNHFan2000 2,325]

Ah, sorry. Completely missed that somehow.

 

Edit it.

[Jay 34,936]