Bradley Cooper had strict on-set rule while filming controversial movie

When directing his latest flick there was a very strict rule on the movie set enforced by Bradley Cooper.

The film is a biographical drama based on the life of composer Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre.

Acting, directing and producing the film, it's very much Cooper's baby, though there has been some controversy over the film.

His decision to wear a prosthetic nose to portray the Jewish composer met with some backlash, with makeup artist Kazu Hiro saying he was 'sorry that he hurt some people's feelings'.

Netflix

Maestro has picked up a number of nominations and some awards, though it lost out to Oppenheimer in the Golden Globes.

While on the set of the film, Cooper in his role as director said he implemented a strict 'no chairs' policy, which he mentioned in a discussion with fellow director Spike Lee for Variety.

He said: "There’s no chairs. I’ve always hated chairs on sets; your energy dips the minute you sit down in a chair."

Cooper also told Lee that when he was directing he didn't 'watch playback' of the footage.

The actor and director said that if he was working under another director he'd defer to what they wanted to do, but if he was helming a film he wouldn't pause to see what he was shooting while he was filming it.

He's not the only director not to want chairs on his set, quite a number of them prefer to keep the places someone can sit down on a movie set to a minimum.

Sometimes the idea that directors hate chairs runs away a little bit.

Anne Hathaway once said that Christopher Nolan 'doesn't allow chairs' on set, though his spokesperson later said that what the director actually didn't do was use his chair in front of the monitors, stressing that there were places for cast and crew to sit down when they needed.

Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Netflix

What he has banned, like many other directors, is having phones on the set.

Not everyone is a fan of Cooper's 'no chairs' rule, as some took to social media to clap back.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, someone argued that 'every single person on set should get a provided chair' because you're going to be working long days and everyone needs the chance to sit down.

Someone else wrote that you 'get the best work out of folks when they feel safe, included, and their needs are met', while a third argued that you'd be getting different performances from someone who's been standing up for '14 hours'.

Topics: Bradley Cooper, Celebrity, TV and Film

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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