Spark discussion of Leonard Bernstein Prosthetics by Bradley Cooper

It’s an unwritten rule of popular culture that whenever photos of an actor wearing more than the usual amount of makeup are published for an upcoming project, every news article about him will consider said actor to be “unknown”. It is rarely possible to actually identify a person. For example, Tom Hanks is clearly in a fat suit and wears a fake Vito Corillon suit in Elvis tractor. Jessica Chastain wears a lot of bronzer Tami Fay’s eyes.

But in the case of Bradley Cooper and the just-released first look photos of Leonard Bernstein’s biography orchestra performer, The word “unrecognizable” is actually justified. And in many cases, this infuriates people, arguing that it is inappropriate to rely on such heavy prosthetics to make a non-Jewish actor appear more Jewish.

Cooper will star as Bernstein, as well as direct the project – his second management effort since 2018 A star is born.

Pictures released on Monday appear Hangover An actor disguised by a pound of prosthetics to resemble the author behind the music West side story And the in the city. As a Bernstein senior, Cooper wore a fake nose and fluffy white wig. The wrinkles of his forehead are deeper than that of the Grand Canyon, and his artificially-frozen hands are knotted with prominent veins.

This transformation is an undeniable work of Hollywood glam from Kazu Hiro, the Academy Award winning special effects makeup artist. darkest hourAnd the bombAnd the The strange case of Benjamin Button. One Twitter user praised Hiro’s work, writing“Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. Prosthetics by Kazuo Hero, Coming for Third Makeup Oscar.” Aharon Fun and Recognizable It is a pleasure to see a very recognizable famous man transform into a very famous and recognizable man.

But the polarizing images were also met with backlash, sparking a conversation about whether Cooper, a non-Jewish actor (who wears a large fake nose, to boot), was a suitable choice for portraying a mythical Jewish cultural figure like Bernstein.

My question, “How many pounds of latex would it take to turn Bradley Cooper into an old Jewish man?” It was meant to be rhetorical,” chirp One person. The answer is, btw, ‘Enough latex that someone might find problematic with the hair.’ ” else Wrote“Bradley Cooper wears a prosthetic nose to play a Jewish guy…no. Bad. If a nose is so important to a character that it needs to be accentuated, just pick someone with that kind of nose.”

Cooper will participate in the tournament bandleader artist alongside Carey Mulligan, who plays Bernstein’s wife, Felicia Montelegre. He also produces the Netflix-related project with Martin Scorcese and Steven Spielberg, among others. In other words, the movie is a checklist for Oscar taste. A biography of a real-life icon? Examines. Famous and talented performers? Examines. The lead actor undergoes a dramatic physical transformation to get to the character? Examines. Signed by Scorcese and Spielberg? Check and check.

Through thick and thin, we call a bandleader artist Sweep the 2024 Academy Awards now.