Bradley Cooper Mocks His “Crazy Demands” While Directing ‘Maestro’, Jokes He And The Cast “Were Losing Our Minds”

Bradley Cooper has been facing some backlash for his approach to directing Maestro, the Netflix biopic about the late composer Leonard Bernstein. The actor has been open about his eccentric style of directing, which included directing while still speaking in Bernstein’s voice as well as a strict “no chairs” policy.

But Cooper got in on the joke himself during a recent panel when he poked fun at some of the “crazy demands” he made on set as director.

The Maestro star joked that the “biggest challenge by far was the fucking director,” per People, of course referring to himself.

“He had these crazy demands like shooting in black and white, 35-millimeter stock and a 1:3:3 aspect ratio, and half the movie had black and white, and shooting it live and wanting to be on location,” Cooper said.

“We were losing our minds,” he joked, referring to himself and his co-stars. “But we all band[ed] together and we tried to give him what he wanted.”

It’s no secret that Maestro became a passion project for Cooper. The actor received went viral for how emotional he became in a resurfaced interview from 2023 with Bernstein’s three children, in which Cooper admitted he sometimes misses the late composer despite the fact that they had never met.

“It’s hard to talk about,” he said as he became emotional in the clip. “I don’t know — we, the four of us, shared something very special; it’s hard to even articulate.”

Cooper maintained that he felt very connected to Bernstein while working on the film: “He was with me, certainly, throughout the entire time. His energy has somehow found its way to me, and I really do feel like I know him,” he said.

The Oscars take place on March 10, which means it’s only a matter of time before we find out just how Cooper’s directorial debut fared during this year’s awards season.

Maestro is up for seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor. However, Cooper was snubbed in the Best Director category.

Maestro is now streaming on Netflix.