‘A Star is Born’ is Electric Entertainment: Movie Review

Overnight success is a myth. Great artistic success in show business generally comes from working hard and learning the craft, often for years, so that you’re ready should a big break ever come. ‘Overnight’  is only just that moment when the world suddenly notices your long-standing gifts. A Star is Born as a franchise always synthesizes this myth and this truth for something like a fairy/cautionary tale; just as quickly as a star rises, a star can fall. Talent is never the question, but the starting point; whether the world notices and for how long, is out of your hands.

The screenplay for the latest telling of A Star is Born, emphasizes this last point, as Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) urges Ally (Lady Gaga) to give it her all because the world might not always be listening.

For those who’ve been living under a cultural rock the story of A Star is Born is ancient and simple: One already established successful showbiz man ‘discovers’ an absurdly gifted but basically unknown female performer and takes her under his wing. They fall in love but as her fame rises, his falls, plagued as he is by personal demons in liquid form. The story never has a happy ending so if you need a good cry, queue up.

It’s easy to see why this enduring showbiz tearjerker attracts star performers who know a thing or two about life in the spotlight (Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, James Mason, Fredric March, etc…) though its appeal to filmmakers is perhaps a bit less obvious. Enter Bradley Cooper, famous actor and now an overnight success as a director…

Cooper’s clearly been honing the storytelling side of his gifts for years on the sly. Perhaps he was purposefully hovering, soaking up the magic of multitudinous decision-making on the sets of the gifted directors he’s been fortunate to work with: Clint Eastwood (American Sniper), David O. Russell (American Hustle), and Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines) chief among them. There’s little other explanation possible as to how Cooper so confidently dons this new hat, born anew as a director behind the camera while simultaneously giving the performance of his career as a movie star in front of it.

Though it would be silly to say that Cooper is unrecognizable as Jackson Maine, his voice at least is totally new — to his vocal chords that is. Like a more benevolent Ursula, he’s magically stolen the voice of Sam Elliott while letting Sam Elliott keep those molasses-gravel pipes, too. In effect there are two Sam Elliotts before you since Elliott is on hand (and terrific) as Jackson’s older brother who raised this rock star and now manages him on the road. It’s a full time job given the infinite booze. Aside from the new speaking voice, Cooper has thoroughly recalibrated himself physically and emotionally never feeling anything less than authentic as a casually mega famous but frequently sozzled rock star.

Cooper’s iteration of this old story is the first time an actor has directed the material and it shows. Arguably more than the other versions –even the magnificent Judy Garland classic from 1954 —  this one conjures up a romance that’s deeply rooted in the spirit of artistic collaboration. This Star is not just concerned with the yin and yang of fresh and dimmed spotlights but in the act of creation.

Cooper’s smart performance-focused read on the material and his generosity as an actor is obviously a huge boon to Lady Gaga as his discovery “Ally”. Gaga is still a novice actor rather than a true natural but paired with Cooper she’s relaxed and expressive and moving.  It helps of course that the role is tailored to the superstar in an almost comically meta way. She’s even cheered on by a gaggle of gays in her first big scene, then symbolically released from the gay community into the real world via Jackson Maine accidentally stumbling into a drag bar on the hunt for more booze. But this role tailoring has always been the case with A Star is Born, which lives or dies by the gifts of its female Star, the one being Born.

Lady Gaga knows what a once-in-a-lifetime gift this role is and she’s taking no chances delivering some of the best songs of her career. Lady Gaga came to slay so that “Ally” could be Born This Way.

If either Cooper or Gaga had any doubts about their ability to pull this off you’d never know it from what’s on screen, the movie operating at all times from an electric place of total confidence, even when the subject of the scenes is the lack of it. For Gaga’s part she walks this high wire with no safety net. Within the first reel of her performance she’s directly inviting comparisons to major legends.

The first time she sings, under the title card no less, it’s the seldom sung intro verse to Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow” which she then chases with a full performance of Edith Piaf’s signature song “La Vie En Rose.” Once she’s risked communing with those formidable ghosts, she’s talking about her nose in profile in a way that would make Barbra Streisand blush. This is a fearless performance demanding your fealty. All you can say in you seat is “yaaaas queen!” when she finally lets loose with “Shallow”.

I’m off the deep end
Watch as I dive in
I’ll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface
Where they can’t hide us
We’re far from the shallow now

The song is thrilling and so is the movie. Watch as these two great artists dive in. Oh, the treasures they dig up together. Once the movie lifts off (with this very song) it never meets the ground again.

An embarrassment of riches, A Star is Born delivers this moment earlier than you’d think. Before the already iconic moment when Ally blows the roof off of a Jackson Maine stadium concert with her hhaaawwwooahaaahahwoaha caterwauling — the centerpiece of the ubiquitous promotional campaign — we’re treated to a verse of the song in the humblest of ways. Ally sings a bar for Jackson in a parking lot as they talk the night away. The scene is quiet, long, and watchful, as fascinated with this nascent romance as Jackson is with this singular new woman he can’t stop staring at. The new tune is presented casually as the seed of an idea Ally has been tending to. It suddenly blooms in Jackson’s presence, one artist inspired by another. A song, a romance, and a new classic movie born right before your eyes.

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‘A Star is Born’ is Electric Entertainment: Movie Review

Rejection: What to Say When You’re No Longer Interested in Someone

“I’m just not that into you” is almost an impossible phrase to say to someone – it’s honest sure, but boy does it hurt hearing it from someone you really like. Today I’m going to share some alternative, more tactful phrases that relay the same message. Photo by Andy Art on Unsplash Rejection via Dating […]

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Rejection: What to Say When You’re No Longer Interested in Someone

Celebrating Openly LGBTQ Role Models in Sports for National Coming Out Day

Across the world, sports represent an opportunity for us to transcend difference, celebrate excellence and build community. When we see open and proud role models on the field, court, track or elsewhere who share our experiences and identities, we are reminded of our own potential and power.

However, for many LGBTQ youth, the lack of visible LGBTQ athletes means that they don’t see themselves represented as champions. HRC Foundation’s recent study with the University of Connecticut found that just 24 percent of LGBTQ youth participated in a sport, compared to 68 percent of a national, external sample of all youth. And as we hear from too many young LGBTQ athletes, this disparity is often a product of non-inclusive sporting environments, discriminatory policies and anti-LGBTQ attitudes that can pervade athletic spaces.

As we approach the 30th annual National Coming Out Day, HRC celebrates LGBTQ athletes and sports professionals who have publicly shared their LGBTQ identities and experiences over the past year to inspire others. This group include referees like Alex Valvo and Pascal Erlachner and athletes like Nir Rotenberger, Mike Parrow, Jessica Platt, Zach Leader, Matt Evers, Sandra Forgues, Bradley Kim, Tadd Fujikawa, Robert Páez and Christine Nairn. Together, and alongside the increasing number of out athletes participating in sports all over the world, all of these sportspeople are proving that LGBTQ athletes exist and deserve the right to thrive in any and all sporting contexts.

HRC also celebrates LGBTQ members of the athletic community who, for any number of reasons, are unable to come out. We reaffirm our commitment to creating a world in which everyone can bring their whole selves to authentically participate in sports, school, work, government and all facets of society.

For more information on the challenges faced by aspiring LGBTQ atheletes and how you can help dismantle these barriers, be sure to read HRC’s Play to Win: Improving the Lives of LGBTQ Youth in Sports.

For more information about HRC’s work in sports equity, click here.

www.hrc.org/blog/celebrating-openly-lgbtq-role-models-in-sports-for-national-coming-out-day?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Stephen Colbert Comments on Vinnie Favale, CBS Exec Suspended for Homophobic, Sexual Remarks: WATCH

Stephen Colbert spoke out on The Late Show after CBS suspended Vinnie Favale, a senior executive who was accused by multiple employees of sexual and homophobic language in the workplace. Favale was placed on administrative leave on Wednesday.

CNN interviewed nine employees and heard some disturbing things. Favale told CBS employees that Jennifer Hudson gave him an erection while she was rehearsing for The Late Show.

One employee said that at a meeting where construction was happening outside the window Favale had told her that a drill being used reminded him of “a big black dick” and after she reported the remarks to supervisors she began being shut out of meetings.

Another employee said Favale used the words “homos” and “gay” in a derogatory way, and questioned Colbert’s sexual orientation because he thought the Late Night host had an inability to interview women.

Favale also questioned Hugh Jackman’s sexual orientation to other employees: ‘The employee said that Favale was standing in front of five to seven colleagues when she heard him say Jackman was “gay” and “in the closet.” Favale allegedly described Jackman’s now 22 year marriage to Deborra-lee Furness as “fake.”‘

Favale also allegedly talked about Rachel Maddow by asking, “Who wants to see that ugly man on TV?”

Favale denied making the statement, telling CNN, in part: “Allegations that I have ever retaliated against anyone in any fashion are 100% false. I have spent my entire career working at comedy shows, where there has always been a wide latitude to make transgressive jokes while preparing the program. While we make a lot of jokes, these jokes attributed to me, whether said in rehearsals or production meetings, are being taken out of context and were not said in the way being presented here.”

CBS has also denied allegations that its HR department ignored complaints.

Favale “started his career with CBS in 1996 and served as a senior programming executive for The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert through 2017″ according to CNN.

Here’s Favale, who was apparently fond of appearing on camera, doing an unfunny scripted joke segment on gay programming for Letterman:

Colbert commented on Favale’s departure on his show Wednesday night.

Said Colbert: “An article came out on CNN today about an executive at CBS who used to be a liaison to this show. He basically came with the building when I got this show, and he used to be around here a lot. About six months into this show, some of our employees said they were uncomfortable with some of the things that he said, so we took their complaints to HR. They investigated, twice, but I don’t really know what if anything, happened. It seemed like someone was protecting this guy. I don’t know who it was. We eventually convinced the network to make a change. So, I’m grateful to CNN for writing this article, because the press is not the enemy of the people. This is why you want a free press. This is why you want investigative journalism. It’s to make sure that government and companies and people are accountable for their actions.”

WATCH: Stephen Colbert thanks CNN for their reporting on now suspended CBS executive Vinnie Favale and says CBS ignored repeated internal complaints about him.

“It seemed like someone was protecting this guy. I don’t know who it was”
t.co/0yWgNDsDqA pic.twitter.com/BjxGW9dLAP

— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) October 4, 2018

The post Stephen Colbert Comments on Vinnie Favale, CBS Exec Suspended for Homophobic, Sexual Remarks: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Stephen Colbert Comments on Vinnie Favale, CBS Exec Suspended for Homophobic, Sexual Remarks: WATCH