First Look: Bradley Cooper’s ‘Is This Thing On?’ Sets December 19 Release Date

Bradley Cooper’s third directorial effort, “Is This Thing On?,” was recently selected as the closing night film of the 63rd New York Film Festival. The dramatic comedy will screen on October 10 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

Vanity Fair has our first look at the film, which seems to have Cooper going into more grounded, and less ambitious territory, at least when compared to his two previous directorial efforts. In fact, this is somewhat of a comedy.

The film, which test screened, a few times, is still being shaped in the editing room. Cooper is actively fine-tuning the cut, with much of the scoring, sound design, and color correction yet to be finalized. The version shown to audiences during the test was described as a “work in progress.”

Inspired by the life of British comedian John Bishop, “Is This Thing On?” stars Will Arnett and Laura Dern as a married couple on the brink of separation while raising two children. Arnett’s character, Alex, makes a late-in-life pivot into stand-up comedy in New York City’s West Village. A newly released first-look image shows Arnett’s Alex inside a small comedy club.

Searchlight Pictures, which is behind the film, has now dated “Is This Thing On?” for limited release on December 19 — a move that likely reflects Cooper’s ongoing post-production process. The supporting cast includes Andra Day, Christine Ebersole, Ciarán Hinds, Sean Hayes, Peyton Manning, and Amy Sedaris.

The film follows Cooper’s previous directing efforts, “A Star Is Born” and “Maestro,” both of which debuted on the fall festival circuit.

It should be noted that Matthew Libatique is the cinematographer on this one, which means, at the very least, it’ll be well photographed. Some of Libatique’s most notable works includes “Requiem For A Dream,” “Black Swan,” “Inside Man,” and “A Star is Born.”