Director Denis Villeneuve fell in love with Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born.” At least that's what he exclaimed as part of Variety’s Directors on Directors series, in which Villeneuve even penned an ode to the film:
“The North American premiere of ‘A Star Is Born’ was like nothing I’d seen before,” Villeneuve writes. “It wasn’t a normal screening. It was a rock concert. Several times during the movie, the audience cheered and erupted into loud applause. They were, or course, responding to Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s electrifying performances. But something else was at work.”
Villeneuve continued, “You can’t cheat when you sing. You are either on key or you’re off. There is no subterfuge. The same goes with romance. Watching ‘A Star Is Born,’ I felt I had just witnessed a pure act of cinema where life and a movie’s very own central subject were mirroring themselves through a superb love story.”
“It is hard to believe that this movie is the work of a first-time director,” Villeneuve added “The level of precision of camera work and mise-en-scene are truly impressive. The artistic choices Bradley Cooper made are those of a filmmaker in total control of his medium.
“I deeply loved ‘A Star Is Born.’ No doubt for me, this movie marks the birth of a great director.”