The Jewface Controversy About Bradley Cooper Isn’t Really About His Nose:
Leonard Bernstein’s three children defended the filmmaker and actor Bradley Cooper upon Wednesday after he got more criticism for playing the Jewish American composer as well as conductor of the 20th century in the upcoming movie “Maestro” with a big fake nose.
But the big nose Bradley Cooper had when he played the late West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein has been criticized in recent days.
This Week, The Initial Trailer For The Movie Maestro Came Out:
Some people have said that the first clip for Maestro, which came out earlier this week, is insulting because it shows Bradley Cooper putting on makeup in order to make his nose appear bigger.
Bernstein’s family supported Cooper within a statement, saying they were “perfectly fine” with the Oscar-nominated actor’s portrayal as well as that it “broke our hearts to see people misunderstand his efforts.”
Cooper isn’t Jewish, which has led to criticism and brought back a long-running casting debate in Hollywood: whether or not stars should only play roles from minority groups if they have the same traits.
Maestro Will Be Available On Netflix For The First Time In December:
We don’t know yet how much Bernstein’s Jewish background will be shown in Maestro. The film won’t be shown for the first time until next month in Venice, and it won’t be upon Netflix till December.
Tuesday’s release of a teaser trailer sparked more talk on social media about the prosthesis, which some critics said played into an anti-Semitic stereotype, and about whether a Jewish actor should have been cast to play Bernstein, the composer of “West Side Story” as well as music director of the New York Philharmonic, instead of a white actor.
David Baddiel, a British comic as well as author of the 2021 book “Jews Don’t Count,” said that Bradley Cooper was the most recent example of a non-Jewish actor playing a real-life Jewish person in an offensive way.
David Baddiel Wrote About X, “The Only Difference Here Is That It’s More Well On The Nose”:
“I’ve talked many times about how authenticity casting doesn’t work for Jews as well as what that means,” he wrote on X, which used to be called Twitter. “The sole distinction here is the fact that it’s more on the nose.”
Her decision came a year after she played a Japanese character within the Hollywood version of the anime film Ghost within the Shell, for which she was attacked.
In the 1993 movie Philadelphia, Tom Hanks starred a gay man who was dying of AIDS. Last year, he said that, as a man of color, he was unable to take on such a role today, “and rightly so.”
Eddie Redmayne Said It Was A Mistake For Him To Portray A Transgender Woman:
Eddie Redmayne recently rethought his part in the 2015 movie The Danish Girl, in which he played a transgender woman. He said it was a “mistake” to portray a transgender woman.
Other examples are the 2014 film Exodus: Gods and Kings by Ridley Scott, which was criticized for having non-Arab actors play Egyptians, and the 2010 film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which starred Jake Gyllenhaal, who is Swedish and Jewish.
Within a series of posts upon X, Amy, Alexander, as well as Nina Bernstein, the Bernsteins’ three children, stated that Cooper was talking to them “every step of the way” on his amazing trip.
Bradley Decided To Apply Makeup To Make His Look Even More Like The Actor:
“It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts,” they stated about Cooper. “Yes, Leonard Bernstein really did have a nice, big nose.
Bradley decided to employ makeup to make the similarity stronger, which is fine with us. We’re also sure that our dad wouldn’t have had a problem with it.”
They also said, “We see any loud complaints about this issue as dishonest attempts to knock an effective individual down a notch.” Through a spokesperson, Cooper refused to say anything. Netflix didn’t answer when asked for a response.
Next Month, Maestro Will Be Shown For The First Time At The Venice Film Festival:
“Maestro” will be shown for the first time at the Venice Film Festival in September and at the New York Film Festival in October in North America. In November, it will be shown in theaters in the US, and then in December, it will be available on Netflix.
In movies, TV, and theater, the question of which actors can play which parts has become a hot topic in recent years. More and more people agree that actors shouldn’t play characters from minority groups whose traits they don’t share.
Last year, Tom Hanks tells The New York Times Magazine that he wasn’t going to be cast to be a gay man with AIDS in modern times, like he was in the 1993 movie “Philadelphia.”
Baddiel Says That There Are Two Sets Of Rules For Casting Jewish Characters:
At the 2016 Emmy Awards, actor Jeffrey Tambor stated he hoped to become the last straight man to take on a transgender role, like he did in the show “Transparent.”
Some critics, such as Baddiel, say that there’s an injustice when it comes to choosing Jewish characters, since it is generally okay for non-Jews to play Jewish roles.
Helen Mirren is not Jewish, but she plays Golda Meir within a movie about her life that comes out this month. In the new movie “Oppenheimer,” the main character, who was Jewish, was played by Cillian Murphy, who is not Jewish.
