Bradley Cooper Will Make Camera Operator Debut with ‘Is This Thing On?’ Starring Laura Dern, and Shares Plot Details
Bradley Cooper is teasing his first film where he’ll be directly operating a camera.
The actor/director, who has previously directed features “A Star is Born” and “Maestro,” will appear in, direct, produce, and serve as B camera operator for meta Hollywood comedy “Is This Thing On?” He also cowrote the revised script with Will Arnett, who is the lead actor in the feature.
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Laura Dern will costar. Emily Blunt was originally set to be cast as well, but it’s unclear if she is still part of the Searchlight-produced film.
The project was announced in 2023, but Cooper has finally shared more details, including his work as B camera operator on the film, which aligns with his famously hands-on approach to filmmaking.
“I just joined the union, yeah,” Cooper said during ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on February 10. While he did not specify which union, it would seem to be the International Cinematographer’s Guild IATSE Local 600 for camera operators, as Cooper continued to explain his role.
“I’ll operate the camera, which I’m very excited about because we did some stuff. We went down to Chinatown and yeah, it’s been amazing. […] We start in two weeks, so it’s kind of crazy,” Cooper said. He appeared on the popular, football-centric ESPN show to celebrate his fandom for the Philadelphia Eagles, who won Super Bowl LIX on February 9. Cooper appeared on the field before the game to introduce the team as they took the field at the New Orleans Superdome.
IndieWire has reached out to ICG 600 and a rep for Cooper for further comment.
“Filmmaking truly, honestly, is very similar to sports team sports, like no question,” Cooper continued. “It’s all about creating a culture. It’s all about just the shot you’re in and not thinking about just the end of the movie. It’s very, very similar to football in particular, you know, if one of the 11 messes up, the whole thing’s screwing up and people don’t see that from the outside, but if you’re in it, you know that very well. Same thing in a movie set. That’s why it’s always interesting when you just talk about certain crew members, but anybody that’s ever made a movie knows that the camera operator and the dolly grip and the sound mixer and the first AD, these are key positions that are as important as the actors or anybody else.”
Cooper also hinted at the premise of the film.
“I play a guy who’s an understudy actor and he’s understudying a play called ‘The 13 Disciples,’ and he’s understudying all of them. So that’s what this is about,” Cooper said, noting it’s a “small part” and that he “just plays [Arnett’s] best friend” in the feature. Cooper also indicated that the play within the film being “The 13 Disciples” is why he’s growing out a beard. “It’s like a little comedy that Will Arnett is the star of and Laura Dern and Andrew Day. It’s a great cast.”
Cooper continued of his involvement in the film, “It was a project and then I rewrote it and along with Will and Mark Chappell. I conceive of it and then we get a group and you direct. You’re making the movie and then you’re going to edit the movie and then you put it out and hopefully the studio likes it.”
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